Posted on October 12, 2010 by Ikhras
Hussein Ibish, the “Senior Fellow” at the American Task Force on Palestine, and Washington concierge to Palestinian National Authority officials who considers anti-Arab, racist groups like AIPAC partners in “cooperation towards peace” wrote a piece for the Jerusalem Post, the right-wing, Zionist rag, in which he warns Palestinians to not engage in any resistance to occupation, what he calls a “third intifada.”
Ibish should Ikhras. It is not the role of anyone in the United States to instruct the occupied Palestinians on how best to confront the occupation.
This is not the role of pro-Palestine activists in the US, nor is it the role of the ATFP, which functions as a public relations firm for the PNA and more recently as the unofficial Arab component of the pro-Israel lobby.
Just as the goals and objectives of the Palestinian liberation movement is not to be decided by gala-attending Arabs in Washington, DC, the shape and form of resistance will be determined by the Palestinians themselves. It is not the role of Arab-Americans or anyone else to lecture the Palestinians about the virtues of non-violence or, alternatively about the ineffectiveness of this option in the face of overwhelming Israeli military superiority.
It is the Palestinians themselves that must determine the ultimate aims of their struggle, and which form of resistance to pursue. Palestinians have developed an indestructible culture of resistance that has taken many forms at different periods and often different forms within the same period. Whether its civil disobedience, strikes, boycotts, popular demonstrations, armed resistance or any combination thereof, it is only those under occupation that are capable of determining the course of their struggle.
For an Arab-American or anyone else living in comfort and security in the US, to lecture the Palestinians about the permissible boundaries of their resistance is the height of arrogance. For those who do so as they reach out to racist, Zionist groups and organize galas at the Ritz Carlton, it is also lacking in taste.
As Arab-Americans living in the country where pro-Palestinian is an epithet, the fictional Zionist narrative continues to dominate all public discourse on Palestine, and the government is responsible for maintaining the Zionist, colonial regime we can find something a lot more tasteful and responsible to do than lecture Palestinians.
The Palestinian cause is a morally compelling cause that enjoys the support of the overwhelming majority of people across this world. What the Palestinians have been subjected to since 1948 is an atrocity against humanity. Given this ongoing blatant injustice it is simply unacceptable to lecture Palestinians on which form of resistance to adopt while refusing to speak out forcefully and challenge all the lies and fabrications of the Israeli narrative.
Those who want to participate in the discussion on Palestine must begin by speaking honestly and openly about the racist underpinnings of Zionism, its bloody history, and the US role in maintaining the colonial regime. The conflict must be redefined based on the historical facts which will make it much easier for people in this country to draw the obvious moral and practical conclusions.
We must also insist on the full rights of the Palestinians to return to their homes, dismantle the Zionist regime, and establish full sovereignty over a free Palestine from the river to the sea.
We must also recognize and support the Palestinian right to resist occupation and leave it to them to determine the shape and form.
We don’t expect any such activism from Ibish and the others at the ATFP. At this point all we can hope for is for them to align themselves with the “moderate” wing of the Zionist establishment. And if we’re lucky maybe they will even instruct their board members to stop doing business with the Israeli military.
Uprooted Palestinian
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