We've been conducting a roundtable here 'round the challenge to come up with some positive formula toward a solution in Israel/Palestine, reflecting the fact that the left is finally in the house. Today Sammer Aboelela, a leader of Muslim progressives in the New York area, and my roommate in Gaza, weighs in with some concrete proposals on "How to build a popular American movement around the moral imperative of Palestinian human rights."
Due to our massive investment in Palestinian oppression, we Americans are in a unique position of influence. As it stands, a hawkish minority view of the conflict has overwhelmed the mainstream media – the best way to counter this, in my opinion, is with grassroots action. My personal impression is that the vast majority of Americans are largely apathetic when it comes to the conflict and essentially ignorant of the Palestinian struggle. If the conflict can be understood as a human rights struggle by a sizable percentage of the American population, political pressure can be applied from the bottom up.
This, of course, is not a new idea. Motivated by the Civil Rights and South African antiapartheid movements, individuals and organizations have been engaged in this kind of work for decades. An American movement for Palestinian rights faces certain unique challenges, not least of which is the special sort of racism that lumps all Arab peoples into the category of ‘terrorist’ and attempts to rationalize the state murder of innocents and the denial of basic human rights as necessary to maintaining both American and Israeli security. Nevertheless, the success of past movements demonstrates that Americans have a tremendous capacity for empathy when it comes to the suffering of oppressed peoples, and a popular movement that articulates a compelling moral imperative can overcome well-financed and politically-entrenched opposition. Here are some of the key steps I think are immediately required in order for us to move forward: <Br>
1. “Detribalize” the Narrative
Most Americans are neither Arab nor Jewish and the casting of the conflict as a struggle between age-old tribal enemies only serves to subvert popular interest. AIPAC has capitalized on this perception, but even organizations like J-Street play into this a bit by engaging in an “intra-tribal” battle for the Jewish soul. Of course, this struggle is an important one for the Jewish community to sort out for itself, but in the grand scheme it should be seen for the sideshow that it is. Recast the plight of Palestinians more honestly – as the struggle for human rights (including the right to protection under established law) that it is – and it suddenly becomes more relevant to all of us American taxpayers so heavily invested in Palestinian disenfranchisement.
2. Humanize the Palestinian People and their Struggle
In Gaza, Phil and I had the opportunity to witness the Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation firsthand. We saw fishermen steadfastly leaving shore before dawn knowing that harassment, kidnapping, and possibly worse await them as they peaceably go about their trade. Gazan farmers unable to import fertilizer due to the siege are learning and applying organic farming methods in order to feed their families and neighbors. Blockade-subverting tunnels are abuzz with activity… digging, hauling, loading, unloading – the work to bring in outlawed essentials is relentless.
This is the nature of the people and their resistance. In Obama’s speech to the world’s Muslims last month, he scolded the violent fraction of the Palestinian resistance and with finger in full (metaphorical) wag, insisted that Palestinians adopt a non-violent strategy. It’s a pity that our President should remain ignorant of the remarkable spirit of gentle defiance with which the farmers, fishermen, and tunnel workers go about their respective trades. When Israeli gunships shoot at Gazan fishermen, no one returns fire. When remote-controlled gun towers fire upon Gazan farmers, there is no violent rebuttal. A determined non-violent survival ethic is the main driving force of the Gazan resistance. It is a shame that this is such a poorly understood fact.
3. Messaging to a Wider American Audience
As we walked through the farms and spoke to farmers living under the constant threat of being shot while working their own land, I wondered how American farmers in the Midwest would relate to this story. As we spoke to fishermen unable to make a living or feed their families due to the maritime attacks by occupation forces, I thought about America’s career and sport fishermen. Do these struggles relate more directly to certain Americans than the 2009 massacre of Gaza?
In order to advance a popular American movement in support of Palestine, it will be critical to involve Americans who have up until now remained ambivalent or ignorant with respect to the conflict. This means describing the conflict in terms that relate to the lives of the people we’re trying to reach. For many, human and moral struggles are infinitely more compelling than political policy and punditry. As long as the Palestinian struggle is obscured by political language or racist hatespeech, large swaths of the American population will remain disinterested.
So that’s what I propose. It’s more an approach to the problem than a solution, but I feel that as long as the United States is going to continue playing an enormous role, there’s a need for the American people to understand the Palestinian struggle if there’s to be hope for an equitable resolution. We need writers, journalists, documentarians, artists, and grassroots organizers to spread a message that the mainstream media won’t touch. We need to be willing to engage sincerely with Americans who do not share our ideological disposition.
