We will already be celebrating three months since that terrible day when the extremist Islamist group – or terrorist, call it what you will – Hamas massacred 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 people on Israeli soil. It was a terrible, reprehensible and reprehensible event. From there, the world began to see a war turning into a genocide committed by the Government and the Armed Forces – or Zionists, call them what you will – of the State of Israel, where between 20,000 and approximately 60,000 Palestinians have been injured so far. What did this war show us to the rest of the world?

The first thing I want to point out is the double standards of political actors at the global level. From the United States of America to the powerful media, they did very little – or nothing at all – to stop the carnage. From the political sphere, the veto of the United States representative in the United Nations Security Council to approve a ceasefire between the warring parties is inhumane. I would like to say that it is unjustified, but we know that in international relations the interests of the state prevail from a geopolitical point of view, so there is an explanation for that diplomatic decision. Sanctions for a conflicting party that commits genocide? No way.

As another point to think about, we must highlight how easy it is to manipulate civil society and global public opinion. While this tragedy is happening, I started to think why the reaction of civil society and the media is so lukewarm, and I remembered other occasions when the opposite happened. For example, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, also a reprehensible aggression, a media campaign (#StandwithUkraine) was generated, Russian athletes were sanctioned, the Ukrainian flag was placed in public places, etc. Another example: in 2015, when jihadist attacks that killed 130 people in various places in Paris, the world put the French flag as a filter and shouted #JeSuisParis in unison.

Have you seen any systematic media campaign with the Palestinian flag and a message like #JeSuisGaza? The answer is no’. There were some activist groups and social demonstrations, but they failed to insert themselves into the agenda in a fairly stable way. And in reality, from our marginal position as a peripheral country in world geopolitics, we have no leverage in that conflict (sorry, Vice President Abad: it won’t work). For now, the little we can do is sympathize, show solidarity, donate to organizations that provide humanitarian aid in Palestine and become aware that we are witnessing the horrors of genocide before our eyes, while we fearlessly celebrate Christmas, exchange gifts, take photos and show them on social networks.

I cannot imagine the suffering and pain of torn apart and displaced families these days of the year. There is no right to celebrate anything in the world. There are no happy holidays in Palestine. (OR)