Today a tremendous spectacle ended in Qatar, and whoever you were for, it was a great World Cup for Palestine. As we covered in a video that got over 1 million views, Palestine took center stage at the tournament. The Palestinian flag was flown by football fans and by the Moroccan team that improbably made it into the semifinals.
Morocco buoyed Palestinian hopes of competing in the eyes of the world and gave heart to the boycott movement that is isolating Israel over human rights violations.
The Palestinian symbolism was inescapable even for the U.S. media; the Washington Post quoted one football/soccer fan saying that they flew the Palestinian flag for all the people killed in occupied territories this year. Over 150 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, and settler pogroms against Palestinians were at a record high this year, with 2023 promising to be even worse, as an extremist Israeli coalition is likely to take over the government soon.
The American press has done its utmost to ignore those deaths, but that extremist Israeli coalition is at last rocking American Jewry. Even the New York Times and Tom Friedman are expressing fear about what Israel has become– and urging Benjamin Netanyahu to rethink his plans before Israel loses more support among liberal Zionists and, in turn, the Democratic Party. As if “managed conflict,” in which Palestinians die week after week for demanding their rights, is a happy outcome.
Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah, and when I light my candle tonight I will take pride in the signs that many young Jews are awakening to the damage of Zionism. This is a vital process if there is to be a Jewish future– but more for the Palestinian future. We mourn yet another unarmed teenager whose dreams were cruelly extinguished by soldiers the U.S. helps fund– and protects from all consequences.
As Qatar witnessed, Palestinians are engaged in a great and historic struggle. Which side are you on?
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“Palestinians die week after week for demanding their rights… are engaged in a great and historic struggle.”
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Are there terms or conditions on which struggling with rocks might end?