Comment by KittenInABox
2 years ago
> I think they are saying that the composition of users of these apps skews one way rather than the other due to pre existing stances
I think the notion that the vast chunk of Twitter or TikTok had a pre existing stance on Israel/Palestine before Oct 7 is kind of silly, imo? Before this I could scroll Twitter without seeing anything about Israel or Palestine for... idk. Weeks, months at a time. I'll maybe see one thing on Palestine being oppressed, usually about West Bank settlements, from the one or two people who happen to be Palestinian. Now I literally cannot avoid it whenever I open either app.
I really struggle to believe anyone beyond a small minority even thought about Palestine or Israel before Oct 7.
> I really struggle to believe anyone beyond a small minority even thought about Palestine or Israel before Oct 7.
It has been a relatively prominent issue in Ireland, and especially Northern Ireland for some time. You can find plenty of images over the years of republican murals with Palestinian flags on them (e.g. 10 years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/PropagandaPosters/comments/189yeg/o... ), or conversely unionist bonfires with palestinean flags on it: (e.g. last year https://nitter.dafriser.be/M_AndersonSF/status/1542523209311... )
As OP pointed out, a billion Muslims is a lot of people. They may not have the palestinians at top of mind all the time, but a lot of them do at the moment.
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> none of them are taking Palestinian refugees
They believe that Israel would like to drive out the refugees and seize their land, essentially putting an end to Palestinians in Israel. They believe that's what happened when Israel was founded and subsequently - there are still refugee camps, and a priority of Palestinians is the 'right of return' to their former lands - and with recent Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and specifically with Israeli actions in the West Bank since Oct 7.
Essentially, they think refugees will never be allowed back.
That doesn't mean they care, but without that issue resolved, they won't accept refugees. Also, probably they don't want to take on care and feeding of millions, and to simultaneously relieve Israel, their enemy, of that burden.
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How would the Palestinians leave? Via the continual carpet bombing of every building and the people? We see the videos of the bombing & the aftermath. We see the photo today of mass execution by the IDF. You cram what’s left of 2 million people in a tiny section of Gaza and now bomb them there.
The US quashed a ceasefire vote in the UN, so that the carnage can continue. It is monstrous evil. The US is now providing bunker buster bombs as well, which are being used. We see the videos and photos today of that.
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> I really struggle to believe anyone beyond a small minority even thought about Palestine or Israel before Oct 7.
I grew up in the 1980s and recall intense flareups on this subject matter for as long as I can remember. The arrival of the Web and social media simply amplified them.
This is the correct view. The Palestinian issue is a deeply-felt issue for a quarter of the world's population, give or take.
Are those population’s countries accepting Palestinian refugees?
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> I really struggle to believe anyone beyond a small minority even thought about Palestine or Israel before Oct 7.
This appeared repeatedly as important news, sadly mostly due to wars and terrorism.
Jerusalem relevance alone for multiple religions with its holy sites made it important topic for many.
People being aware of the issue isn't the same as the issue being their primary interest. Or even being in their top ten interests.
I was responding to "I really struggle to believe anyone beyond a small minority even even thought about Palestine or Israel"
I think you are underestimating the diversity of these global platforms.
As an example, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are among the top 10 countries in terms of Twitter users.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/242606/number-of-active-...
This conflict has been a huge thing since the 90s. I would argue the vast majority of people in the west had an opinion on that conflict.
Since 1948, when modern Israel was founded.
since the 1880's at least. The status of palistance was the cause for the crusades so I think we need to understand there is no resolution possible.
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I think it's pretty unfair this person is being down voted.
Yes, most Americans knew the conflict existed previous to this past October, but few who weren't Jewish or Muslim and/or Arab (I think most Arab Christians are generally/vaguely pro-Palestinian, but not sure) would have had strong opinions about it or been able to tell you much. I don't think the issue has ever featured this heavily in the US news cycle since oil embargoes in the 70s, and the issue is a lot more contentious now due to a few different factors.
Right now, unless someone consumes zero news media and has very curated social media feeds, I don't see how they could avoid understanding this has all been a major geopolitical event that is continuing to unfold.
> few…would have had strong opinions about it or been able to tell you much
That’s simply incorrect. Extensive news coverage of the flareups I referred to led to the subject matter becoming a common topic of conversation and public interest. Heck, I remember there being conversations and debates about it among kids in my school’s cafeteria, and that was in a part of the US where at the time way less than 1% of the population was Jewish or Muslim.