I was asked recently why I would support the right of the people of Gaza not to be the victims of genocide by the Zionist state, given that the freedoms afforded women and the LGBTQ+ community in Israel are much greater than those from Hamas.

Asking people to choose between personal freedom, liberty and in some cases simply not being killed and rights for minorities can in no way be considered enlightened. To tell you the truth, this is really just an trope put up by racists and misogynist types who no more care about the plight of disadvantaged communities anywhere, but perhaps it does need answering.

Personally, I don’t believe in totalitarianism of any form. Yes, a totalitarian regime that treats people and the planet well is better than one which destroys and plunders, but neither are a very good choice, and I wouldn’t be opting to live under either.

The truth is, when a people are exploited, colonised and subject to oppression in the way the Palestinians are, the rule of law breaks down, and crimes against people, such as homophobia and domestic violence are overlooked. A people have to be given freedom and trust, and allowed to meet there only basic needs to allow them think about progressive ideals. In the same way that you would expect people to be able to feed the,selves and their families before they can start thinking about protecting the environment, even in situations where environmental deterioration has made their ability to feed themselves precarious, (This is also rational, given that it’s the environmental damage and climate change that has been caused by global capitalism and not the actions of small subsistence farmers that has damaged the ability of many people to feed themselves in the same way previous generations did.

True democracy, freedom and empowerment always leads people to make the right decisions for everyone. A key green principle is having decisions made at the lowest effective level. These things always take time, but when oppression or conditions of violent conflict exist, there can be a tendency to opt for leaders who fit into the “strong men who get things done” category – this type of authoritarian regime rarely considers progressive issues important – and in Gaza’s case this currently means Hamas. You could be pretty confident that given democracy in the absence of existential threat that the people of Gaza would come around to better rights for women and the LGBTQ+ community.

Israel itself lives in the shadow of ultra-right wing conservative groups, some of which have an influence in or are in coalition with the government. Given that they have targeted medical personnel and journalists, and have not shown any sign that they are even sparing women and children, it is unlikely that any kind of occupying force would in any way go easy on women or the LGBTQ+ community.

I don’t have to make any excuse to support Gaza or Palestine, the truth that what is happening now is clearly Genocide of a people, in order to maintain a situation of conflict that suits elements in the Zionist camp.

Let’s stop killing people first, and then talk about rights, (and the environment).