‘WE’RE NOT YOUR TOY’

HAS THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE BEEN HIJACKED BY WESTERNERS USING IT FOR THEIR OWN INTERESTS – AND ARE THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE TIRING OF IT?

Melissa Mann, who has volunteered in progressive American organizations such as Standing Up for Racial Justice, was in Israel during the May 14 Gaza riots. When she posted on Facebook that the situation is complex, she got scolded by her progressive colleagues. One response read: “Israeli apartheid is part of this long history of white supremacy that needs to end.” The post went on to discuss black feminism, intersectionality and abolition of prisons, and linked it to today’s struggle: “From Ferguson to Palestine” (referring to the contentious shooting by police of African-American Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri).

Many supporters view the Palestinian cause as just one arena in bigger wars that they themselves are fighting for. That includes, among others, the war on imperialism, sexism, racism, colonialism, Americanism and Judaism. As long as the outsiders’ interests were aligned with that of the Palestinians, such support was generally welcomed. But it is becoming increasingly evident that some of those who adopt the Palestinian cause are inflicting damage.

Many of those outsiders aggressively promote a narrative of victimhood while suppressing Palestinian progress, prosperity and creativity. The Palestinian cause can only be of use if Palestinians stay miserable and continue to suffer. A primary vehicle outsiders use is advocating for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, which given economic realities is more damaging to Palestinians than it is to Israelis. In addition, outsiders instill radical messages and help perpetuate and escalate the conflict.

In pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Europe, the Palestinian flag is often displayed alongside communist banners, Hezbollah flags and signs for various revolutionary movements. European demonstrators sometimes hold signs that would make some Palestinians uncomfortable. Most popular amongst them in recent years: “Stop the Genocide in Palestine.”

The increasing fashion to use the term genocide to describe Israeli treatment of Palestinians has been broadly adopted in the West for various causes, such as the fight against police brutality and racism. Indeed, Black Lives Matter has argued in its platform that the US is complicit in the “genocide taking place against the Palestinian people.”

Mann shares that in volunteering with progressive organizations in the US, there is a clear expectation not only to be pro-Palestinian, but also pro-BDS: “If someone mentions a nuance in applying apartheid and colonialist arguments to Israel, that person would be attacked. It would not be a debate, but an attack on that person’s character.”

The hijacking of the Palestinian cause by more radical outsiders is not new. In the 20th century, Arab dictators justified their own rule in the name of fighting for Palestine. But since then, many of those Arab countries’ attitudes toward Israel have changed and they are now cooperating with Israel on a range of security and economic issues.

BUT THE Palestinians have been “drafted” for a new cause: The European Union’s front against the United States.

Gawain Towler, a British political commentator, observes: “The Israel/Hamas/Palestine issue is a proxy diplomatic war between the US and a European Union trying to flex its muscles on the world stage. Tactical decisions at an EU level could be affected by knowledge of US activity. This is an ongoing strategy.”

Indeed, the widening European-American rift might be the big global ideological divide of our time. Europe is associated with universalism, secularism, atheism and post-nationalism. The United States was founded as one nation under God. It is rooted in a strong ideology and celebrates its particularity, exceptionalism and patriotism.

Europe’s hijacking of the Palestinian cause came to the fore in the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem. While Palestinians strongly objected to the move, the European reaction was emotional and aggressive.

The passionate European stance on Jerusalem should be viewed by Palestinians with a healthy dose of skepticism.

The arguments made against the American recognition of Jerusalem are based on a 1949 UN resolution designating Jerusalem and Bethlehem as “corpus separatum” to be placed under an international regime.

Also, in a region with long memories, Palestinians are aware that three European powers tried to conquer Jerusalem or Palestine in the last two centuries.

Two of those – the French (in 1799) and the British (in 1917) – also issued declarations that such conquests would be made in order to give Palestine to the Jews, its “rightful heirs,” as the French stated.

The one European intervention that was supposedly to help the Palestinian Arabs came from the Germans in the 1940s. The Germans “adopted” the Palestinian Arabs for their own war against the British and therefore helped promote the most radical elements in Palestinian society. This in turn contributed to Palestinians rejecting compromise in 1947 and opting to go to war.

But it is not just European intervention of the past that should worry Palestinians. Today too, statements by European leaders about Jerusalem should raise eyebrows.

For example, French President Emmanuel Macron said: “The status of Jerusalem is a question of international security that concerns the entire international community.”

Why should this city all of a sudden be a matter for the “international community”? Or turned into a UN colony, as some experts suggest?

EUROPEAN MEDDLING goes much further. The EU has taken a number of measures in an effort to shut down Jewish-owned businesses in the West Bank.

As with BDS, the European boycotts have a negligible effect on Israelis, but adversely affect Palestinians’ livelihood, as many of those businesses employ Palestinians. Europeans are deciding that prolonging the conflict is more important than Palestinian jobs.

The SodaStream case was a European success story. SodaStream was under intense European pressure to shut its operation in the West Bank and move within the Green Line. As a result, 500 Palestinians lost their jobs – an application of the European mantra of “Palestine last, conflict first.” Beyond the economic damage, such European actions disenfranchise the Palestinians as they rob them