Attitudes of Palestinian Israelis to the protests
JVL Introduction
Haaretz has produced a fascinating insight into how Palestinian citizens of Israel are relating to the current protests to “save Israeli democracy”, told through the voices of six Palestinians interviewed.
It is interesting to note that they usually refer to themselves as Arabs rather than Palestinians, a practice which has long been abandoned in the Palestinian diaspora and the solidarity movement.
Most are at best indifferent to the demonstrations; some argue for participation.
The authors’ conclusion is clear: “For the Arab public to join the mass protests, it has to feel like a partner in them.”
Virtually nothing the protest movement has done to date conveys that feeling.
This article was originally published by Haaretz on Wed 8 Mar 2023. Read the original here.
Six Arabs Explain Why They Aren't – or Are – Joining the Israeli Protests Against the Judicial Coup
As hundreds of thousands of Israelis take to the streets to protest the government’s judicial overhaul, one community is conspicuously absent. They’re no fans of Bibi, so why aren’t they joining in?
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Well this is a mixed bag. Ibrahim Abu Ahmad who works to promote the Abraham Accords, i.e. against BDS is a quisling.
Ghassan Munier’s point that Israeli Arabs weren’t even invited to the demonstration and that it speaks to a Jewish civil war is correct.
Likewise Raghda Awwad’s point that the demonstrations have nothing to say about cancelling the country’s Jewish character. On the contrary Israeli flags i.e. the flags of Jewish Supremacy are everywhere.
We should be absolutely clear. A Jewish state is a Jewish supremacist state is a racist state. What else can it be? A state doesn’t go to shul and daven. It doesn’t fast on Yom Kippur. A state is at the end of the day a repressive entity and those feeling the brunt of that repression in a Jewish ethno-nationalist state are those who are not Jewish.
I understand the hesitancy, but perhaps, there are some Israeli Jews, Palestinians should engage with.
On Monday, 20-year-old Yuval Dag arrived at an Israeli military enlistment centre and declared his refusal to enlist.
He was accompanied by a group of Mesarvot’s activists (Israeli support network for occupation refusers) that held up signs in protest of the occupation.
After stating his refusal to enlist to military authorities, he was arrested and sent to trial. Yuval received a sentence of 10 days in military prison, where he is currently kept.
That may seem a trivial sentence, in comparison to the ‘justice’ meted out to Palestinians, but for an Israeli Jew it’s a big step. A first step.
A first step after much personal reflection. A first step that deserves a response?
This is a real tough one for Palestinian citizens of Israel – I read this article two weeks ago and thought – there is no single ‘right’ answer in every situation or for every person. But I also read another much sharper account in Mondoweiss, describing how one of Haaretz’s interviewees – Reem Hazzan – was treated by the (Jewish) organisers of the Haifa demo. (Reem is very restrained in her Haaretz contribution, in telling what happened to her, and what this says in a broader political context about Israeli Jewish attitudes towards the 20+% of their fellow citizens who are Palestinian).
My reaction – well not all Jews are so bloody sectarian, narrow minded, unimaginative, fearful and self-obsessed. So I am pleased to report that Reem has accepted an invitation to take part in the Zoom Liberation Seder being organised by the British Shalom-Salaam Trust, JVL and JfJfP on Saturday 8 April.
Watching the thousands of Israelis out on the streets protesting against their Government, put me on such a high. I naively thought that this could be the beginning of the end for the extreme Rightwing Netanyahu and his cohorts, that a glimmer of hope will will be felt by the Palestinians, who must have thought that in the end nothing will change for the good. Reading this article was more than depressing, I started to sense that the Palestinians are on their own and always will be, that they cannot rely on any serious number of Israelis to take to the street’s specifically in support for them.
I’m certain now that what needs to happen is, for a number of Ministers from several Western Countries to come together and discuss the Palestinian issue, sort out a policy that they can all get United behind that doesn’t involve the UN (any action that is negative to Israel, the US and UK will veto it) one that will draw in other countries that hate what Israel is doing but are normally fearful of US sanctions if they supported BDS, will feel more confident if they are joining a group of Western countries. This would be more likely to hurt the Israeli economy, and they should also call for stopping its sportsmen and women from being allowed to compete in international competitions etc. it worked against S Africa.
All of us must keep campaigning, posting on Social Media Israeli crimes and urging Countries to get behind BDS.