Eight Things I learned About Palestine While Touring Eight Western Nations
On February 20, 2018, I embarked on a global book tour that has, thus far, taken me to eight nations. The main theme of
all my talks in various cultural, academic and media platforms was the pressing need to refocus the discussion on
Palestine on the struggle, aspirations and history of the Palestinian people.
But, interacting with hundreds of people and being exposed to multiple media environments in both mainstream and
alternative media, I also learned much about the changing political mood on Palestine in the western world.
While the nations I have visited - the US, Canada, the UK (England and Scotland), the Netherlands, Austria, Australia
and New Zealand – do not in any way represent all western countries, the diverse platforms that were available to me
allowed me to gain a reasonably good perspective on the ideas, perceptions and attitudes of people in government, media,
academia and civil society:
First, the civil society support base for Palestine is growing exponentially, not only in the number of people who are
concerned with- or interested in - learning about Palestine, but also in the nature of that engagement as well. The
detachment or sense of despair of the past, has all but completely vanished, being replaced with a proactive approach -
as in people wanted to be agents of change at local and national levels.
Second, the consensus regarding the support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is constantly
increasing among unions, churches, university campuses, etc. The old view that BDS was divisive and counter-productive
hardly has much traction these days, and most of the remaining debates concerning BDS are not concerned with the ethics
of the boycott strategy, but the nature and extent of the boycott.
Third, the degree of decisiveness in supporting Palestinians has also been heightened. The wishy-washy stances that
wagered on the Israeli “peace movement’ or Labor Party ‘doves’, while condemning ‘extremists on both sides’, has
diminishing appeal.
Indeed, the successive Israeli wars on Gaza and the continued siege on the Strip have all gradually, but irreversibly,
pushed the narrative on Palestine towards a whole new direction, one that has little room to wait for an Israeli
awakening. The recent lethal Israeli response to Gaza’s peaceful ‘Great March of Return’ protests has further galvanized
support for Palestinians, even among relatively apolitical audiences.
Fourth, unable to push back against growing pro-Palestine movements, Israeli and pro-Israel supporters are pushing, like
never before, the accusation of anti-Semitism against those who question the Israeli Occupation, use the term ‘Israeli
Apartheid’ or support BDS.
While the tactic is no longer silencing the discussion on Palestine, it is creating the necessary distraction to divert
attention, energy and resources to less urgent issues. A case in point is the British media’s obsession with the,
supposedly, rampant anti-Semitism within the Labor Party at a time when thousands of Gazans were injured and scores
killed while peacefully protesting in Gaza.
Fifth, young people are less likely to be intimidated by long-standing Israeli tactics. While the older generation of
civil society leaders and activists are unwittingly beholden to the many smearing tactics used by Israel and its
supporters, the younger generation is not as easily intimidated. Part of the reason is that digital media - social
media, in particular - has helped younger people achieve a degree of global connectivity that has heightened their sense
of unity and resolve.
The new generation of Palestinian university students and young intellectuals are also reclaiming their role in this
trajectory. Their ability to connect with western societies as insiders and outsiders has helped bridge cultural and
political gaps.
Sixth, while ‘One Democratic State Solution’ ideas are yet to achieve the critical mass that could, and will, eventually
push for a change in policies amongst various governments, the so-called ‘Two State Solution’ no longer commands a
dedicated following. It is almost a complete reversal from the views that permeated during my earlier world tours,
nearly 20 years ago.
Seven, some intellectual, and even civil society circles, are still obstructed by the erroneous thinking that the best
way to convey the Palestinian viewpoint is through non-Palestinians. This belief is even championed by some Palestinians
themselves (especially members of previous generations who suffered political and cultural marginalization and
discrimination).
Although many anti-Zionist Jewish and Western intellectuals have been placed at the center stage to articulate a
Palestinian message, the alienation of the Palestinians from their own discourse has proven costly. Despite strong and
growing support for Palestine, there is still a serious deficiency in an authentic understanding of Palestine and the
aspirations of the Palestinian people – their history, culture, everyday realities and viewpoints.
Needless to say, what is needed is an urgent and complete reclamation of the narrative over Palestine and the
decolonization of the Palestinian discourse.
Eight, the connection between the Palestinian struggle for freedom and that of other indigenous groups is often
highlighted, but much more can be done. Israeli supporters are actively pushing the misleading notion that Israelis are
the ‘natives’ of the land and are, thus, reaching out to indigenous communities around the world in search for common
ground. While the reality is to the contrary, pro-Palestine groups can do much more to link the struggle of the
indigenous native Palestinians with that of other indigenous and other oppressed and historically marginalized groups
around the world.
A general, but equally important realization I have experienced throughout my 3-month journey has been the numerous
personal and group initiatives carried out by thousands of people all over the world in solidarity with the Palestinian
people: from 11-year-old Salma, who convinced all of her classmates in Perth, Australia, to write Palestine on the map
in her geography class, despite knowing that they would all have been marked down for their action, to the elderly
couple in Auckland, New Zealand, who, well into their 80s and walking with much difficulty, continue to hand Palestine
flyers to passers-by at a busy street corner, every week, for the last 20 years.
It is these people, and millions like them, who represent the real constituency for Palestine. They are fighters in the
trenches of human solidarity that neither Israel, nor anyone else, can possibly defeat.
- Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of Palestine Chronicle. His forthcoming book is ‘The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story’ (Pluto Press, London). Baroud has a Ph.D. in Palestine Studies from the University of Exeter and is a Non-Resident
Scholar at Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, University of California Santa Barbara. His website is www.ramzybaroud.net.