[News] What does solidarity mean in the new era in Palestine?

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeastmonitor.com
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230719-what-does-solidarity-mean-in-the-new-era-in-palestine/>
What does solidarity mean in the new era in Palestine?
Dr Ramzy Baroud - July 19, 2023
------------------------------
[image: image.png]

It is a new era in Palestine. It is taking shape before our very eyes,
through the blood, tears and sacrifices of a brave generation that is
fighting
<https://www.newarab.com/opinion/palestine-jenin-symbol-resistance-and-community>
on two fronts: against the Israeli military occupation on the one hand, and
collaborating Palestinians masquerading as a "leadership" on the other.

But how do we, in Palestine solidarity communities around the world,
respond to the changes underway; to the new language and unity — wihdat
al-Sahat
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/joint-room-and-unity-of-the-squares-what-will-the-next-israeli-war-on-gaza-look-like/>
– which are reanimating the Palestinian body politic?

For a start, I believe that we must insist on the centrality of the
Palestinian voice to any solidarity action pertaining to Palestinian
freedom anywhere. Not any "Palestinian voice" suffices, though; only those
voices that truly epitomise and capture the aspirations of the Palestinian
people; voices that do not speak factional language or represent powerful
classes with financial and other interests.

*READ: Palestine medics protest at UN to demand protection
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230719-palestine-medics-protest-at-un-to-demand-protection/>*

Moreover, solidarity groups, especially in the West, must know how and
when, if at all, to engage with smear campaigns and fraudulent "dialogues"
on multi-faith relations, racism and anti-Semitism. This cannot be the
focus of conversations about Palestine or the solidarity movement. Numerous
experiences in the past have taught us that using most of our energy to
fight smear campaigns is to fight a losing battle, which will ultimately
have little impact on raising awareness of the struggle for justice in
Palestine itself, or the championing of the Palestinian cause.

Indeed, the main task of solidarity is just that: solidarity, as in
adopting and advocating moral positions with the hope of achieving future
political shifts in support of oppressed and/or freedom-seeking peoples in
Palestine and anywhere else that injustices are found.

We must remember that solidarity is not speaking on behalf of anyone;
rather, it is the creation of spaces and platforms, and the navigation of
margins that would allow others to represent their own struggles, while
rendering and advocating these positions in one's own local and national
settings.

In other words, solidarity activism is the localisation of international
struggles. It is doing our part to ensure that our local representatives,
regional and state parliaments and, ultimately, national governments shift
their position from supporting Israel's apartheid
<https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/>
regime in occupied Palestine to adopting positions that are consistent,
partly or wholly, with the aspirations of the Palestinian people.

*READ: PA targets resistance movements in Jenin
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230717-pa-targets-resistance-movements-in-jenin/>*

How this is achieved will differ from one political and social context to
another. Local activists must assess their own surroundings and
opportunities and make that decision for themselves.

I believe that the foundation of any successful advocacy campaign must
always be the enlargement of solidarity circles to include workers' unions,
student and religious groups and people from all walks of life and
backgrounds ready to serve collectively as a strong base for effective
political advocacy.

Furthermore, for organic and effective solidarity to flourish, activists
must avoid being judgemental, and confine their stance on the type of
collective struggle or resistance chosen by the Palestinian people to that
of a mere personal position. In other words, solidarity cannot be
pre-conditioned. Frankly, this is more relevant in the West than in the
Global South, because the latter has much in common with Palestinians in
terms of shared anti-colonial and anti-apartheid struggles; they can guide
Palestinians in terms of what works and what does not.

However, those in the West, many of whom are direct beneficiaries of
colonialism, imperialism and apartheid, must simply take responsibility for
that sordid past, by holding their governments accountable for the present.
Past crimes cannot be undone, but their harmful impact can be challenged
and, indeed, through concerted efforts, even reversed.

We must be wary of self-seeking activism. There are those, even within the
Palestine community, who try to use international solidarity for political
gains, factional rivalry and the like. To prevent this, solidarity groups
must adhere to a certain degree of democratic processes, to liberate our
communities from the influence of individuals with personal agendas and to
accentuate the role of the collective. All solidarity compasses must point
constantly and directly to the collective struggle of the Palestinian
people in Palestine, and Palestinian refugee communities anywhere else in
the world.

*READ: Israel launches missiles from Golan towards Damascus
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230719-israel-launches-missiles-from-golan-towards-damascus/>*

Intersectionality is key. It can be a winning strategy if utilised
correctly. Of course, morality lies at the heart of intersectional
solidarity, but we must be careful not to insist on imposing our unique
moral values, which are driven by distinctive cultural, political, social,
historical and even religious priorities and experiences, on everyone else
if we truly want to create a global movement for Palestine.

For example, since identity politics was not as predominant in the past as
it is today, past intersectional struggles for the liberation of many
countries in the Global South – mostly among nations in the Global South –
did not set pre-conditions that all these nations had to adhere, for
example, to a social code that is acceptable to all. Palestine must not be
subjected to any kind of insistence on global conformity to a single set of
ideas, ideologies or self-definitions.

The recent success of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement
can be, in part, attributed to its appeal as a global movement advocating
basic, universal human rights such as equality, freedom, justice for all
Palestinians. It has done so while tailoring its messages and language to
fit historical, political and even social frames of reference to many
social and political settings.

Finally, we are at the cusp of a major transition in Palestine; a new
generation is trying to take the helm of the Palestinian cause. They have
earned this right through their sacrifices, courage and unified action. We
must make the right choice by joining them, and abandon old, tired and
cliched references to a bygone era of Oslo, the "peace process" and all the
rest.

*READ: The PA's fear of Palestinian journalists
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230718-the-pas-fear-of-palestinian-journalists/>*

It is time to listen to Palestinian voices and to voices that genuinely
represent them. It is time to support them through strategic mobilisation,
the establishment of alternative media, holding corporate media accountable
and direct political pressure.

This is how solidarity can translate well-intentioned, morally driven ideas
into tangible difference on the ground. All the streams of this success
will eventually flow into a single, raging torrent, creating the paradigm
shift that we have long fought for and covet so desperately.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not
necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20230719/9ac4e402/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1455779 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20230719/9ac4e402/attachment.png>