This coming Saturday, here in D.C.:
When you see media coverage of this protest in a few days, keep an eye on the policies, values, rallying cries, and worldviews of the event’s organizers. Because the Story they’re telling themselves — about Gaza, Palestine, Israel, and human history — hits very close to home. Your home.
And yes, even if you’re not Jewish or Palestinian, you definitely have skin in this game.
For example, consider this from the Palestinian Youth Movement:
Our Vision
Due to the accumulating challenges as a result of the ongoing Zionist colonization and occupation of our homeland, our determination to fulfill our aspirations for return and liberation are stronger than ever. Guided by principles of justice and liberation, we recognize that our struggle is inherently connected with the struggles of all oppressed and indigenous peoples. We affirm that our struggle is deeply rooted in the Arab regional context that must be freed of neocolonialism in order for the complete liberation of Palestine to become a tangible reality. (emphasis added)
America’s original thirteen colonies were part of the British Empire. Algeria, Mauritania, Niger, Antigua, and many other nations were once colonies of France. Spain and Portugal also established colonial outposts across Africa and the Americas.
Now do Zionism: If the Jewish nation-state is a form of “neocolonialism,” then what exactly is the imperial power behind the colony? What is the metropole?
The “neocolonial” argument makes no sense for one simple reason: Israel is not a colony of some other power.
Or consider this, from Al-Awda:
We, the Al-Awda Palestine Right to Return Coalition, firmly stand in unwavering support of the Palestinian resistance, and we fervently urge our Palestinian people to mobilize in the face of colonial genocide. …
Together, we shall forge a path towards justice, return and liberation for Palestine, from the river to the sea. …
We further demand that the United States cease its efforts to impose “normalization” projects on the Arab region through the so-called “Abraham Accords” and other attempts to legitimize Zionist colonialism in the region through bribery and illegitimate imperialist sanctions. The Palestinian resistance has exposed the bankruptcy of this project, and it must come to an end once and for all….
We will return!
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!
According to Al-Awda, “normalization” — opening up diplomatic and economic relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors — is apparently a bad thing. Breakthrough initiatives like the Abraham Accords are condemned as a terrible mistake.
A Palestine free “from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea” is a world without the nation-state of Israel. (Hamas has precisely the same vision, which they say explicitly in their original charter. But I digress.)
Or consider the Palestinian Feminist Collective, which translates the “river to the sea” rallying cry into an activity book for children:
Or consider this from the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights:
There’s so much to say about this video, but for the sake of brevity: The situation *is* complicated. Painfully so. If it wasn’t complicated, then this conflict would have been resolved centuries ago.
And finally this, from the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP):
Building on the legacy & impact of the student movement in occupied Turtle Island (U.S. and Canada), National Students for Justice in Palestine (National SJP) seeks to empower, unify, and support student organizers as they push forward demands for Palestinian liberation & self-determination on their campuses.
… We seek a political framework that addresses collective liberation from Palestine to the Rio Grande.
Worth repeating: “… occupied Turtle Island (U.S. and Canada)… liberation from Palestine to the Rio Grande…”
The NSJP deserves a special award for consistency. They apply the same standards and moral calculus in the United States as they do in Israel and Palestine.
Problem is, once Palestinians are “liberated” from “Zionist colonialism” and are no longer threatened by “genocide,” there are lots of other people — folks who once lived where you live right now — who’d like a minute:
Before I go any further, it’s vital to remember this:
The Palestinian people have been used and betrayed by their leaders, by Israel, by Arab nations, by the Islamic world, by the United Nations… and by too many others to count. You might even say (as some have) that the Palestinians are the Jews of the Arab world.
Summing up…
The Palestinian people have been repeatedly screwed, and used as pawns in bigger geopolitical battles.
Israel is not a colonial power.
“From the river to the sea” is eliminationist.
Native Americans are indigenous to North America; American descendants of European immigrants are not indigenous. This is not complicated. … Who are the indigenous people of Israel / Palestine? It’s insanely complicated.
If the indigenous people of Turtle Island finally get their land back from the settlers who stole it from them, then where do you plan to live?