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Palestine: Why is it Happening?

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However in the case of the Palestinian struggle, their neighboring countries are doing the opposite. They are, if anything, more hostile to them than Israel. They have sealed their borders and are not even allowing medicines to go through. Their military personnel are infiltrating into Palestine to gather intelligence on behalf of Israel in order to destroy Hamas. The fact that Hamas is the duly elected government of Palestine means nothing to them or to their masters, who harp about democracy from the rooftops but strongly support dictatorships – all without batting an eyelid. As mentioned earlier, this is the same logic that prevailed in Egypt where the duly elected government was declared ‘terrorist’ and a dictator was installed and called the ‘elected President’. The Arab Spring – sprang into the lap of dictatorship once again. Palestinian freedom fighters therefore are completely alone without a single friend in any government, with the exception of the Government of South Africa and now several Latin American countries, which still support the anti- apartheid freedom struggle.

Another question that is often asked is why Gandhian non-violent civil disobedience didn’t work in the South African freedom struggle even though Gandhi started propagating it in South Africa. Gandhi’s philosophy was eventually tried and tested in India and it worked very well in getting rid of British Colonial Rule. But in South Africa it was tried and failed and so was abandoned and armed resistance was adopted and eventually succeeded in gaining freedom for the black people from white apartheid rule. I asked one of my friends, a famous senior freedom fighter in the South African freedom struggle, who spent over two decades in prison, this question. His answer, “The Apartheid Regime didn’t play by the rules like the British in India did.” And that is precisely the reason why a non-violent movement will probably not work in Palestine either – the Zionists don’t play by the rules. Rachel Corrie was murdered by an Israeli bulldozer driver while she was attempting to protest peacefully against the illegal demolition of a Palestinian home.[5]

The bigger tragedy is that nobody, including her own government, supported her non-violent action, nor did they criticize or punish the bulldozer driver who murdered her. The message to the Palestinian people was clear – non-violence doesn’t work.

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The final, unusual feature in this whole game is the situation of massive civilian support for Palestine and against Israeli aggression. What is amazing however is the extent of civilian support for Palestine, yet its apparent ineffectiveness in changing the situation on the ground. Social Media has played a vital role in exposing the truth to the general public so that, despite state control of so-called mainstream media and Israeli influence on major media channels like CNN, Fox, BBC and others, which enables them to use these channels as their propaganda machine, common people are able to get real information directly from the frontline, from people who are directly affected.

Another tactic which seems to be working very well and the success of which must be attributed to Social Media – especially Twitter and Facebook – is the movement to boycott products made in Israel and Occupied Palestine. YouTube brought images to the public that mainstream television was trying to hide. Boycotting products gave the public a way to take action that is legal and in their power to do. Social Media made it possible to connect across international boundaries. We hope that all this will bring about change on the ground before it is too late.

Problem definitions are always easy for someone who has the benefit of perspective, a function of distance. The solution is also very simple to envisage in this case All people of conscience must learn to unite on justice; understand that injustice to one is injustice to all. For Muslims, follow the Book of Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) and the Sunnah of His Messenger ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) and show the rest of the world how Arabs and Palestinians are not a threat but a big asset to the world. How to make it happen? Implementation is always the key. And only action can get results.

Justice to Palestine

Notwithstanding all of the above, it is entirely possible that we may all be in for a huge surprise – and I for one am praying for it – where the huge involvement of civil society in upholding human rights and speaking out against murder and genocide may bear fruit and give justice to the Palestinians.

The reality is that when the bombs stop falling the Palestinians will have the freedom to live in their land, minus their homes, without electricity, water, schools, hospitals and all the conveniences and security that we take for granted in even the poorer countries. And Israel will still have the wall, the check points, the right and power to humiliate, violate, imprison and kill Palestinians without question. So really what kind of life is that? And of course I am not even talking about dealing with the psychological trauma of bereavement and desolation in their lives for no fault other than being in the wrong place – so to speak.

It is essential for the world to remember that the challenge for all people of conscience is not merely to stop the bombing but to ensure that this never happens again. The only way to achieve that is to ensure that justice is done, murder is punished and its perpetrators are brought to book. Its supporters must be taught a lesson that they won’t forget in a hurry. Only then will a soldier think twice before pulling the trigger, when he has a child’s face in the cross hairs of his telescopic sight.

Only then will we once again dare to call ourselves human.

 

[1] “Balfour Declaration.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. 25 July 2014. Web. 3 August 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration>

[2] “Balfour Declaration.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. 25 July 2014. Web. 3 August 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration>

[3] Chossudovsky, Michel. “War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza’s Offshore Gas Fields.” Global Research. Global Research, 08 Jan. 2009. Web. 05 Aug. 2014.

[4]  Fadhel, Mohammad. “Israel Wants Palestine’s Water and Gas.” Newsletter. Gulfnews.com, 27 July 2014. Web. 05 Aug. 2014.

[5] Parry, Nigel. “Photostory: Israeli Bulldozer Driver Murders American Peace Activist.” The Electronic Intifada. The Electronic Intifada, 16 Mar. 2003. Web. 06 Aug. 2014.

 

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Mirza Yawar Baig is the Founder & President of Yawar Baig & Associates. He is an international speaker, coach, trainer and facilitator, specializing in leadership in family businesses.

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. Hyde

    August 11, 2014 at 3:36 PM

    I’m still waiting for some dare raise an eyebrow about the role of Saudi Arabia in all this. We all know that the house of Ibn Saud is one of the biggest supporters of wars against Gaza.

    Reply

  2. M

    August 11, 2014 at 8:26 PM

    There are so, so many pieces on this website covering the Palestinians, yet none, none on the massacre and rape of minorities at the hands on Muslims in Syria & Iraq. Absolutely nothing on that!

    There are Yazidi women being sold into sexual slavery, but you are not writing about any of it! Where is your humanity?
    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/11/yazidis-tormented-fears-for-women-girls-kidnapped-sinjar-isis-slaves

    This goes to show, your website does not give a sh*t about non-Muslims who are being killed by Muslims, you just do not care at all. Where is your humanity?The other article asked why prayers for Gaza are not being answered, and included the social & political hypocrisy of Muslims as a reason. Yet even after identifying the hypocrisy amongst Muslims, you still refuse to give coverage on the brutal killings of minorities at the hands of Muslims in Syria/Iraq, in favour of yet another article focussing on the Palestinian cause.

    I am not saying not to cover the Palestinian cause, but when pages upon pages are written about it by Muslims, and yet not a single page is written about what is happening to Yazidis in Iraq (even though the treatment they are receiving at the hands of ISIS is much more brutal then what the Palestinians are suffering)- it makes you wonder. I think this highlights the hypocrisy of Muslims (including your website) perfectly!

    You only rally when Muslims are suffering – and not just any Muslims, only Arab Muslims generally (I mean if you really cared about all Muslims equally, the coverage you give to the suffering of Muslims in CAR, the Rohingyas, northern Nigeria etc. would be equal to the coverage you give to the Palestinians. I can only remember a minimal number of articles published on those issues, compared to the pages upon pages dedicated to Palestinians. If you did indeed care about all Muslims equally, then there would be 10,000 strong weekly demonstrations against the treatment of Rohingyas in major cities around the world, with Muslims being a strong contingent. Of course none of this happens. Only for certain Muslim causes, would Muslims protest in such force (read Arab Muslim causes because you don’t care about blacks or Asians).

    So forget about your lack of humanity & empathy with non-Muslim suffering, you don’t even care much at all about Muslims suffering worldwide! You do not care about black and brown Muslims, and you are certainly silent about the suffering of non-Muslims- you only care about a very, very small subset of humanity.

    Until the day Muslim Matters’ coverage of the plight of Yazidis & the plight of Rohingyas is anywhere near equal to the amount of coverage you give to Palestinians, this website will remain a case in point about Muslim hypocrisy!

    Reply

    • soob

      August 12, 2014 at 3:16 AM

      There are two videos of lectures by sheik waleed basyouni which sums up the atrocities of ISIS. But I agree I’d like to hear more about what is happening to other Muslims even C.A.R, china etc. aswell as non-Muslims. But how do you chose, literally everywhere has some kind of problem. Gaza is unique in that the people have nowhere to run.

      Reply

  3. Pingback: PALESTINE: WHY IS IT HAPPENING? | PASS THE KNOWLEDGE (LIGHT & LIFE)

  4. Talibeilm

    August 14, 2014 at 12:30 PM

    Jazakallahu khayran katheera. This was an eye opener for me
    Barakallahu feek.

    Reply

  5. Pingback: Palestine: Why is it Happening? | Forum for Peaceful Coexistence, Sri Lanka

  6. Samy Merchant

    August 24, 2014 at 7:28 AM

    Salams, brothers and sisters.

    You will ONLY understand this conflict when you see it through the prism of ZIONIST theology. Yes! Zionism is a theology, with its roots in Judaic texts. And because it is a theology, it has fervent appeal for its followers. (“Aqeeda” ties people!) Zionist theology is based mostly on the Talmud but justification for it can be found even in the more moderate Torah. The Torah says:

    Zephaniah 2:4 “Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday, Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted”

    Isaiah 13:9 “See, the day of the Lord is coming, a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.”

    And according to Talmud theology:

    Jalkut Rubeni gadol 12b “The souls of non-Jews come from impure sprits and are called pigs.”

    Coschen hamischpat 425 Hagah 425. 5 “It is the law to kill anyone who denies the Torah.”

    Baba Kamma 37b. “The gentiles are outside the protection of the law and God has exposed their money to Israel.”

    It is IMPOSSIBLE for Zionists to make peace with the Palestinians. Zionist theology REQUIRES them to “uproot” the “sinners” (ie Palestinians.) In fact, the Moshiach, the Zionist Messiah, cannot come until this happens.

    ***Below is the link to a video which illustrates what I am saying. In this video, the Lubavitcher Rebbe is prodding the Zionist Israeli Prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to hasten the Moshiach’s coming. Netanyahu knows his theology only too well, and what is required of him!

    Link:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFr4C2BPLeM

    Of course, our Gazan brothers and sisters, the pride of Islam, are throwing a spanner in the works, Al-Hamdolillah

    Reply

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