“What others regard as ‘dirty work,’” psychologist Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi explained in 1983, “Israelis regard as defensible duty and even, in some cases, an exalted calling.”

Palestinian scientist and environmentalist Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh articulated this idea during his August 2023 visit to the Arizona-Mexico border. Journalist Todd Miller describes how, standing under the shadow of an Elbit surveillance tower, Dr. Qumsiyeh spoke of climate change as a “global nakba.” To fight against Elbit towers was to fight against the Global North’s apartheid response to climate change. “They want us to be divided and not a joint struggle,” Dr. Qumsiyeh said. “I don’t like the word solidarity. I’m not in solidarity with Native Americans. Their struggle is my struggle.”