The Israeli-Palestinian conflict isn’t just a human rights issue. It’s a feminist one. Here’s why. Monday, I posted about the #JewsAndArabsRefuseToBeEnemies social media campaign. But why does a post about something involving peace in the Middle East belong on a site like Feministing? As our own Anna Sterling once wrote, after covering immigration issues,  ”Many commenters on Feministing asked why immigration is a feminist issue. Feminism is strictly gender, right? Equal pay, glass ceiling, abortion and all that? Well, no, actually.”

Those of us who like our feminism intersectional, see issues of gender, race, ethnicity, class, culture , sexuality etc as inextricably related, as are struggles against oppression based on these categories. But sometimes, the connections are more explicit. As I wrote yesterday, an Israeli academic actually said that the only way to deterr a Palestinian terrorist was by raping his sister. And as Amnesty International wrote in a report,

Palestinian women have borne the brunt of the escalation of the conflict and decades of Israeli occupation, while in Palestinian society they are subjected to a system of laws and norms that treats them as unequal members of society.

Some handy infograhics that show how the conflict is relevant to feminism have been posted by  INCITE!, “a national activist organization of radical feminists of color advancing a movement to end violence against our communities through direct action, critical dialogue, and grassroots organizing.” The first infographic was made by BCU Palestinian Society and the other two were made by INCITE:

Originally posted on Feministing