As headlines poured in, reporting death tolls and non-militant buildings being bombed by Israel, the country’s actions just didn’t make sense to me.
The more I read, the less defensible the killing seemed.

I simply did not understand.

As massive protests erupted in Islamic countries and communities around the world, I wondered what these people must think of us. Obviously the U.S. is not Israel, and we have no say over their military actions.

Then again, do Muslims around the world see the distinction?

There were pictures of the packed house at a temple in downtown Santa Barbara to support Israel during this unprecedented military offensive in Gaza, where half the Palestinian population consists of children.

People poured out for the Martin Luther King Day parade. Lord knows Santa Barbara loves a good parade.

Yet only about 10 people were concerned enough about the innocent civilians being killed by the Israeli military to come out and protest.

When it came to the news, nobody was asking the hard questions. Every day innocent men, women and children were massacred – literally trapped inside a war zone with nowhere to go.

As Israel continued to bomb the living crap out of the Gaza strip, I realized how little I knew about the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

I knew that at the heart of the problem, both Jews and Muslims considered the region their Mecca – holy land given to them by God. But that’s ancient history. It couldn’t possibly be the only motivation for extreme, militant fundamentalists like Hamas.

To be clear, I am not at all interested in Hamas’s motives or aspirations. The vast majority of the Palestinian populations are not terrorists. However, because of a rocky past – rife with wars – between Israelis and Palestinians, the Israeli government treats the entire Palestinian population as if they were.

Even within Palestinian controlled areas of Israel, there are two roads. One is for Israelis, the other for Palestinians. There are also two distinctly colored license plates, for easy identification at a glance.

Do the words “separate but equal” sound familiar?

The Israeli roads are similar to ours – paved and kept-up by the government. Palestinian roads, on the other hand, are often unpaved and completely obstructed in places.

We’re not talking Jews and Muslims, mind you. The distinctions made by the government are Israeli and Palestinian. Religion is not the deciding factor.

As they navigate their second-class roads, Palestinians living in the West Bank must pass through military checkpoints set up by Israel.

These are not your average DUI checkpoints.

Palestinians traveling from one town or city to another are often stopped for hours at a time, or even all day. They are at the whims of the military, which does not care if they are on their way to school, work or even the hospital.

The Palestinian people living in the West Bank live a completely segregated lifestyle. It effectively stops ordinary, hard-working people from holding down a job or going to school. Let alone getting to the hospital at night should emergencies arise.

Many people think that protesting Israel’s relentless bombing of Gaza means they support terrorists like Hamas. They are afraid of the “anti-Semite” label that I often heard in response to supporting the defenseless civilians in Gaza.

Sure, Israel is a powerful U.S. ally. However, we pay $10 million every day for their support in the very explosive region.

The rationale that Hamas desires only war and Israel only wants peace is clearly not the message being sent to Palestinians, and for that matter, the entire Muslim world.