‘A MODERN NATIONALIST COLONIAL CONFLICT’

A year of atrocities, hurt and hope for Palestine

The words “Are you still alive?” should never have to be spoken during a phone call. For sophomore Salem Abuatiya, it’s a typical conversation starter for a friend who still lives in Palestine. 

“One of my friends is a doctor and I used to call him often to check in on him, but it’s not a good feeling to keep asking him if he’s alive still,” Abuatiya said. 

Abuatiya said he tries to keep a positive outlook for his friends and family, but it isn’t always easy.

“Sometimes it’s not easy to think ‘Oh, I left them there to die while I’m somewhere safe. If I stayed there, at least I could have died with them,’” Abuatiya said. “I also feel being in America and telling our stories helps because at least I have a mission here.”

Oct. 7 marked one year since the Hamas attack on Israel which then sparked a genocide in Palestine, killing thousands and displacing millions. 

Director of the Kessel Peace Institute and Associate Professor of History Jameel Haque said the conversation around the discussion of Palestine has disappeared from national conversations along with U.S. taxpayers contributing to funding the genocide. 

While smaller news organizations have continued coverage in Palestine, Haque said he feels larger news companies censor how they talk about Israel and Palestine.

“This isn’t a religious conflict at its core. This isn’t an age-old hatred. This is a modern, nationalist colonial conflict,” Haque said. “It’s detrimental to a greater understanding of what the situation actually is.”

Abuatiya said he’s “very mad” at how news outlets are “making America try to be the hero” and inaccurately representing Palestinians in news coverage through generalizations. 

“They’re saying ‘Oh, there’s no genocide. All of Gaza is Hamas!’ and ‘Israel is allowing some food into Gaza. Look how kind those people are! They’re slaughtering and bombing them, but still, look how kind those people are,’” Abuatiya said.

Mavericks for Change Planning Committee Member Jordan Muller said the media is not covering the events of what’s happening in Palestine that would be “groundbreaking international news” if it happened in Israel. Muller also said the way the media uses “weaponization of the passive voice” when speaking about Palestine. 

“They say ‘a child in Palestine died’, not ‘a child in Palestine was killed by Israeli soldiers,” Muller said. “It’s biased and it’s entirely neglecting the reality of what’s going on in the wider situation.”

Mavericks for Change, a social justice group dedicated to raising awareness on Palestinian issues, has been involved in a number of events, ranging from protests to an encampment that took place during 2024’s graduation week. The group, along with the support of Student Government, passed a resolution in February to protect Pro-Palestinian voices on campus. 

Mavericks for Change President Cole Koets said while quite a few students have joined the group, he knows there is a “large swath” of students who aren’t educated on what’s going on in Palestine.

“We encourage their participation in the movement and that they go and look into the reality of the situation and fight for a cause in their time,” Koets said. “There is potential for real, genuine change in how we view our foreign policy as a country and we think Mankato students should get involved and play a role in that.”

Other college campuses across the United States have changed the way students can protest after the large rise of protests and encampments dedicated to raising awareness on Palestine. 

Haque said Minnesota State could “serve as a model of what universities should be doing,” citing President Inch’s willingness to speak with students and allowing them to exercise their constitutional rights.

“We started with a movement of zero people as I was just holding up a sign in front of the CSU and we’ve built up to about 200 people who are involved with these protests and a core group of about 50 that are actively involved,” Haque said.

Abuatiya said he’s “happy” with the way MSU has allowed students to speak out about Palestine.

“MSU has been respectful of what we have done and I’m hopeful about more progress being made,” Abuatiya said. 

Koets and Muller said one of the legislative goals Mavericks for Change has is to go through several university avenues, such as student government, in hopes of finding where endowment funds are going and to divest money from Israel, should MSU be funding the genocide. 

As the 2024 election comes closer, people will be seeking how politicians respond to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Haque said while the Democrat and Republican parties in the past 50 to 60 years have condoned Israel’s actions, younger progressives are changing how they see the conflict. 

“They’re saying ‘These are my tax dollars and I’m not comfortable with funding the occupation in the West Bank and attacks on Gaza,’” Haque said.

Koets said he believes Americans are struggling to pick a political party to vote for based on how both parties have handled the situation.

“When parties are ignoring the humanity and opinions of young voters, they cast away a new burgeoning voting block,” Koets said.

Abuatiya said with how politicians have been handling the Palestinian genocide, it’s “like choosing which gun to be killed with” and he’s “not hopeful” about a big change from either political party. 

While the future of Palestine remains unknown, Haque said there are two outcomes: a one-state solution where “Palestinians are given basic human rights and political rights akin to the end of apartheid in South Africa” or complete genocide and expulsion of Palestinians. 

“It’s hard to predict which of those two outcomes is coming, but one solution is something everybody in the world should want and one is something we should all be vehemently opposed to,” Haque said.

Muller said the way he sees the future outcome of the genocide could expand to a “wider and larger” conflict worldwide.

“We are already seeing Israel get into aggressions with other nations, predominantly Lebanon, Yemen and Iran,” Muller said. “It’s very unfortunate that that looks like the route it’s heading more than a peaceful realm.”

Koets said he wants students and the greater Mankato community to know their taxpayer dollars are going to fund the Palestinian genocide.

“$18 billion is an unfathomable amount of money we could have been putting towards Americans who are struggling,” Koets said. “The fact we are willing to finance a conflict overseas with great disregard to Americans at home is not just incredibly depressing, but indicative of the current state of politics in the United States.”

Abuatiya said he just wants people to think about others and to open their eyes to what’s happening.

“Open your mind,” Abuatiya said. “If you open your eyes, you’re going to help save lives.”

Caption: Minnesota State students march for the protest tobring attention to the current issues in Palestine. The posters indicate “Free Gaza,” “Eyes On Palestine, Sudan, Congo” and “No Genocide” (Courtesy Mavericks for Change).

Write to Emma.johnson.5@mnsu.edu