Show Palestine solidarity
ON TUESDAY November 29, 2022, the world community will commemorate International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. At this time, I would like to remind us about the current worsening situation in Palestine, and more importantly, make some recommendations as to how we could display greater solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine.
Earlier this month, the most extreme rightwing Zionist coalition government came to power in Israel. Key members of the current Israeli Knesset openly advocate the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and support the Zionist settler movement in their goal of creating a Greater Israel.
In light of this, we should anticipate greater theft of Palestinian lands and even more draconian support for settlers from the Israeli security forces.
As has been the case since the Nakba in 1948, Palestinians will not acquiesce and meekly accept the illegal occupation of their lands and their extermination but will courageously resist with everything within their means. We can therefore expect an escalation of the deadly conflict in Palestine over the next few months and years.
On the international front, a powerful intergovernmental Zionist lobby group, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) has been trying to get the United Nations to pass an international law which equates criticism of the oppressive Apartheid policies of the illegitimate state of Israel with anti-Semitism.
Thankfully, more than 100 leading scholars of anti-Semitism, including a colleague of mine from the University of Notre Dame, Professor Atalia Omer, have asked the UN not to adopt the IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism, since it violates key tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (https://www.aljazeera.com/ news/2022/11/3/128-scholars-ask-unnot-to-adopt-ihra-definition-of-antisemitism). However, if the IRHA does succeed in getting the UN to adopt their controversial and politicized definition of anti-Semitism it will be weaponized to uproot and criminalize criticisms of Israeli policies. This will mean that the already muted international response to Israel’s state violence against Palestinians will be even further weakened.
Against this precarious situation facing the oppressed people of Palestine, as conscientious and responsible global citizens, we are compelled to respond in solidarity.
I would like to make some concrete suggestions as to how we could escalate our solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine.
First and foremost, we need to continue adding to our existing knowledge base and educate ourselves with regard to the history and struggle of the Palestinian people.
In this regard, I recommend that we consider purchasing an excellent new book written by a retired South African Methodist theologian, Reverend Brian J. Brown. Reverend Brown’s book is titled Apartheid South Africa! Apartheid Israel? and was published in 2021.
We should also regularly keep ourselves updated with regard to the dynamic and rapidly developing situation in Palestine.
I recommend the excellent websites of a British journalist and author, Johnathan Cook, and that of Ramzy Baroud (https://www.jonathan-cook. net/).
Second, I recommend that we consider either joining or financially supporting an organization that is dedicated to solidarity with Palestine. There are a number of such groups, such as the Palestine Solidarity Group or the Boycott and Divestment Campaign (BDS), and we should actively strive to support their solidarity campaigns.
This way we can ensure that our voices are heard by creating a powerful lobby to campaign for solidarity for Palestinian people in the public domain and in the media.
We need to recognise and keep restating that the freedom struggle of Palestinians is not a religious conflict but an anti-colonial struggle for justice; a struggle of reclaiming land, identity and statehood.
In addition, each one of us needs to make sure that our individual voices are heard in the public domain. Either by writing articles or letters to the press or voicing our opinions orally via radio.
Third, while our South African government has displayed some solidarity with oppressed Palestinians and we acknowledge and celebrate it, as consciousness and responsible citizens, however, we need to pressurse our government to sever all ties and relations with the Zionist State of Israel.
Fourth, I would like to recommend joining a solidarity initiative started by the Tambo-Dado Fund. One of their main projects is to create family-to-family contact between families in South Africa and families of Palestinian political prisoners. I call upon more families to commit to this solidarity initiative.
The freedom struggle of Palestinians is not a religious conflict but an anti-colonial struggle for justice; a struggle of reclaiming land, identity and statehood
The idea is to link one South African family with one family of a Palestinian political prisoner. In the main, the responsibility of the South African family will be to, on an ongoing basis, offer solidarity and build relationships with the Palestinian family, to express interest in and care for their plight in a context where many of these prisoners, and many of their families, feel forgotten.
There will be no financial implication in that the South African family is not expected to provide financial assistance to the Palestinian family. It will be entirely a solidarity connection. If your family would like to sign up for this, please fill in this online form (https://tinyurl.com/TDPLFfamilyform).
Last but not least, we should never forget to constantly keep the long-suffering people of Palestine in our daily supplications.
This is the most passive display of solidarity we can show. At this time when we commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we pray for the courageous people of Palestine who continue to resist the oppression and brutality of the Apartheid Israeli State.