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For how many years, the Filipinos have been colonized by different countries—come to think that it hasn't been that long since the country gained its independence. But it is worse to know that in the present day, a country is experiencing something horrifically similar on a much more lethal level. Contrary to those who are not very familiar, this started back in 1947, 78 years ago, and is still the case today. The very act of ethnic cleansing that the Israelites are condemning the Palestinians for is an attempt to erase their culture for their benefit of occupying their land. It even went to the extreme measure of accepting a cease-fire during January of 2025, only to break it during March of 2025. One can imagine how this all came into fruition and how it came into the media on an unprecedented level. On October 7th, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel—citing the ongoing blockade and occupation Israel has on Palestinian land as the reason. While Hamas’ actions may have caused many innocent Israelites' lives to be taken due to the attack as well as many hostages being taken, what else could they have done? When your homeland has been constantly treated like it was not yours for years—the urge to rebel builds up. Their words were not being heard. They needed to take action. A rebellion was needed so they could be heard. The fact that it needed to come to that point in itself proves the buildup of nationalistic rebellion Palestinians had due to Israel’s continuation of ignorance. In response to this, Israel launches a deadly counter attack against Hamas that continues long after October 7th. Israel cites this attack only for Hamas, though multiple reports from news articles claim that even civilians who have nothing to do with this conflict were affected. For the next year, Israel continues their attack on the Palestinians in what could only be described as a genocide, bombing the civilians as well as buildings. With this, the rise of Palestinian journalists such as Bisan Owda and Motaz Azaiza continues their courageous documentation of what they describe as a genocide in their land. A multitude of videos from Palestinian citizens on social media also document the harsh conditions that they have to face due to Israel's onslaught. Many Palestinian families also go on social media platforms such as TikTok to try and gain funding via donations to help them during these trying times. These videos show a clear violation of human rights that Palestinians are facing, to the point that they have to rely on aid from strangers on the internet to just get by and survive. The ethnic cleansing that the Palestinian citizens are experiencing from Israel makes the culture of Palestinians at risk of being forgotten due to the community that practices this culture being mercilessly killed. The occupation of Israel on Palestinian land also contributes to this. Just look at the occupation of the Philippines by the Spaniards from 1565 to 1898—the original way that Filipinos wrote and spoke was erased during the time of occupation. This is why Filipinos should not be dissimilar to the idea of culture being erased. That is why the people, especially us Filipinos, should not turn their backs on a country that is experiencing the same event on a much greater level of severity. History is repeating itself in the present day, and that is a horrifying thought. Culture makes up a community. It is the heart, the soul, and the identity of people. It is a source of morality and faith. The absence of culture means the absence of the community that builds on it. The eradication of Palestinians means the eradication of culture. Israel shows no signs of stopping their attacks and shows no remorse for their actions. Palestinians’ resilience should be applauded, though it should not end in mere appraisal of their resilience. We must speak up, donate to families in need, if possible, be well informed to avoid misinformation, and try our best to help the Palestinians from far away so that they earn their freedom as well as preserve their culture and prevent what happened to our own culture, erased. Empathy through phone and TV screens is not enough; action must be taken to help those in need. Even the bare minimum act of staying well informed is a good starting place to help.