Growing up in a mixed Arab and Jewish family, Israel’s destruction of Gaza has deeply affected me. Leaflets dropped over the besieged territory taunt Gazans with chilling messages: “The world map will not change if all the people of Gaza cease to exist. No one will feel for you, and no one will ask about you … Neither America nor Europe cares about Gaza. Even your Arab countries, now our allies, provide us with money and weapons while sending you only shrouds.”

This dehumanization exposes the grim reality: Gaza is being erased, and the world is expected to turn a blind eye. Over 61,000 Palestinians have been killed, with confirmed deaths surpassing 48,000, including 13,000 children, 7,000 women, 3,500 elderly, 1,000 health workers, 200 journalists and 250 U.N. workers. A Lancet study estimates over 186,000 Palestinians have likely died due to direct attacks and destruction of infrastructure. Meanwhile, Israel reports 1,200 casualties, a third of whom were soldiers.

While some deny Israel’s violent colonial nature, Israeli leaders have admitted it:

• David Ben-Gurion (1938): “Politically we are the aggressors … The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to settle down.”
• Ben-Gurion (1937): “We must expel Arabs and take their places … and if we have to use force … then we have force at our disposal.”
• Yosef Weitz (1940): “There is no room in the country for both peoples … The only solution is a Land of Israel … without Arabs.”
• Menachem Begin (1948): “The [Deir Yassin] massacre was necessary … without it, the state would not have been established.”

Israeli historian Ilan Pappé’s “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” and the Israeli documentary “Tantura” expose systematic massacres and expulsions. Proposals to expel Palestinians to Egypt or Jordan are not new, but history has shown the vulnerability of displaced Palestinians. In 1982, the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon saw thousands of unarmed refugees murdered. Israel’s blockade of electricity, food, fuel and water is a repeat of past tactics. As Rashid Khalidi and Edward Said document, Israeli military leaders have long admitted to targeting civilians. Gen. Gur, chief of staff of the Israeli Army, stated: “I have never had any doubt [that the population ought to be punished] … From the time of our Independence War until now, we have been fighting against the civilian population.”

Since 1946, the U.S. has provided Israel with over $310 billion in aid — funded by American taxpayers who still lack universal health care and education, benefits available in Israel. These funds sustain Israel’s illegal occupation while homelessness and poverty persist in the U.S. For decades, the U.S. has masqueraded as a peace broker while pressuring Palestinians to accept deals that overwhelmingly benefit Israel. Palestinian resistance is then framed as refusal to negotiate.

As Edward Said noted: “Why [should] 4 million people accept less [autonomy] than what every other national group has accepted … that treaties can be signed in the absence of the main party … that Palestinians, any more than other people, ought to accept permanent colonization [and not] fight to gain their denied [rights]?”

The Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” exposes Israeli home demolitions and settler violence. Despite critical acclaim, no major U.S. distributor has picked it up. Use Google to find a screening near you, or attend one at the Portland Museum of Art. Stream it online. Refuse to let U.S. media shield Israel from accountability.

But awareness is not enough. We must act. Support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement by boycotting Israeli goods and companies complicit in apartheid. Call your elected officials. Demand they stop funding Israel. Keep Palestine in the conversation. Gaza has been told the world will forget them. Prove Israel wrong.