If you live in Washington, DC, the question of what does the Egyptian Revolution mean for Palestine might seem like a strange question. The question du jour here is what does the Egyptian Revolution mean for Israel? The subtext to that second question is what does the Egyptian Revolution mean for Israel's continued occupation and its denial of equality to non-Jewish citizens and residents. Of course, both questions show an Israel/Palestine-centric view of the world.
Yes, the denial of Palestinian freedom has been an iconic issue of concern not only for Arabs and the larger Muslim world, but also for the Global South and persons of conscience around the world. And once upon a time, the Palestinian struggle for their rights did symbolise the heroism of a people demanding justice for themselves.
But today that mantle lies with the Egyptian and Tunisian peoples. Today, they are the teachers and the rest of us are the pupils. Today, the Arab people of Egypt and Tunisia, and those demonstrating for the same goals throughout the Arab world are providing all of us, including Americans, with hard fought lessons that decades of useless peace-processing and support for authoritarian leaders have let us forget. Here are at least four lessons that have been thrown in our face:
Over $3bn in US aid to Israel in FY2012
ReplyDeleteThe AIPAC-bought Congress continues to hand over American money — surely needed at home when unemployment is at over 10%, a lot of infrastructure failing and poverty rising — to Israel, a country that defies US demands, breaks international law, and continues encroaching on Palestinian land.
http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/2/15/over-3bn-in-us-aid-to-israel-in-fy2012.html
tgia:
ReplyDeleteThis is off topic, but I just saw that Alan Dershowitz joined Julian Assange's defense team. To me they are two peas in a pod: both publicity seekers who use controversy to boost their careers, They're using each other to increase each other's credibility and relevance. I didn't have a high opinion of Assange, so his association with Dershowitz doesn't surprise or disapoint me. In fact, it makes perfect sense. But I know a lot of people believe in Assange. I wonder how they feel about him joining the ranks of OJ Simpson. Claus von Bulow, and the JDL...and Israel.