Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv demanding an end to the war and for a ceasefire in order to release the remaining hostages. Unsurprisingly, the Netanyahu regime accused them of participating in “Hamas support riots.” It has become a running joke that anyone who opposes Israel’s genocide in any way, big or small, is aligned with or supporters of “Hamas.” Ms. Rachel, Greta Thunberg, Piers Morgan, Marjorie Taylor Green, the entire country of Ireland. This paranoid delusional list gets longer every day.

To be sure, polls show that the majority of Israeli society is in the grip of genocidal mania. It is a social landscape drenched in the racist ideology of Zionism and its attendant infrastructure of apartheid, which has been meticulously constructed over decades. This, along with impunity for its litany of crimes, has created a society that is completely out of touch with its own character. Dehumanization of the Palestinians has been woven into the DNA of the Zionist state. And despite Holocaust scholars, prominent human rights organizations (including ones within Israel) and the ICJ correctly calling out Israel’s genocide, most Israelis continue to think of themselves as the victims.

But while it is easy to be cynical about Israelis, it is also important to recognize that human beings have agency. They can change. And this protest, while a minority in the country, is a sign that cracks are forming in the edifice of Israel’s mythological image of it being the “only democracy in the Middle-East.” These Israelis are finding out that they too are subject to the same smears. But the propaganda, or hasbara, isn’t having the same impact that it once had.

This summer, Israelis have been finding out that they are not welcome when they travel abroad. Protests and other forms of shunning have happened in Greece, Thailand, Bosnia and beyond. And this has nothing to do with antisemitism, as some apologists would have us believe, but entirely to do with Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

While there is a long road to travel for these Israelis to understand this, it is not naive to hope that most eventually will. Of course, this is small comfort to the millions of Palestinians who are now facing annihilation at the hands of the Israeli state. They cannot wait for Israelis to have a change of heart, as they are bombed, burned, shot and starved.

Gaza has been utterly destroyed by the endless cruelty of Israeli bombardment. Tens of thousands of children have been slaughtered, with thousands more on the brink of death due to Israel’s policy of starvation. But the Palestinians who remain need our solidarity and commitment. We cannot afford the privilege of giving up when they continue to fight for survival. And when our own governments are the primary engine of this entire nightmare, it is our duty.

Therefore, the lion share of pressure must happen from outside Israel. It, along with the US (its primary benefactor) must be isolated. Cut off from all relations with democratic institutions. And other Western leaders must be pressured to immediately enact sanctions and implement divestment. Every tool must be used to stop Israel’s horrendous crimes, just as was done with apartheid South Africa. Only now, the stakes are much higher.

Genocide is the endgame for humanity. There is no greater crime. If it is allowed to continue or its enablers and the genocidaires who perpetrate it are allowed to get away without consequence, everything else will be rendered meaningless. Therefore, it must be opposed in every way possible. And people of conscience should demand nothing less than its complete demise.

Kenn Orfanos, August 2025

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said in an interview that he feels “very” attached to the idea of a “Greater Israel.” This crackpot “vision” is for Israel to conquer not only historic Palestine, but parts of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and parts or all of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

This used to be a conspiracy theory. But it isn’t anymore. It is out in the open for the world to see. And he isn’t alone in sharing this “vision.” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has also peddled the idea of a “Greater Israel”, along with many other far-right Israelis.

This past week, Netanyahu announced his plans to take over all of Gaza, something that Israel had already done in practice through a complete blockade of the enclave in 2007. But the world’s biggest concentration camp has been almost completely razed to dust by continuous Israeli bombardment over the last two years. And Israel intends to corral its remaining population into smaller and more squalid camps, for them to await deportation or worse.

In the occupied West Bank, the plan to annex the remaining Palestinian territories is already underway. In fact, pogroms, harassment, vandalism and murders of unarmed Palestinians committed by Israeli settlers is a daily occurrence, and all with the protection of the IDF.

So, it is clear that the words of Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders should be taken seriously. They have boldly announced their genocidal intent for two years. Israel has bombed Lebanon and Syria throughout that time, even as it carries out a genocide in Gaza. Now they are telling us what the potential next step will be. Whether or not they can pull it off isn’t the point. If it is implemented, it is the instability and untold suffering for millions of people in the region that should concern us.

It should not be surprising if all of this reminds us of the plans of another regime, in another country, on another continent, in another time… 1939. And we all know what happened when that “vision” was made into a reality.

Kenn Orfanos, August 2025

For nearly two years people of conscience have been warning about the trajectory of Israel’s assault on Gaza. Begging people to pay attention and speak out while being accused of antisemitism for daring to oppose an obvious genocide.

Those of us who have been writing about human rights long before this were not fazed. We understood this cynical, baseless and insidious tactic of the apartheid state. We knew the difference between Judaism and Zionism and that conflating them is the real antisemitism.

Now much of the media and several Western governments are beginning to realize what they have been funding, supporting and whitewashing. Genocide, the very worst crime against humanity. But for tens of thousands of people, it is too late. And what broke the camel’s back?

The carpet bombing of apartments and entire city blocks wasn’t enough. The biggest population of child amputees in the world wasn’t enough. The largest mass murder of journalists in any conflict in history wasn’t enough. The rape and torture of surgeons, physicians and nurses wasn’t enough. The shooting of toddlers in the neck by Israeli snipers wasn’t enough. Leaving a young man with Down’s Syndrome to die alone in fear and agony without his family wasn’t enough. Detaining healthcare staff and leaving new born babies to die in incubators wasn’t enough. Murdering little Hind and the paramedics coming to help her wasn’t enough. Countless genocidal statements from Israeli politicians and media figures wasn’t enough. Scores of TikTok videos posted by IDF soldiers documenting their crimes wasn’t enough. The total destruction of bakeries, desalinization plants, shelters, hospitals, cafes, tents, ambulances, universities, cancer treatment facilities, farms, kindergartens, mosques, churches wasn’t enough. And for a very long time, mass imposed starvation wasn’t enough.

Now that Gaza is in stage 5 for famine, many are speaking out. And this is welcome. But the arms keep flowing. The blockade is still in effect. And there have yet to be sanctions on Israel.

When will that turning point be reached? Or have we come to a point where the world finally acknowledges the worst crime of the 21st century and shrugs its shoulders?

Kenn Orfanos, August 2025

*Photo is of nine-year-old Maryam Duvvas. She is currently receiving treatment at Patient Friends Association Hospital in Gaza City. She is in critical condition from severe malnutrition and not expected to survive due to Israel’s continued blockade of medicines and IV nutrition.

Recently, two of the leading Israeli human rights organizations (B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel) concluded that Israel was, in fact, committing genocide against the Palestinians. This is a conclusion already reached by the world’s leading scholars on genocide, as well as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. How many more voices does it take for Western leaders to take the necessary action to stop this? How many more scholars, and physicians, and human rights organizations?

As Gaza enters the 5th stage of famine, one manufactured and implemented by the Israeli regime with the support and assistance of the United States, we are witnessing the complete hypocrisy, shallowness and corruption of Western institutions and norms. Even though there have been weak public relations gestures, like certain nations recognizing a Palestinian state, the money and weapons are still flowing.

In fact, while fascism grows in the US thanks to the Trump regime, the bloodlust becomes more obvious and depraved. From repugnant ghouls like Senator Randy Fine posting tweets welcoming the murder of Palestinian children to the fascist monster-in-chief, Donald Trump, demanding Palestinians express gratitude for food they either never received or are shot at while trying to obtain. The far right end of the political class is displaying its sadism in real time. It was always there, but the mask has now been obliterated. And thanks to the feckless arrogance and stupidity of Maga, its reputation will never be restored.

But there are cracks in the edifice of Israeli impunity. Polls show wide disapproval of the Israeli regime and its horrendous crimes. Even far right politicians like Marjorie Taylor Green are denouncing this genocide, outdoing even the supposedly left “squad” member, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The successes of Zohran Mamdani, who gained popularity in one of the most Jewish cities in the US, has been stunning given his open condemnation of Netanyahu and Israeli atrocities. And polling of younger Jewish Americans shows a clear break with support for the apartheid state.

In addition to this, Israelis are beginning to feel the pressure. They have been turned away from a Greek Island and at restaurants in Thailand due to growing anger and disgust at a society that seems to revel in burning, bombing and starving tens of thousands of children. One thing is apparent, most of the world has turned against Israel, even if their leaders are slow to action.

Israel has been one of the most important colonial assets of the American Empire. But as the list of its crimes grow by the day, that asset is becoming a liability. One which the US may not be able to afford for much longer. Especially, given the precarious state of American institutions and its badly damaged economy. It has already lost billions in tourism, as Trump’s disrespectful and belligerence toward other nations grow. As stories of concentration camps and violent border control agents and lawless ICE thugs mount. As it continues to support the genocidal state, its public face will only become more sullied.

But none of this helps the millions of Palestinians now. At this stage of the famine, it is too late for tens of thousands of children, elderly and sick. They will never come back from this. Now, the remaining population, when not being bombed or shot by Israeli snipers and American mercenaries, are being corralled into concentration camps, awaiting death or forced deportation. Israeli politicians dream of a riviera, replete with luxury hotels, marinas and restaurants. But it is more likely that it will eventually replace Gaza with hideous settlements, as seen across the occupied West Bank. Homes devoid of character and devoid of the Indigenous population. Fascist communities full of racist fanatics.

Gaza has sealed the fate of the West, even if the repercussions are not felt for decades. The damage has been done. There is no way to undo what has been witnessed by billions of people, both in the West and in the Global South. No way to forget the scale of this evil or the suffering. It will stay with us all. Whether an apologist, an apathetic nothing, or a person of conscience, the cruelty meted out on its people will impact every single relationship, interaction and transaction we make. It will define us as a society for centuries. But it has also been a clarifying moment.

We now know, beyond the shadow of a doubt where our leaders, institutions, media and public figures stand when it comes to the most heinous crime against humanity on the books. And for that, we should be grateful. Because we know that those who have either cheer leaded this on or stayed silent to the bitter end will never oppose brutality against any of us. We know they can never be trusted again.

Kenn Orphan, July 2025

Some are praising Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, as well as Kier Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, for saying they will recognize Palestine as a state. For Starmer, it is conditional on Israel agreeing to a ceasefire. If it does, the UK will back down once again and allow Israel to continue its colonial project. But anyone who has followed this issue for any length of time understands how untruthful and unrealistic this proposal is, when one considers the facts on the ground.

Israel has steadily stolen land from historic Palestine since the Nakba in 1948, when Zionist militias violently expelled Palestinians from their lands. In fact, Gaza is largely made up of refugees who suffered from this blatant act of ethnic cleansing. After dismantling its illegal settlements in Gaza in 2005, it blockaded the enclave up to the present day, trapping over 2 million people in a concentration camp where food was restricted and where they were routinely bombed and surveilled by the Israeli occupation forces.

Israel has funded and supported illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank for decades which has carved up the territory into isolated islands. Palestinians there have been terrorized by violent settlers for years. Separated from their farmlands and other villages by checkpoints and walls. Forced to use separate roads from Jewish Israelis. Subjected to military tribunal, night raids, random abductions and pogroms led by settlers and protected by the IDF.

So, what will this Palestinian “state” look like? Israel has already said it would not recognize a Palestinian state. But even if it did, it would be an ungovernable group of Bantustans. And Israel would still enforce its will over the land and the skies. Is this what they mean by sovereignty?

The two state “solution” has always been a lie. It has always been a way to justify colonial dispossession of the Palestinians. Since its founding, Israel has been illegal. It has no right to the land. And its construction of an elaborate apartheid system that rivels apartheid South Africa is a testament to this. The international players, which operate from the mindset of European colonial empire, have used this supposed “peace process” as a ruse to allow Israel to complete its own colonial settler project.

Let’s be clear, Carney and the other European leaders do not care about the mass murder of civilians in Gaza by the Israeli and American regimes. They care about their reputations and the very real possibility that they will be found complicit in this genocide. After all, it took them nearly two years to finally make a peep. Two years of carpet bombing, shootings of toddlers and mass starvation. Two years of complete destruction of hospitals, bakeries, shelters, universities and nearly every structure in the enclave. Two years of Israeli politicians and media openly using genocidal rhetoric. Two years of Israeli soldiers brazenly posting their crimes online for all to see. And it was the most feeble and mealymouthed peep imaginable.

It is time for the two state lie to be buried in the dustheap of history where it belongs. The only solution is a one state solution. And this is not a pipedream. Israel and Palestine are already one state. An apartheid state that is engaging in genocide of its indigenous population. The solution is to end this genocide and dismantle the infrastructure of apartheid. The solution is for there to be a reckoning for war criminals and genocidaires. For a Truth and Reconciliation process. And for all residents of historic Palestine to have full citizenship with equal rights. The solution is for Western political leaders to finally listen to their own constituents and end this charade once and for all. Anything less than this is a cynical ploy aimed at whitewashing the political image of the few, while millions of people stand on the precipice of annihilation.

Kenn Orphan, July 2025

Why are so many apologists for Israel’s genocide in Gaza suddenly changing their tune now? Why are political opportunists like Hillary Clinton suddenly choosing to highlight the human-made famine? Because they have seen the photographs of skeletal babies too. But this is not about empathy or solidarity. This is about reputational damage control.

Clinton has said nothing about Israel’s blockade, or the flattening of Gaza, or the thousands killed or maimed by Israeli carpet-bombing which far outdoes previous wars. She has said nothing about her own complicity or her condescending condemnation of student protestors as they spoke out against an obvious genocide.

Clinton, along with Barrack Obama, Keir Starmer, Mark Carney, Emmanuel Macron and Hakeem Jeffries know that their tepid lamentations will have absolutely no material effect. Strongly worded tweets mean nothing when policy remains virtually unchanged. When there are no sanctions or consequences to actions. They know that Israel enjoys unprecedented impunity as it carries out the Final Solution in Gaza. They know that it is already too late for thousands of Palestinian children who can never recover from this imposed starvation even if food and formula were allowed in. The only thing they care about are their rancid reputations.

Media figures like Piers Morgan and Bari Weiss are also doing reputational damage control. Their ghoulish complicity in the 21st century’s worst crime against humanity is on the record. The internet never forgets. But they desperately want us to do just that as they construct a facsimile of a humanity they never possessed to begin with.

No one is saying that people can’t change their minds or that those with enormous influence should remain silent. But there is a difference between changing your mind based on learning the facts and changing your message based on reading the room.

All of these people knew exactly what Israel was doing from the very start. They heard Israeli politicians openly using genocidal language and incitement. They saw the mass graves and rubble. They witnessed the torture of Palestinian prisoners, the targeting of medical staff and journalists, the bombing of hospitals, bakeries and water treatment facilities. They heard the cries of little Hind as she called emergency services to save her from an Israeli tank that murdered her family and eventually murdered her.

The role these people played in providing cover for genocide, or even cheering it on, should never be forgiven. They must never have a days rest as long as they live. And in a sane world, they should face charges for their complicity in this genocide, the very worst crime imaginable against humanity.

Kenn Orfanos, July 2025

Everyone likes to think they would have saved people from the Nazis. That they would have hid people from them or even fought them. That they would have risked everything, even their own life. But the truth is much darker.

The prism of distance is a drug. Distance from a place. Distance from a time. It entrances us with a romanticized picture of history and of choices. The people in these stories become archetypes. Not flesh, blood and bone humans like us. They are devoid of the shadows that we contend with. Every decision is a moral and courageous moment to prevail over dire circumstances. But if so many of us fear the stigma or association with being labeled a bigot for simply opposing the murder of children, how can we believe we would have opposed the Nazis when they rolled into our village or city?

This drug is one of the most potent on earth, because it can be used by leaders or influential people to ignore the current reality in exchange for some imagined moral greatness. But every day we face the same choice. To be human, or to dissolve any trace of it.

Decades after those camps were closed and the dead disintegrated into dust, new camps have been opened. Different in optics, but exact in intent. Annihilation of that other we have been conditioned to dehumanize. We exchanged their insignias for new ones, but the monsters are the same. Only this time, we are on the wrong side of that red line.

Gaza is close to being erased. Almost every building has been reduced to rubble. Tombs for their inhabitants. The people who have survived thus far are being massacred every single day as they are starved by the Israeli regime. Corralled like cattle into ever shrinking pens, desperate for food or water, but really just waiting to be slaughtered.

We watch it all being normalized as it unfolds. The extermination process being presented as “humanitarian aid.” And we are scolded if we simply say what we see with our own eyes.

Gaza gives us a glimpse into the abyss of our deepest fears. A terrifying look at how depraved our leaders can actually be. How comfortable they are with evil. A clear window that shows us how shallow and meaningless our civilization is when its leaders are asked, begged, pleaded with to do the most simple of things. To stop killing people. To stop killing children. Or to just stop arming the assailants.

When this is over. And it will be over at some point. Some will try to understand our powerlessness in the face of such blatant evil. Such raw sadism. Others will try to rewrite the script. What many of us have found out, to our everlasting horror, is that most of us wouldn’t be the hero in a story about fighting fascism or state brutality. Not necessarily the villain. Maybe not the collaborator. But certainly not the ones who risked it all.

Some of us will carry on with our lives as if nothing ever happened. But there are many of us who will carry it all with them to the grave. One thing is certain, none of us will ever be the same again. The relationships that have been severed. The families that have been split. The friendships that have been broken. None of them can be mended after this. Even the indifferent ones will taste life differently. Bitterly. Indeed, Gaza will haunt us all, every one of us, for every single day we have left on this earth.

Kenn Orphan, June 2025

I remember reading about the firebombing of Dresden and Tokyo, and the aftermath of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II when I was a child. The photos depicted horrendous human and animal suffering. Yet, we were told it was all “necessary” to defeat German fascism and Japanese imperialism.

It was years later that I discovered this to be a lie. That there was no need to incinerate civilians. That in so many cases, the atrocities that took place were purely geopolitical strategies or merely out of some sadistic curiosity.

To be sure, I do understand the satisfaction many have at seeing an oppressive regime, belligerent bully or a brutal empire getting a taste of what they have dished out to millions of people. And I have no sympathy for the political leaders who engage in or cheer on genocide.

But war has always been at the pleasure of the powerful, and it is always the working class on either side who pay the ultimate price. They are the pawns. The disposable ones. The faceless who are erased from history or who get statues and memorials raised in their honour while the powerful place wreaths upon them and pontificate about their “sacrifice.” Meanwhile, arms dealers and weapons manufacturers lay on beaches in the riviera, sipping cocktails and counting their blood-soaked cash.

In our age, every war is a war against our biosphere. Every jet, tank and drone is fueled with the primordial blood of this planet. Every bomb inflicts a deep wound in the living loam of this world. A massacre not just of human beings, but of animals, trees, insects and all manner of life. Indeed, every war is an unforgiveable crime against the earth itself. And at some point, she will deal with her abuser.

This is not to shame anyone who feels a sense of comeuppance at some of the images and videos we are seeing. And the oppressed have every right to resist their oppressor in whatever means they have at their disposal. I understand this even more so after bearing witness to nearly two years of an ongoing genocide.

But at some point we must understand that if our species continues down this path, then war will eventually end us all.

*photo is of the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on Tehran.