The rise in mainstream solidarity with Palestinians has revealed some unwanted truths about certain people in my life that I respect and care about. To be clear, I am talking about friends and ‘allies’ who have supported me and showed up for me consistently, but are currently disappointing me with their misguided, neutral takes on Palestine-Israel and their passivity in Palestinian solidarity.
It has been incredibly isolating, first of all, to process everything that’s happening where no one else in my proximity is holding space in the same way I am. I have shown up to protests alone, I feel like I can only talk to my best friends abroad who are not here with me physically, and my ‘progressive’ political workplace hasn’t once acknowledged the Palestinian genocide despite its growing mainstream media presence.
I recently confronted someone who I respect and care about about their lack of solidarity action. This person claims to be against the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, but I have not seen them engage in the way someone who cares about the issue does. E.g.: not showing up to protests, appearing visibly uncomfortable when the topic is brought up in front of other people, and not engaging in media sharing to publicize their stance on the issue.
This person is a white American citizen and someone who has clearly reaped the benefits of U.S. imperialism as reflected by their privilege. As a white person, they are not vulnerable to the racist justice and carceral systems. As a citizen, they are protected by their constitutional right to protest and free speech. Most people who are taking action have either or neither of these privileges and have a lot more to lose.
It’s usually not my job to educate white people, but since I was close to this person, it felt like a responsibility. I wanted to understand their contradicting behavior. And by having that conversation, I hoped they could get to a place of embracing the responsibility in actively combating complicity to genocide through tangible actions.
Admittedly, what I learned in our dialogue was hurtful and misguided. They reasoned their passivity and silent ‘solidarity’ with the fear of being perceived as anti-semitic. (BTW this person isn’t Jewish). To which I countered with, anti-semitic to who? Which entity in this imbalanced conflict is equating anti-zionism and Palestinian liberation to anti-semitism?
There is a huge Jewish community out there on the frontlines united and chanting ‘not in our name’ and ‘never again’, calling for the end of Palestinian violence and the end of the apartheid state. Having this belief invalidates the voices of a very important Jewish community. Then, I was accused of tokenizing Jews and not understanding the scope of trauma experienced by Jewish people and holocaust descendants since I was not formally educated on this history through my Malaysian public school education.
There is some truth to the fact that I know less about the systemic Jewish plight due to not being formally educated on the Holocaust. However, I also wasn’t formally educated about slavery and Jim Crow and many other historical world events. The assumption that I’m unable to educate myself is incredibly insulting and reeks of a weird superiority complex against me.
How do you in the same breath say you are for a Free Palestine but hesitate to listen to and heed Palestinians’ call for liberation and resistance because you are choosing to believe Zionists (the very group justifying Palestinian genocide)’s baseless definition of anti-semitism? How do you say you support something but don’t listen to them and instead listen to their direct opposition? Shit does not add up lol.
This very principle of listening to the voices you support is so basic yet so lost in some people’s frames of logic. Our entire conversation kept coming back to that one principle. The Palestinian chants for liberation such as ‘from the river to the sea’ and ‘intifada’ (to name some) are ‘anti-semitic’ according to Zionists. When you choose to validate this definition of anti-semitism, you are invalidating its pro-liberation definitions. Both definitions directly contradict one another and therefore cannot coexist as truths.
Don’t get me wrong: Combatting anti-semitism /is/ extremely important. And every one of us committed to justice owes solidarity to our Jewish allies. But weaponizing ‘anti-semitism’ to justify violence and further oppress a different community defeats its purpose. And if you are not critical, you easily fall for the divisive tactic of the oppressor who gains from pitting us against one another.
Be critical and refocus, please. We must remain united and organized in our solidarity for a Free Palestine. Listen to Palestinians and heed their call to action.