Duty-Bound
I am much better suited as a social critic. In my last post, I tried to include a more positive slant (after my usual rant about the ridiculous attitude of most Israeli activists, who are riding on the shoulders of the work done by committed activists who earned the trust of Palestinians over a long period of thankless grunt work spanning years). I wrote about another initiative of Israeli women who were committing civil disobedience by driving Palestinian women and children into '48 without permits, to see the sea. I argued, and still believe, that such an action, where Israelis are taking substantial legal risk, is an important step for these anti-occupation activists. Often so-called solidarity activists are interested in the fight for the oppressed, up to a point. That point seems too often to be where participation in the struggle comes at some personal cost. It is refreshing, then, to see Israelis willing to take some serious risk to confront occupation. I unfortunately got a little too optimistic, believing that somehow because they were willing to risk some personal freedom (in the unlikely event that they get arrested) for what they believed, that they would also naturally have better solidarity politics altogether. And so here's a new caveat to my original caveat of my critique of Israeli activists (for those of you who continue to read after that sentence, I thank you.) See, it's not enough to take a risk. It's not enough for an Israeli to say, "I, too, will go to jail for Palestinian freedom". It's a good step, a significant step, but there is a second part to the sentence, that only a spare few seem to have really integrated into their consciousness': "I, too, will go to jail for Palestinian freedom, because it is my duty to do everything I can to prevent the continued oppression of an entire people in my name." I'm a big fan of the concept of duty. Many leftists, especially so-called anarchists and all new-agey people, seem to be afraid of the idea. Certainly, they think it is contradictory to the concept of "liberation", as if somehow freedom is synonymous with "no responsibilities". It's an annoying trait of leftist activists, which I could write about for ages, but I digress. My point is, too many solidarity activists, and nearly all Israeli activists, including almost all of the women involved in the smuggling trips, seem to think that they're doing the Palestinians a favor; one that should be rewarded (the phrase, "what do you want,a fucking medal?" has run through my head a thousand times the past month.). This is certainly not helped by the fact that Israelis and other Palestine solidarity activists seem so damn eager to applaud the great sacrifices they themselves, and others of their groups make. It's almost as if they're saying, "see what we've done? Don't demand more of us, and don't expect more, we've done what we can, and we should be applauded for it". So here's what I'd like to say to all the folks out there who are interested in Palestinian liberation:
The truth is, without living here, day in and day out, one cannot possibly know the horror, the grinding, unending, unbearable pain of occupation. You cannot begin to understand what it means to raise a child under the constant gloom of not being able to control their environment, their personal safety even inside their own homes (I am only beginning to understand, as I prepare for the likelihood of my daughter's father going to jail again). What Israel has done to you/could do to you/will do to you is nothing, nothing compared to what it does to Palestinians living under its shadow every day. And yes, we solidarity activists, Israelis and internationals, are needed, and desired here. But it is also our duty, our responsibility, as relatively free people who have declared ourselves solidarity activists, to risk some comfort, some safety, some personal freedom for the freedom of others. We do it because we're supposed to, and we should do it whether anyone else knows we do it, or not. In the words of my dear, famous friend Nora Barrows-Friedman (hell yeah I just dropped that name): it's not about you.
The truth is, without living here, day in and day out, one cannot possibly know the horror, the grinding, unending, unbearable pain of occupation. You cannot begin to understand what it means to raise a child under the constant gloom of not being able to control their environment, their personal safety even inside their own homes (I am only beginning to understand, as I prepare for the likelihood of my daughter's father going to jail again). What Israel has done to you/could do to you/will do to you is nothing, nothing compared to what it does to Palestinians living under its shadow every day. And yes, we solidarity activists, Israelis and internationals, are needed, and desired here. But it is also our duty, our responsibility, as relatively free people who have declared ourselves solidarity activists, to risk some comfort, some safety, some personal freedom for the freedom of others. We do it because we're supposed to, and we should do it whether anyone else knows we do it, or not. In the words of my dear, famous friend Nora Barrows-Friedman (hell yeah I just dropped that name): it's not about you.