"Solidarity" with Palestinians/Arabs/Muslim world

[t.shonku]

Posted by Devrim


Never mind what you suggest seems as much as a fantasy

You can say me anything you want but the fact is today US is not the same as it once used to be,countries are slowly becoming defiant,let us look at Russia's invasion of Georgia in 2008(remember Georgia is a member of US alliance),do you think Russia would have done it 8to9 yrs ago?Frankly speaking US is loosing grip on Global scale in military,political and economic sphere.And all of these is happening bcoz of US's adventures into Middle east.
Let us look back at history of Roman Empire,it didn't fall bcoz of a superpower enemy but because of it's own weight and in hands of tribes and nomads.Today US is also suffering in hands of a bunch of rag tag Middle Eastern freedom fighter guerrillas.And it's economy is in shambles thanks to it's corporate houses' economic greed and bcoz of it's churches propagation of hate which is causing war and bcoz of which so many young US men are returning home with one leg or one hand.

All empires rises, thrives,and perishes.

[this is an invasion]

File it under "shit white people shouldnt do". Seriously a non Muslim wearing a muslim head scarf is probably on the same level as white boy dreads.

Dreads aren't a strictly Black thing, and I think it's a little racist to say it is. Various groups all over the world (including Irish monks) have had dreads throughout history. I mean it's one of those things that happens on it's own if you don't brush your hair or cut it.


EDIT: I didn't read any posts after this, nor am I trying to help blow this up. I'M JUS' SAYIN' SHIT <3

[Devrim]

Are there any groups in Palestine / exiled from it,that you are engaged in polemics with?

No, there aren't. I don't think that the term 'engaged in polemics with' is a very good one either.

I haven't see any groups that are orientated anywhere near class-struggle in Palestine. I have been told by an anarchist friend in contact with people in Palestine that a couple of times, similar blocs of workers have actually tried to break the initiative of nationalist strikes into being about class issues, but I dont have any first-hand contact so it is pretty much 100% speculative.

Even in a place a driven by nationalism and with as defeated a working class as Palestine there are still workers struggles. A good example would be the teacher's strike a few years ago.

Devrim

[Devrim]

as for the icc(whatever they are)in my opinion,their ideas of the working class are far from reality.shouting 'nationalist or bourgeouisie' at anything doesnt get whatever abstract view they have anywhere.

What is closer to reality, another sixty years of the same hell in Palestine?

Devrim

[Devrim]

You can say me anything you want but the fact is today US is not the same as it once used to be,countries are slowly becoming defiant,

It is true. There is a weakening in US control. A major example from this country would be Turkey's invasion of Northern Iraq despite US complaints in 2008.

let us look at Russia's invasion of Georgia in 2008(remember Georgia is a member of US alliance),do you think Russia would have done it 8to9 yrs ago?

Yes, I think that they probably would have. Russia is an ex-super power with a massive nuclear arsenal, a huge army, and it was intervening in its own backyard.

I think that the process that you mention can be seen more in the US' allies becoming less compliant.

Frankly speaking US is loosing grip on Global scale in military,political and economic sphere.And all of these is happening bcoz of US's adventures into Middle east.

The US is loosing a grip. It is not only to do with its adventures in the Middle East though.

Let us look back at history of Roman Empire,it didn't fall bcoz of a superpower enemy but because of it's own weight and in hands of tribes and nomads.Today US is also suffering in hands of a bunch of rag tag Middle Eastern freedom fighter guerrillas.And it's economy is in shambles thanks to it's corporate houses' economic greed and bcoz of it's churches propagation of hate which is causing war and bcoz of which so many young US men are returning home with one leg or one hand.

All empires rises, thrives,and perishes.

What you fail to mention in this analogy is that the 'tribes and nomads' were confronting the Romans in many cases with military superiority. This is not the case today with the 'rag tag Middle Eastern freedom fighter guerrillas'. The analogy doesn't work.

Devrim

[727Goon]

its like that jazzrat?

Neg reppin a nigga and shit.

[KurtFF8]

It's not that white people should "just act white" and so on, but rather that some leftists/activists seem to almost take a lifestylist approach to solidarity, conflating political support with emotional/spiritual attachment.

I agree if they think that wearing a keffiyeh is itself a major political act of solidarity.

But I would venture to say that the majority of those who wear keffiyehs to express support for Palestine don't think that their wearing it is itself a major "act" in itself. If anything it should be their inaction on their own ideas you should be criticizing, not the small act of political expression. (Granted, many in the US likely aren't engaged in organizing solidarity demonstrations and the like but that's a whole different topic)

[freepalestine]

Hell Ya the Quality is totally different what you get from Palestine will be thicker

in europe a psc's sell kafiyehs at 5euro.all proceeds from kafiyurs and other goods go to palestine comunitys.so quality is irrelevent really.its not so abstract,comrade

Advanced Palestinian scarves made in China
Published Sunday 22/08/2010 (updated) 24/08/2010 09:53






By Georgina Reeves

Owned by the Herbawi family, the last keffiyeh factory in Palestine is located in Hebron. Recently, the story has attracted media interest from Haaretz to Monocle.

But this attention is irrelevant if the factory is unable to compete locally. The textile industry has been all but destroyed by the massive influx of cheap goods from China.

Last week the Herbawi factory received an order for 300 keffiyehs from a French solidarity group. But what good does this do if Palestinians won’t buy locally produced goods? After all, the largest market is right here, in the West Bank.

The patriarch of the family established the business in 1961. Since then it has provided Palestinians and tourists alike with the hatta, another name for the Arab headdress made famous, or infamous, by Yasser Arafat. The Herbawi factory’s looms, all 16 of them, used to run 24 hours a day. The equipment in the relatively small shed wouldn’t look out of place in a textile museum.

Now, just four looms are used regularly, producing the few orders they still receive. The small storeroom, which doubles as the office, was a rather forlorn sight. Packaged and half-finished keffiyehs were stacked up on the shelves and the sofa. Of course, it isn’t just the Herbawi business that suffers. They send out everything to local women to finish by hand, so there’s a real knock-on effect in the community from the lack of trade.

Keffiyehs bought by visitors to the factory are just 20 shekels each. Izzat Herbawi says that the wholesale cost of a Herbawi keffiyeh is 5 shekels more expensive than the Chinese imports. They’ve tried to get support from the Palestinian Authority but so far have received no help. Could it be that the taxes levied on Chinese imports are more important than supporting local businesses? Along with the keffiyehs, nearly everything in Palestine that isn’t food is made in China. (And much of the food is from Israel.)

Earlier that day a German TV crew had pitched up unannounced to film the factory for yet another piece on the last keffiyeh factory in Palestine. Walk through Bethlehem’s old city and you’ll struggle to find a single keffiyeh from Herbawi. All the scarves are from China. Shopkeepers claim their stock is local and high quality but the labels tell a different story. Seventy percent polyester and not “made in Palestine.”

Who would come to Palestine and buy a Chinese keffiyeh? One would presume nearly nobody. Most visitors are coming here explicitly as a form of solidarity, whether religious pilgrims or political activists. No matter the reason for choosing Palestine as a destination, it is likely that all who do come would like to support Palestinian businesses. The handicraft industry is a good example of how a local industry is supported by international visitors, and those products are certainly 100 percent Palestinian.

But the one symbol, more than any other, that is both globally and instantly recognized as Palestinian, isn’t any longer.


The author is a co-founding trustee of Ahdaf, a British charity supporting Palestinian students.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=309877