[News] “This is apartheid”: rapper Jasiri X on visit to Palestine

[Anti-Imperialist News]

  “This is apartheid”: rapper Jasiri X on visit to Palestine

Amira Asad <http://electronicintifada.net/people/amira-asad>
The Electronic Intifada 
<http://electronicintifada.net/people/electronic-intifada>
10 February 2014*
http://electronicintifada.net/content/apartheid-rapper-jasiri-x-visit-palestine/13149*

Jasiri X <http://electronicintifada.net/tags/jasiri-x>, a hip-hop 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/hip-hop> emcee based in Pittsburgh, 
recently participated in a delegation of black American activists, 
academics and artists <http://blackonpalestine.tumblr.com/> to 
Palestine. The weeklong trip inspired his track “Checkpoint.” 
<http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/benjamin-doherty/watch-hip-hop-artist-jasiri-x-video-checkpoint>

Accompanied by hard-hitting breakbeats, it features the emcee detailing 
the types of persecution and harassment which Israeli soldiers inflict 
on Palestinians as a matter of routine. Referencing Martin Luther King 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/martin-luther-king>, Malcolm X and 
Nelson Mandela <http://electronicintifada.net/tags/nelson-mandela>, the 
track urges listeners to support the Palestinian call for boycott, 
divestment and sanctions <http://electronicintifada.net/tags/bds> (BDS) 
against Israel.

Originally from Chicago <http://electronicintifada.net/tags/chicago>, 
Jasiri X is unafraid to tackle political issues. His 2013 album 
/Ascension/ deals with the racist murder of Trayvon Martin 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/trayvon-martin>, the power of Wall 
Street and the corporate funding of election candidates.

Jasiri X spoke to Amira Asad.

*Amira Asad:* What did the delegation do while you were in Palestine?

*Jasiri X:* We had a Palestinian woman as our guide, and we went to 
different places and talked to people about the suffering they are 
experiencing due to the occupation. We went to East Jerusalem 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/east-jerusalem> and talked to people 
in a neighborhood where they were doing forced evictions. We went to 
Bethlehem <http://electronicintifada.net/tags/bethlehem> and saw the 
separation wall 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/israels-wall-west-bank> and talked 
to the community there [about] some of the things they were doing there 
that were affecting the ecosystem and the farmers 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/farmers>.

We went to Hebron <http://electronicintifada.net/tags/hebron> and that 
was one of the most intense days. We went to Ramallah 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/ramallah>, Nazareth 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/nazareth> and south Tel Aviv 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/tel-aviv> to see the African 
refugees <http://electronicintifada.net/tags/refugees>.

*AA:* What made Hebron particularly intense?

*JX:* Well, it’s like a militarized city. There were members of our 
delegation that were approached by Israeli soldiers, asking us what our 
religion was. I guess that was the determining factor because we were 
outside of the Ibrahimi Mosque 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/ibrahimi-mosque>.

There was one place where there were settlers 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/settlers> and Palestinians in close 
proximity, then you put in these soldiers and it got really, really intense.

As black people, who are walking down the street and soldiers are 
stopping us, it takes us to stop-and-frisk and policies we are coming 
from and experience a lot of the time in inner cities.


    Stop-and-frisk

*AA:* Could you touch on the relationship between stop-and-frisk and 
what you experienced while in Palestine?

*JX:* In Hebron it was very reminiscent of being a young black man in 
the inner city. Here [in the US] you’re a person of color so I’m just 
going to assume you are a criminal, stop you, frisk you, and assume you 
are doing criminal activity.

It was really the same treatment I saw with Palestinians and African 
refugees. Automatically, if you are Palestinian I am just going to 
assume you are a criminal and treat you as such, especially from what I 
saw at checkpoints <http://electronicintifada.net/tags/checkpoints>.

We had a Palestinian guide who couldn’t ride in the van through the 
checkpoint with us, even though she has an American passport, even 
though she has a permit. She had to get off and walk through. So that is 
why we ended up walking through because we were like “we’re going to 
walk through with you, if you can’t ride through, then we’re all going 
to walk through with you.”

With [poet] Remi [Kanazi] 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/remi-kanazi>, who is Palestinian, 
every time the soldiers would come in our van they would automatically 
go to him first. It reminded me, like I said, of when a police officer 
would just stop you and single you out because you’re a person of color.

*AA:* What other similarities did you find between the treatment of the 
black community in the United States and of Palestinians?

*JX: * When you talk about stop-and-frisk you are talking about police 
departments like NYPD and Atlanta police department that are being 
trained by Israeli security or Israeli military.

We were over there right around Martin Luther King’s birthday and I just 
imagine it was like a scene that you remember reading about, like this 
is what the ’60s were like. Because you are this race, or this 
nationality, you are treated less than or really like nothing.

To me, that’s how Palestinians were treated — like they were nothing. I 
was shocked because I guess I assumed that white supremacy in America 
was the worst, and you know my music deals a lot with race. But I didn’t 
think I could see a more virulent strand of white supremacy until I went 
there.

Not only is this 2014 and this is happening, but also billions of our 
tax dollars are going to uphold this and support this. And to me the 
reason I think there isn’t as much of an outcry from the black community 
is because we just don’t know.

I consider myself conscious and relatively educated and I was for the 
rights of Palestinians, which is one of the reasons I went. But I didn’t 
know it was like that.

I didn’t know they rationed water 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/water>. Like I’m Palestinian, so I 
only get a certain amount of water and then some months you might not 
have enough water.

And we support this? How is that about security? Denying someone water, 
what does that have to do with keeping someone safe?

That’s still hard for me to conceive. We were at this guy’s home. It was 
a temporary home, and they wouldn’t even let him dig a well. How 
inhumane is that?

If you dig a well, I’m going to destroy it or poison it. That type of 
mentality. I still can’t understand. It really was a mind-blowing and 
life-changing experience for me.

*AA:* Can you tell me about your experience with the African refugees?

*JX:* That was really, really crazy. They haven’t been given a refugee 
status by Israel. They aren’t even considered refugees.

They’ve been considered criminals in a sense, infiltrators. They were 
dropped in busloads at this park with nothing, no assistance, no help.

You see families and children and really tears came into my eyes seeing 
that. It was tough to watch and see and look at. It was also inspiring 
to see because there were women organizing a march that they ended up 
doing a few days later, where women and children took the lead in the march.

And to also hear about how the Eritreans and Sudanese were working 
together, without social networking and very little money they were able 
to build these rallies. It was inspiring to see but also they are coming 
to Israel because they are looking at it from the outside and thinking 
that it is the “only democracy” in the Middle East.

So they think they are going to be treated a certain way as refugees and 
then they get there and it’s like what the hell?

They have been called infiltrators and ostracized. One of the most 
interesting reactions was from our guide from Bethlehem. She didn’t know 
and she was crying.

 From where she lives and her experience, she already has a certain 
feeling toward the State of Israel and then she sees this. It was really 
deep, just more inhumanity. This should not be accepted by anybody, the 
world community should be condemning this loudly.


    Fighting apartheid

*AA:* As a hip-hop artist, what are you doing to fight Israeli apartheid?

*JX:* I try to use my means of expression that I have, which is hip-hop. 
It was interesting — because of how emotional and intense the trip was — 
my first thought wasn’t to do a song but it kind of just came. Someone 
made a joke like “yeah he’ll probably have a song and a video before we 
get back.” And I was like “naw” but then I started thinking like “well 
if I did do something, what would I do?”

So I had just happened to film these checkpoints because I had got into 
a habit of when there’s some type of interaction that could be dangerous 
we film the police. So when we go through these checkpoints and I see 
all these military soldiers and guns, I was just filming it for my own 
and our delegation’s safety.

So I made a song about it and leant my voice to the growing voices that 
say this is wrong and this is apartheid 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/apartheid>. This is immoral and it 
needs to stop. I was able to meet one of the members of DAM 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/dam>, a Palestinian hip-hop group, 
when I was over there and we also talked about possibly doing some stuff 
in the near future.

I take my message back to the hip-hop community and encourage other 
artists to stand up or take that to the media.

*AA:* In your song “Checkpoint” you mention your own experience at the 
checkpoints, could you elaborate on this?

*JX:* To me, this is where clearly something is wrong. If the state of 
Israel thinks they are doing right to the Palestinians, then it should 
not matter if I go there and want to see what is happening with the 
Palestinian people. I should not have to go there and feel like if I go 
into Palestine that I’m on some James Bond spy type stuff.

And that was kind of the thing. We couldn’t just arrive at the airport 
and just say “I’m going to Ramallah, I’m going to the West Bank 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/west-bank>.” I mean we had to 
whitewash all of our computers, I had to upload all of that footage on a 
Google drive and delete it off my computer.

When we were going to the airport we all had to have our story straight. 
And there was a point where I was like “Fuck this, I haven’t done 
anything wrong” so I kind of had a little attitude at the airport. No, 
I’m not going to be afraid.

I’m not going to be intimidated because I haven’t done anything wrong. 
We were in this security system, where if you got a number one you were 
the least risk and if your number was six you were the highest risk. 
Well, we all got five, but why?

Members of our delegation were searched for hours, not only at the 
airport but then we flew from Israel to Austria and we had members of 
our delegation where they went back through their stuff. When we were 
leaving it felt like the end of [the movie] /Argo/, like were escaping 
something. Why is it like that?

It’s not like that when you’re going to other countries. Literally we’re 
driving to the airport and it’s like “are we going to get out of here?” 
without being questioned for hours. I mean our taxi is pulled over 
before we even get to the airport.

That is what I wanted to convey at the end of that about our experience 
and how we felt, that’s kind of why I ended it [the song with a 
reference to Ben Gurion airport 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/ben-gurion-airport> in Tel Aviv] 
because literally by that point we were like “Fuck this, get me out of 
here.” That was our delegation’s attitude at that point.

I thought the experiences I had as a black American would prepare me. 
But no, its worse. It’s just so out and open and in your face. In 
America, it’s subtle the way they do their thing. But in Palestine and 
Israel it’s right [in your face] like “you don’t matter” straight up.

/Amira Asad is a freelance writer based in Kentucky who has written for 
Al Jazeera English, /Vice/, /Gulf News/ and PolicyMic./

-- 
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