Today's guest post comes to us from Temple University graduate, Michelle Zei. Michelle is a freelance journalist who recently visited the Aida Refugee Camp in Israel. Her experience gave her a unique perspective on the turmoil surrounding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
During the summer, most Americans
probably took vague notice that peace negotiations resumed in the Middle East. “Peace in the Middle East”, a phrase often thrown around
allusively with little context, and a general attitude of futility. ‘There will
never be peace,’ most people might think, ‘Why even try?’
“There's war on the streets and the
war in the Middle East.” Tupac said it in the 90’s and it rings true today.
But approaching any situation as an
endless conflict has never helped in the past and to take it a step further seeing
the ‘Israeli- Palestinian Conflict’ as continuously hopeless doesn’t garner
interest from the American public.
The conflict that is portrayed as
ageless is, in fact a military occupation dating back to 1948. There are not two equal parties at war but rather an
indigenous group pushed inside narrow, shrinking borders under Israel’s
on-going military rule. The occupation of Palestinian land and people, like
other forms of colonialism, consists of the destruction of communities and
culture: crippled economies, displacement of people, separation of families,
millions of refugees, and the arrest of young males without warrant. Additionally,
the arrest and disenfranchisement of so many men makes families and communities
struggle for unity and economic strength. Women often bare immense burdens
of maintaining households and trying to raise and protect their children- to
teach them pride, strength and hope in the midst of a threatening reality.
Many young Palestinian males share
rights of passage of harassment and captivity similarly to young men of color
in other parts of the world, even here. The U.S. injustices rooted in
displacing natives, relying on slavery for economic growth, and later
administering discriminatory laws under Jim Crow have put the U.S. in a place
where black men have been systemically criminalized and assumed guilty until
proven innocence.
How can these people be innocent and
receive empathy in a country where they’ve been pegged as violent aggressors without
historical context (that includes them being the recipients of violence for
generations)? Palestinians are faced with this dilemma as well.
Under an oppressive judicial, police
or military system, these young males are presumed as a threat before they even
act. Even youth are suspects; building the foundation for them to be devalued
and mistreated. Legal systems set the tone for how citizens view youth and
adults.
In the U.S., we have the recent examples
of Kimani Gray who was shot and killed by N.Y.P.D. officers and George
Zimmerman’s murder of Trayvon Martin.
Palestinian youth also receive
brutality and harassment from Israeli soldiers and citizens. For example, last
year Jamal Julani, a Palestinian teen was attacked by Israeli teens in Jerusalem until he was left unconscious. This year in Aida refugee camp, 13-year-old MohammedAl-Kurdi and 15-year-old Ahmed Amarin were fatally shot by Israeli soldiers in front of a
community center.
The power of social media led active
community members to seek justice for Trayvon Martin. A change.org petition circulated and raised an overwhelming amount of support in favor of charging Zimmerman and finally the state responded. Even when justice wasn’t served, adults and youth continued fighting
to illuminate the legacy of racism and racial profiling- to advocate for young
black men and stand in unity.
However much like Kimani Gray’s death,
the deaths and imprisonment of many Palestinian youth go unreported and
misunderstood in the U.S. media. We must challenge ourselves to learn the names
and circumstances of those, local and internationally whose deaths and
suffering never make headlines.
Minors behind bars
Just as many American activists from
groups like Decarcerate P.A. and the Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project address issues of imprisonment and the charge of minors as adults, children as young as 12 are held in Israeli military detention without
charge, for renewable, six-month periods. According to the UN, in 2011, 200 Palestinian youth
were arrested per month.
The double standard for how
Palestinians are treated within the Israeli courts is just one facet of
apartheid in Palestine-Israel, reminiscent of that in South Africa and Jim Crow
south.
Respected figures in the civil rights
movement like Alice Walker have long admonished the occupation and chosen to stand with the Palestinian people. Walker wrote Alicia Keys a letter to join the cultural boycott of Israel a couple months ago but her
letter wasn’t understood or received by the public or perhaps Keys
herself.
In addition, Nelson Mandela’s friend Ahmed
Kathrada who also was imprisoned for fighting against apartheid wrote a letter to Morgan Freeman, asking him to pull out of a fundraiser for HebrewUniversity.
Other public figures like Angela
Davis and Lenny Kravitz have spoken out against the Israeli military occupation as well. These people recognize the importance of
connecting local concerns and action to international solidarity and advocacy.
The fight for Palestinians to be
recognized and have freedom is an ongoing struggle. Peace negotiations will inevitably
resume at some point, with the U.S. playing referee. As American citizens, we
often hear in political discourse that Israel is our biggest ally in the Middle
East, a beacon of light and example of democracy. However as we know, young
democracies built on the displacement of others are imperfect and in need of constant
examination and changes so that more people can thrive and live in peace.
Many refugees and immigrants from
Palestine, like other regions of the world are now American citizens, continuing
life in a place with its own contradictions and injustices. Stories of pain and
persecution are more often silenced than shared. Learning more about other
countries, especially where the U.S. government has a large presence is a way
to better understand our country, its people and influence.
I encourage you to look into the rich
history and culture of the Palestinian people, learn the names of politicians,
artists, and even innocent boys whose lives have been cut short by unpunished
crimes.
