Does the Palestinian Diaspora Care Enough To Become Engaged?
In their claim for justice, the Palestinians have 100% of right, legal and moral, on their side (whereas the Israelis have 99% of the might, conventional and nuclear, on their side). If this claim was properly presented and pressed by a credible Palestinian leadership, by definition a democratically elected leadership duly authorized to represent the views of all Palestinians, it would be more difficult for the governments of the major powers, the one in Washington DC especially, to go on refusing to use the leverage they have to end Israel’s occupation of Arab land grabbed in the Zionist state’s 1967 war of aggression. (Not self defense as Zionism asserts).
Because Israel and the major powers won’t talk to Hamas (despite the fact that its leaders have signalled their willingness to live in peace with an Israel inside its pre-1967 borders), and because the Fatah-dominated PNA is so discredited (I imagine Arafat is revolving with anger in his grave), the occupied and oppressed Palestinians are effectively leaderless in the sense that they are without an institution to represent them in the corridors of power.
It follows, or so I believe, that a demand for putting policy making and implementation back into the hands of a reconstructed and re-invigorated PNC must come from the Palestinian diaspora – from Palestinian communities in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Eygpt, Kuwait, Iraq, Yemen, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, Chile, Honduras, Brazil, Columbia and Guatemala.
The question arising is the one of the headline for this article: Does the Palestinian diaspora care enough to become engaged?
I have long been of the view that the major difference between Jews and Arabs is that Jews know how to play the game of international politics and Arabs don’t. The Palestinians could prove me wrong. The world, not just the occupied and oppressed Palestinians, needs them to do so.
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Karen Chadwick:
September 16th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Alan, how I wish you were included in the mix of the meetings in Washington, and that you had enough juju to influence Palestinian powers to take on these changes you speak of here. I do hope very much that this concept of giving authority to the Palestine National Council. As it is now, it’s like the chessboard is totally lopsided with the Israeli side having three queens and some mind control to make the Palestinian opponent move their pawns right into capture. Again, and again, and again…
Keep up your fine thinking and writing, Alan. Blessings to you.
A fan in Kalamazoo, Karen
Pauline:
September 19th, 2010 at 6:18 am
Having just finished the first 2 volumes of “Zionism” and now reading “Arafat” I can see why you ask this. I don’t see a leader in the Diaspora of Palestinians but then I’m only partially enlightened on this. Who??
IIRENE PHILLIPSON:
October 7th, 2010 at 8:46 am
It does not really matter how much the Palestinian diaspora cares – and I’m sure that it cares immensely – because for obvious reasons its voice is not heard in the MSM.
Here in Australia any voice that attempts to put the Palestinian case receives the usual ‘anti-semitic’denigration and is completely dismissed.
There are though, three good websites which attempt, against the odds ,to redress the situation – those of Antony Loewenstein, Middle East Reality Check, and Australians For Palestine.
Many thanks for your invaluable site.