This is a very important topic that should be discussed publicly much more often!
I myself was a zionist for much of my life, from maybe around 1976 up to the Second Intifada, I am very sorry to admit today, so at least 25 years, more than the first half of my adult life.
Why? Simply because before that, I never really took the effort to educate myself on the very openly available information on the origins of the conflict.
When I say „around 1976“, that was when I first learned in primary school about concentration camps, and also when my grandfather for the first time showed me the graves of his parents and grandparents in the Vienna Central Cemetery. He himself had emigrated to Bolivia in 1935, and his sister had been on one of the „child transports“ to the UK in 1938, so those two survived WWII. Every other member of the family was murdered in places like Mauthausen or Auschwitz. While he was not my „real“ grandfather, but the second husband of my grandmother, who she married after the death of my mother’s biological father, he was the only grandfather I ever met and a very important person for me in my youth, and the first example of Jewish Faith I encountered. From this I always had a rather strong personal conviction about the horrors the Jewish people had to endure, which also shaped my understanding of Middle Eastern politics. I still remember my personal shock when my cousin visited a family function at some time in the 1980s wearing a keffiyeh, at the time known as „Arafat scarf“, maybe not so much as a genuine political symbol as as fashion accessory - ill advised, in my opinion of the time.
I can not say today at what point in time exactly I started to research the topic more myself, but then it became clear to me that the history of this conflict is not as black and white as I always had thought.
And today, it dismays me even more, because what I take from my grandfather’s story is that „NEVER AGAIN must mean NEVER AGAIN“, and what the Israeli government - not only that of Netanyahu, but also virtually every other Israeli government before them, to varying extents - has been doing in Palestine is exactly what is prescribed by „NEVER AGAIN“. Unfortunately, my grandfather already passed in the 1980s, as I would really have loved to get his input on this topic. I am not sure what he would be thinking about all this today, or whether I would like what he would think.
Since then, I have however, also read other stories. I remember a story I read - unfortunately, I have forgotten who recounted it, it might have been Hannah Ahrendt. That person mentioned that when they emigrated to Israel after the war, they were assigned a house to live in. When they first came to the house, they were surprised that the house was not empty, but full of things including cooked dishes in the kitchen. When they inquired about that, the person asigning the house to them said „Sure, those are leftovers from the Arab family we cast out“, to which they said that they could not live under such circumstances, and that they would not want to become perpetrators of a similar evil as had been visited upon them, and decided to return to Europe instead.
One of the most shocking things, however, is that - while everybody in Germany and other countries claimed after the war, that they had had no idea of the horrible things that were happening - we are nowadays incredibly well informed about what is happening in Gaza, in the last few years even whithout having to do any kind of research on the topic.
This tragedy - I do not want to get into a discussion whether it is „a real genocide“, or „just war crimes“ and an Apartheid system of injustice happening is televised in 4K resolution, but Western governments - with very few notable exceptions - are supporting and enabling it.
And even worse, when you ask „normal people“ (Jewish people) in Israel about it, it is very obvious that generations of brainwashing have had their effects, and about 75% of normal, otherwise supposedly modern, enlightened and democratic people, are happy with their government‘s policies or wish they should even be stepped up. The majority of them - even many of those self-identifying as „left-wing“ - simply do not see Palestinian/Arab people as humans. Yes, there are notable exceptions, like the journalists who produced the „Naza“ documentary, or conscientious objectors to the IDF, but they are few and they actually do face persecution themselves in Israel.
How will it ever be possible to get those people (Jewish Israelis) back into the fold of civilisation?
And what can we personally do to stop these horrors from continuing?
I can understand everybody who just wants this to „go away“ because it is too harrowing, and simply wants to block it out, like any of the other injustices occurring today, like the suffering in Sudan, but somebody has to do something…
I understand my love's struggle. If he could, he would save all lives, I have no doubt. He's even started psychology studies to be able to help those around him 
But it's so exhausting to be caring about literally everything...
