“What are some of the reasons the U.S. and other western countries still support Israel? What does the U.S. get out of this relationship?”

This is an excellent question that truly is at the heart of the issue. Israel would not be able to go on committing these atrocities without the cover and support of western countries, especially the United States. The start of this unwavering western support goes all the way back to before the creation of Israel. Great Britain was the first major western power to fully throw their support behind the creation and maintenance of an Israeli state in their Balfour declaration in 1917. Then on May 14th 1948, within hours of Israel declaring itself a state the United States sent out a statement of recognition and support for Israel. (You can read more about this early history here)

Now, what does that have to do with why we still support them as a country? We often hear from those who defend US support of Israel the talking point that, “Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East” or “Israel is our only friend in the Middle East.” These two statements are usually used interchangeably which is deceptive. Israel is not a “true democracy” because there are very strict laws in place in Israel that limit what positions political figures can have, especially for the few Palestinian members of Israeli politics. The most notable of these restrictions is in their Basic-Law, the Israeli equivalent to a constitution. While the basic law does outline basic human rights for all, it includes a very specific exception. It says that all must uphold the human rights of all people, “…save by means of a law that corresponds to the values of the State of Israel…” (1). So, if the action upholds or protects the “values of the State of Israel” then it is ok if it violates the rights of others. There are many more examples within their law and troubling things such as settlement construction that are clearly defined as a value of the State of Israel and therefore rights can be suspended in order to protect them. If you would like I can follow up with those examples and explanations, but for the purpose of answering your question, Israel is not a “true democracy,” so that point is moot.

That leaves just “Israel is our only friend in the Middle East” which has some truth to it and is often qualified with the idea that we are surrounded by enemies in the Middle East. It is extremely important to note however, that before the creation of Israel, the US had no enemies in the Middle East. Our unconditional support for the State of Israel is the root cause of all American-Middle Eastern tensions and conflict. This narrative that we need our one and only friend in the Middle East is pushed because historically the strategic advantage of having an allied state in the region with a powerful military was very useful to the US. They became a proxy of the US which was advantageous and fueled the policy at the start. Today as political landscapes change, while this argument is still the public face of why the US supports Israel, the truth is that the advantage we actually get from being supporters of Israel is not as impactful as it once was.

So if we don’t get the massive strategic advantage of having Israel as an ally in the Middle East anymore, why are so many US politicians still die-hard pro-Israel? Money. Israel and many Zionist organizations have worked in the background over the last decade building a powerful lobbying force in American politics. Lobbying groups meet with congressmen, senators, and political figures in all levels of office, and try to persuade them to support or oppose certain issues in exchange for their financial support to their campaigns. It's essentially legal bribery. While bribes are obviously illegal, lobbyists get around this by framing the deal as “my organization would be inclined to support and spend money on a candidate who agrees with us in order to get them re-elected.” Now lobbyists exist for every industry you can think of and is not a unique thing Israel does. However, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee or AIPAC, is one of the best funded and most powerful lobbying groups in the country. Since 1990, AIPAC has spent over 26 million dollars in campaign contributions to American politicians and since 1998 they spent another 60 million on top of that lobbying (2). American politicians protecting their seats in Congress is, in my opinion and my experience as a federal candidate back in 2022, the number one reason our government continues to support Israel.

So, to make a long answer short, US support for Israel started as a politically and strategically advantageous relationship, and while I don’t think that advantage justifies supporting a country that has been violating International Law since its inception, at least it was a genuine reason. Today though, the main reason our country continues to support Israel is because politicians believe their seats are safer with AIPAC money and support, than with their support of the growing pro-Palestine constituents.

There are many other reasons given for why the US still supports Israel and whole books have been written and documentaries made tackling exactly this, but I chose to focus on what I believe is the biggest reason. I hope this information helps and at least partially answers your question, and apologies if it ended up being a much longer answer than you expected.

“How do I combat the misconception that being Pro-Palestine is inherently Anti-Semitic?”

Thank you for your question! This is a very common misconception and one that is regularly misused by those in support of the Israeli onslaught in Gaza. The first thing to do is to very simply state the fact that Palestinians themselves are a semitic people. Both the Oxford and Merriam-Webster dictionaries define “semitic” as relating to the peoples who speak Semitic languages, especially Hebrew and Arabic. In fact, the only definition that defines it as referring only to Jewish people is clearly marked as “derogatory” and was added decades after the original word and definition. (1)(2) So it would be disingenuous to claim that being Pro-Palestinian is equivalent to being antisemitic since both Arabic and Hebrew speaking peoples are clearly defined as semitic peoples.

That would be the technical and linguistic response to that misconception. However the root of this misconception is also important to address. Trying to label anything that is critical of Israel and its government as “antisemitic” is not a new tactic and works to solidify the assumption that the terms Israeli and Jewish are synonymous and interchangeable when they most definitely are not. Judaism is a worldwide faith that is followed by people of varying backgrounds, cultures, races and ethnicities. Israel is a nation that was founded in 1948 in the land of Historic Palestine. So in the same way you could not claim criticism of Vatican City in Rome is the same as criticizing Christianity or all Christians, it is illogical to say that criticizing the actions of the State of Israel is the same as criticizing Judaism or all Jewish people.

“Do you think the two states solution is still a valid option?”

Aside from the fact that a two-state solution has been dangled in front of Palestinians and the world for decades with no genuine effort to put it in place, the Israeli government has repeatedly and explicitly said they will not allow a Palestinian state to exist.(1)(2)(3) Not sure how a two state solution can be valid when one of the states, the one that holds practically all the power nonetheless, has made it clear they will not allow the second state to be made.

Palestinians have long suspected that the "two state solution" was a distraction meant to just keep kicking the can down the road, and the recent statements made by the Israeli government outright rejecting that solution have just unfortunately confirmed those suspicions.

“Why do the protests not advocate for the release of the Israeli and American hostages held by Hamas? Wouldn’t that be the fasted way to achieve a cease fire and save more innocent lives? What is the justification for not releasing the hostages? Is kidnapping and holding hostages not also a violation of international law? Thank you.”

This is a good question, and one that often leads to the misconception that Palestinians and supporters don’t care about the hostages or their lives. While that is absolutely not true, your observation of the protests not explicitly calling for their immediate release is true. Understanding why requires some context.

First of all, we have to understand that October 7th did not occur in a vacuum; it’s not where the conflict started and can not be looked at in isolation if you truly want to understand why it happened. The Palestinian people have lived under a brutal Israeli military occupation going all the way back to 1948, and they were under British occupation before that since 1918. Gaza itself has been under a total blockade for over 17 years where Israel completely controls EVERYTHING that goes in or out, including food, water, electricity, construction supplies, and people.

Israel has had a long policy of abducting Palestinians under the guise of “arresting” them. The reason these are not arrests is that most who are taken are not charged and receive no trial, but rather they are held under what the Israelis call “administrative detention.” This allows for Palestinians to be detained indefinitely without charges or trials. Those who do end up charged are tried by military courts and tribunals with no jury, and a ridiculously high conviction rate. This is all allowed because instead of the civil courts that Israelis are subject to, which resemble our own here in the US, Palestinians are subject to harsh military courts.

According to the Israeli human rights organization HaMoked, the number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons is 7,417. Of those detainees, only 2,188 of them have been charged, tried, and sentenced (keeping in mind that still means tried and sentenced by military tribunals). (HaMoked)

Now given that context, to your question specifically: Why do the protests not advocate for the release of hostages? Firstly, the hostages have been incredibly politicized by the Israeli government, especially by Netanyahu, to a point that “release the hostages” has been equated to “kill those responsible.” Then that phrase, “kill those responsible,” has been directly equated to the killing of all Palestinians when the Israeli President said “it is an entire nation[Palestinians] who are responsible.” So repeating these slogans does nothing but further confuse the core of we are pushing for, the rights and dignity of Palestinians.

Secondly, with the number of uncharged Palestinian “prisoners,” effectively hostages, mentioned above, it would be disingenuous to our own cause, raising awareness of the plight of Palestinians. It would be disingenuous if we used our protests to call for the release of Israeli hostages while the world ignores the decades long Israeli policy of abducting Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. That very act of relocating “prisoners” taken in an occupied territory out of that territory (into Israel) for detainment is in itself a violation of international law.

Wouldn’t that be the fastest way to a ceasefire? Maybe, but based on the rhetoric from the Israeli government, highly unlikely. If all hostages were released, they would likely go on with the genocide of Gaza under the guise of “destroying Hamas.” Maybe it would help lead to a ceasefire, but as activists raising awareness and demanding our elected officials address and solve the issue, that is our part. It is not “on us” to solve the issue itself. It is up to the diplomats and politicians to settle the nuances and details of a ceasefire, that is their job. Ours is to pressure them into doing it honestly.

What is the justification for it and is holding hostages not also a violation of international law? We do not justify it and it is a violation of international law. The difference is we are consistent in our demands for that law to be upheld. We will not justify the violent actions target civilians, but the issue is there is only a demand for such condemnations when they are pointed at the Palestinians. Israel has killed far more civilians for a much longer time, have taken exponentially more Palestinians illegally, and violated many more international laws, yet they still benefit from the support, both morally and financially, from those who we elect to represent us.

Ultimately the danger and plight of the Israeli hostages has been covered wall to wall in the media and is acknowledged and known by all, yet the plight of Palestinians suffering goes largely unacknowledged, and not just since October 7th, but for the last 75 years.