Why?
1. It's wrong to stab someone.
2. In most cases the attackers are throwing their lives away.
3. There are more effective and just means of "protest" available.
Below the yellow concrete barrier for more:
Yes, I know there are allegations that soldiers/settlers have shot Palestinians for making a wrong move and then planted knives on them. And that various Israeli officials have suggested police and citizens should arm themselves and shoot at the first sign of trouble. And that Israelis Jews have picked up knives, firebombs, chairs and stones, doing much same. I can recite a long list of grievances and do a much better job than most detailing the hundreds of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces just this year alone (chances are you didn't know a 2 year old died in an Israeli bombing of Gaza this month). I can also demonstrate plainly that Palestinian concerns over the status-quo on al-Aqsa are very well founded.
But it's all besides the point, because the truth is that a number of young Palestinians have chosen to grab a knife or a screwdriver or a gun and attempted to murder an Israeli Jew or an Israeli soldier. That's wrong, no two ways around it.
What's worse, there is a better way. Which would be more effective and result in less death.
And that way is peaceful protest, including mass marches like this one organized by the Arab Joint List in Nazareth, or this regular protest that has occured every week for ten years in the West Bank town of Bil'in. I wish those protest marches asked the world to join in an international boycott of Israeli goods as a specific action. Or settlement products if that's what people can stomach, just as some (including me) aren't in favor of cultural/academic boycotts, while others are. If there are people who don't support boycotts, only renewed talks, well that's great too. It's been tried for 48 years with no result, but they should be made welcome in the protests.
I wish the global press would cover the protests with the same zeal they cover every stabbing attack. Clearly, if it bleeds it leads, but it does not have to be that way. A compelling story can be created around non-violent action. It needs imagination, perseverance and discipline. Some of which the BDS movement has demonstrated.
Supporting a boycott in Israel can leave you liable to damages in a civil suit. Well, let thousands of people march in support of BDS and let's see Israeli courts enforce civil judgements against all of them, and let's see Israeli judges send these people to jail for failing to pay up. Let the marchers say they're following in the footsteps of Gandhi, Mandela and MLK. Let's see what clamping down on this movement gets Netanyahu. Such a crackdown turned public opinion resolutely against British rule in India. And let's see counter-protests by far-right Israelis chanting "Death to Arabs" and "Death to Leftists", we'll learn whether the world thinks better of them than it did of Bull Connor. Israeli claims of "political terrorism" will be dismissed by the vast majority of the world. As will the elaborate obfuscations of pro-Israel supporters who are spinning their wheels overtime to discredit and stall the BDS movement here. There's no such thing as bad publicity for BDS, so welcome their hatred.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians know this is the right way. Like Aziz Abu Sarah, who wrote:
But just like Israelis who think military force will bring stability, Palestinians who think a violent intifada will end the occupation are also wrong. Palestinians tried armed struggle in the Second Intifada and it failed. The result was thousands of dead with no political gain.
[...]
I was born in Jerusalem: I was born under Israeli occupation and martial law. I have never known freedom. I am not a citizen in the land I was born in. As an East Jerusalem resident, I am neither an Israeli nor a Palestinian citizen. And when I was 8 years old I started throwing stones, not because I believed stones would bring me freedom, but because I felt it gave me a voice and an outlet for powerlessness. What other way could I make my voice heard? Now, years later, I realize there are other ways, but I still understand the frustration, anger, and feeling of hopelessness.
So I wish Palestinians would stop stabbing people, and the people encouraging them on social media would channel their energy towards non-violent protest. It will have results.