Communist
23rd February 2010, 16:21
Don't Deny Peaceful Protests in West Bank (http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/02/16/fletcher.palestinians.protest/index.html)
By Bill Fletcher Jr., Special to CNN
February 2010
[Editor's note: Bill Fletcher Jr. is the executive
editor of BlackCommentator.com. He is a senior scholar
with the Institute for Policy Studies, the immediate
past president of TransAfrica Forum, and the co-author
of "Solidarity Divided."]
New York (CNN) -- Every year, beginning with the January
birthday celebrations for the Rev. Martin Luther King and
moving through Black History Month in February, Americans
and others revisit the history, role and significance of the
black freedom movement in the United States.
But there is a frequent tendency to misrepresent the lessons
of that movement and apply them to other social movements
overseas in a way that misses the mark. This has been
happening increasingly with the historical lessons that are
being misapplied to the Palestinian freedom movement.
It has become almost a cliché, yet people, including Irish
rocker Bono, continue to wield King's name when they bemoan
the alleged absence of his like among the Palestinians. It
seems no matter what Palestinian activists do, they are
condemned as terrorists.
Whether they are engaged in armed struggle or nonviolent
direct action, it does not matter: Palestinian activists are
often portrayed as extremists who threaten life and
property. The obvious exceptions are those Palestinians who
are prepared to accept whatever terms the United States
insists upon for the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict.
The recent arrests of Palestinian human rights activists
Jamal Juma', Abdallah Abu Rahma, Ibrahim Amirah and Mohammed
Othman are prime examples. Juma' and Othman were imprisoned
without charge, Amirah faces charges of incitement,
organizing illegal demonstrations, and stone-throwing, and
Abu Rahma is confronted with a charge of "illegal weapons
possession," apparently because a protest sign he created
included a spent tear gas canister
In fact, they were imprisoned (Juma' was released on January
12 and Othman on January 13 after he was held nearly four
months) not for firing missiles or ambushing Israeli troops,
but for protesting what the International Court of Justice
has called the illegal Israeli separation wall that carves
up the West Bank and places Palestinian communities in an
existence that recalls South African apartheid.
The systematic detention of such leaders has been condemned
by Amnesty International, but the U.S. public is unlikely to
get even a hint that the Israeli government is furthering
its efforts to smash dissent in the occupied territories.
These recent crackdowns make even more ironic the hope
expressed by Bono last month in The New York Times "that
people in places filled with rage and despair, places like
the Palestinian territories, will in the days ahead find
among them their Gandhi, their King, their Aung San Suu
Kyi." As a commenter on his column noted, these people exist
today and have existed within the Palestinian movement. They
are just in jail ... or dead.
Bassem Abu Rahme, for example, was killed by a teargas
canister fired at close range by an Israeli soldier on April
17 while taking part in one of the weekly nonviolent
protests that are regularly met with tear gas, billy clubs,
rubber bullets and the threat of arrest.
I believe that Bassem, like many others, was following in
Gandhi's path.
While it is certainly true that some of the protests by
Palestinians are violent, the same could be said of the
anti-colonial protests that took place on the Indian
subcontinent against the British at the time of Gandhi.
Gandhi certainly preached nonviolent direct action, yet
there were others within the independence movement that
advocated forceful courses of action.
Nevertheless, smearing or repressing all protests in the
name of moving against those who use violence is
disingenuous, a point well understood when viewing other
freedom struggles, whether the Indian independence movement
or the black freedom struggle in the United States. In fact,
this repression becomes a means not of suppressing violence,
but of suppressing all resistance to injustice. This is
experienced today by the Palestinian movement.
Its objectives are caricatured and maligned by Israel in
order to make the repression easier.
In this period -- from King's birthday through the
celebrations and discussions that take place during Black
History Month -- it is useful to recall similar treatment
King and other freedom fighters endured, and reflect on the
true lessons from his life and struggles that are relevant
to the Palestinian struggle and its hopes for a lasting
peace.
Despite King's acceptance now in mainstream circles, he was
first and foremost a troublemaker in the cause of justice.
While King believed in peace, he was more importantly a
person of action, and one completely intolerant of
injustice. In that sense he was a thorn in the side of the
powers that be and the status quo.
King did not achieve credibility by simply preaching peace
and good will, and certainly not by being passive or
submissive in the face of oppression. He gained credibility
because he was a person who was prepared to challenge the
unjust laws and practices of his period, laws and practices
that were summarized in the notion of Jim Crow segregation.
Even though Jim Crow was the law in much of the United
States, King and countless others were prepared to break the
law and, thereby, threaten the stability of this country. He
was branded a communist, a malcontent and a criminal, all
with the aim of discrediting him. And, when that was not
enough, and his following did not disappear into the night,
he was harassed and faced repeated death threats, ultimately
leading to his murder.
The condemnation of Palestinian activists as terrorists, no
matter their approach, shares a great deal in common with
the manner in which King and African-American freedom
fighters (and their allies) were demonized and repressed. It
was the basic cause that needed to be destroyed by the
oppressor and not just the individuals.
The same is true today as Palestinian activists, including
those who have consciously and openly repudiated armed
struggle, are sidelined so that the Israeli government can
claim, with a straight face, that it has no Palestinian
partner with which it can discuss peace.
The "partners" are there in Palestine. When we celebrate the
courage and vision of freedom fighters such as King or
Fannie Lou Hamer and the countless others who are remembered
during Black History Month, we should think of those
Palestinian Kings and Fannie Lou Hamers whose nonviolent
struggle for freedom, justice and equality continues.
[The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those
of Bill Fletcher Jr.]
_____________________________________________
By Bill Fletcher Jr., Special to CNN
February 2010
[Editor's note: Bill Fletcher Jr. is the executive
editor of BlackCommentator.com. He is a senior scholar
with the Institute for Policy Studies, the immediate
past president of TransAfrica Forum, and the co-author
of "Solidarity Divided."]
New York (CNN) -- Every year, beginning with the January
birthday celebrations for the Rev. Martin Luther King and
moving through Black History Month in February, Americans
and others revisit the history, role and significance of the
black freedom movement in the United States.
But there is a frequent tendency to misrepresent the lessons
of that movement and apply them to other social movements
overseas in a way that misses the mark. This has been
happening increasingly with the historical lessons that are
being misapplied to the Palestinian freedom movement.
It has become almost a cliché, yet people, including Irish
rocker Bono, continue to wield King's name when they bemoan
the alleged absence of his like among the Palestinians. It
seems no matter what Palestinian activists do, they are
condemned as terrorists.
Whether they are engaged in armed struggle or nonviolent
direct action, it does not matter: Palestinian activists are
often portrayed as extremists who threaten life and
property. The obvious exceptions are those Palestinians who
are prepared to accept whatever terms the United States
insists upon for the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict.
The recent arrests of Palestinian human rights activists
Jamal Juma', Abdallah Abu Rahma, Ibrahim Amirah and Mohammed
Othman are prime examples. Juma' and Othman were imprisoned
without charge, Amirah faces charges of incitement,
organizing illegal demonstrations, and stone-throwing, and
Abu Rahma is confronted with a charge of "illegal weapons
possession," apparently because a protest sign he created
included a spent tear gas canister
In fact, they were imprisoned (Juma' was released on January
12 and Othman on January 13 after he was held nearly four
months) not for firing missiles or ambushing Israeli troops,
but for protesting what the International Court of Justice
has called the illegal Israeli separation wall that carves
up the West Bank and places Palestinian communities in an
existence that recalls South African apartheid.
The systematic detention of such leaders has been condemned
by Amnesty International, but the U.S. public is unlikely to
get even a hint that the Israeli government is furthering
its efforts to smash dissent in the occupied territories.
These recent crackdowns make even more ironic the hope
expressed by Bono last month in The New York Times "that
people in places filled with rage and despair, places like
the Palestinian territories, will in the days ahead find
among them their Gandhi, their King, their Aung San Suu
Kyi." As a commenter on his column noted, these people exist
today and have existed within the Palestinian movement. They
are just in jail ... or dead.
Bassem Abu Rahme, for example, was killed by a teargas
canister fired at close range by an Israeli soldier on April
17 while taking part in one of the weekly nonviolent
protests that are regularly met with tear gas, billy clubs,
rubber bullets and the threat of arrest.
I believe that Bassem, like many others, was following in
Gandhi's path.
While it is certainly true that some of the protests by
Palestinians are violent, the same could be said of the
anti-colonial protests that took place on the Indian
subcontinent against the British at the time of Gandhi.
Gandhi certainly preached nonviolent direct action, yet
there were others within the independence movement that
advocated forceful courses of action.
Nevertheless, smearing or repressing all protests in the
name of moving against those who use violence is
disingenuous, a point well understood when viewing other
freedom struggles, whether the Indian independence movement
or the black freedom struggle in the United States. In fact,
this repression becomes a means not of suppressing violence,
but of suppressing all resistance to injustice. This is
experienced today by the Palestinian movement.
Its objectives are caricatured and maligned by Israel in
order to make the repression easier.
In this period -- from King's birthday through the
celebrations and discussions that take place during Black
History Month -- it is useful to recall similar treatment
King and other freedom fighters endured, and reflect on the
true lessons from his life and struggles that are relevant
to the Palestinian struggle and its hopes for a lasting
peace.
Despite King's acceptance now in mainstream circles, he was
first and foremost a troublemaker in the cause of justice.
While King believed in peace, he was more importantly a
person of action, and one completely intolerant of
injustice. In that sense he was a thorn in the side of the
powers that be and the status quo.
King did not achieve credibility by simply preaching peace
and good will, and certainly not by being passive or
submissive in the face of oppression. He gained credibility
because he was a person who was prepared to challenge the
unjust laws and practices of his period, laws and practices
that were summarized in the notion of Jim Crow segregation.
Even though Jim Crow was the law in much of the United
States, King and countless others were prepared to break the
law and, thereby, threaten the stability of this country. He
was branded a communist, a malcontent and a criminal, all
with the aim of discrediting him. And, when that was not
enough, and his following did not disappear into the night,
he was harassed and faced repeated death threats, ultimately
leading to his murder.
The condemnation of Palestinian activists as terrorists, no
matter their approach, shares a great deal in common with
the manner in which King and African-American freedom
fighters (and their allies) were demonized and repressed. It
was the basic cause that needed to be destroyed by the
oppressor and not just the individuals.
The same is true today as Palestinian activists, including
those who have consciously and openly repudiated armed
struggle, are sidelined so that the Israeli government can
claim, with a straight face, that it has no Palestinian
partner with which it can discuss peace.
The "partners" are there in Palestine. When we celebrate the
courage and vision of freedom fighters such as King or
Fannie Lou Hamer and the countless others who are remembered
during Black History Month, we should think of those
Palestinian Kings and Fannie Lou Hamers whose nonviolent
struggle for freedom, justice and equality continues.
[The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those
of Bill Fletcher Jr.]
_____________________________________________