I respect human life, but I do not respect colonialism and that is the distinction many people are making. No one deserves to be killed, especially not civilians who rarely have a say in what their governments, or extremists do. However, this is a moment to condemn the deaths of Israeli and Palestinian civilians. It's a moment to admit the sociopolitical disparity in power between the two groups. Anything else, is unacceptable.

Those progressives, like myself, who have expressed solidarity for Palestinians living in Gaza (an open-air prison) are in no way dismissing the pain of Jewish people experiencing anti-semitism in Israel or throughout the diaspora or those of any other faith living in Israel, or those with familial, or ancestral ties. Just as America is a colonial project, so is Israel and we can hold disdain for a government that's oppressing a group of people while also not equating the government with the people.

More than half of the population of Gaza are children who were not old enough to vote the last time there was an election. What's happening to them, the constant bombing, and ground attacks is nothing short of genocide. Jewish, as well as Black people, such as myself have a responsibility to condemn Israeli's attack on Gaza. We can mourn those lost, but no one's death justifies the death of another. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.