A friend of mine asked me recently why Palestine is so important to me. “As a human rights writer, why is it my main focus?” he asked. And I took the question as honest, because it was from a real friend. My answer may be surprisingly simple.
Palestine is the litmus test for every single value the West supposedly holds dear. And we are failing miserably.
Palestine doesn’t matter more than Ukraine or Myanmar or Kashmir or Congo. But it matters in a different way, because Western nations are the primary engine of this genocide. And it is only the West that can stop this.
If you care about Western values of liberty, justice and universal human rights, Palestine is the issue. About due process, Palestine is the issue. About free speech, Palestine is the issue. About international law being respected, Palestine is the issue. About the right of all human beings to have access to food, clean water and medical care, Palestine is the issue. About children being safe from bombs falling on them as they sleep, Palestine is the issue. About the crime of targeting hospitals, infrastructure and shelters, Palestine is the issue. About not demolishing people’s homes, destroying their livelihoods and forcibly moving them into concentration camps, Palestine is the issue. About not starving people as collective punishment, Palestine is the issue. About protecting our biosphere, Palestine is the issue.
Our very fate lies in how we, as a civilization, meet this moment. Palestine matters because we have stated over and over and over again that all human beings matter. And if the West really believes this, it has done a horrendous job of demonstrating that so far.
Kenn Orphan, May 2025
Kenn Maurice Orfanos (Orphan) 
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It certainly is.
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I’m 100% on the same page as you are Kenn. So what do we do, each in our own way, to push back and take up peaceful arms to put an end to the destruction of Palestine. I am a Canadian so have no idea how I can have an impact. If I was American, I could raise my voice and the voices of my family, relatives, and neighbours to revolt against government financial support to Israel’s leadership to continue the destruction of Palestine. As a member, through family, of the Jewish community, even though I’m a Roman Catholic, I cannot condone slaughter of innocents. I greave the loss of my sisters and brothers in the attack on Israel. There is an ancient truth, “two wrongs do not make a right.” Perhaps we should reflect on that and change our attitude to Palestine of one of caring and concert and not utter destruction. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
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