Palestine
As A Foil For People’s Unconnected Dreams
By Ramzy Baroud
05 November, 2006
Countercurrents.org
Thousands
of people recently marched in London to commemorate Quds Day, an annual
day of solidarity with the Palestinian people that emanated from Tehran
some 26 years ago.
I neither wish to contend
nor corroborate the sincerity of the call, made by Ayatollah Khomeini,
in a time when the Palestinian people endure, unaided, the unbearable
brunt of the Israeli occupation, international isolation and its subsequent
economic boycott, and the burden of their leaderships’ own folly,
that of factionalism and lack of political coherence.
However, the scene in London
was too surreal, and brought into question the usefulness of such displays
of solidarity with the Palestinians. As Hezbollah and Iranian flags
and banners wavered in the cold London breeze, and posters of Iranian
leaders sprung everywhere, I failed to spot one Palestinian flag, one
positive message, one helpful chant. It was only when the black clad
Neturei Karta rabbis made their entrance that the Palestinian flag was
introduced into the march.
I grew partially irritated
and utterly confused as marchers made their way through the city, eventually
descending on the gates of the American embassy, where a small stage
and a few microphones awaited fiery speakers; then, the cries of “down
with the USA” and “we are all Hezbollah” rang across
the city, as American security officers took position, preparing for
what could become a showdown with the seemingly intoxicated protesters.
Befuddled at the spectacle,
its lack of any true meaning or relevance to Palestine at all, at the
unhappy, or alarmed faces of the passersby and the usefulness of affiliating
Palestine with such militancy, and more, I retreated. Finding my way
back to my apartment with utter difficulty through the ever expanding
city, I contemplated: Have I right to question the motive of the organizers,
however misguided their presentation might be? But is it not immoral
to exploit the cause of Palestine as that of inclusive justice, as opposed
to theocratic exclusiveness, for self-exultation and political ends?
But the debate can indeed
be stretched much further into another, neglected by an utterly pertinent
one, that of Palestine as a pressing tragedy seeking urgent remedy versus
that of an postponed historic grievance without any realistic diameters,
relevance to the real world, or needless, to say, a real plan of action.
Regardless of its many flaws
and imperfections, no other national struggle in the world has assimilated
itself, or has been inadvertently assimilated, to symbolize so many
things to so many different people, as has the Palestinian struggle.
And yet, despite the intricate layers of sense and understanding that
have sought to encapsulate the Palestinian struggle, Palestine itself
lingers in the world’s consciousness merely as a symbol.
Palestine is the last domicile
for those seeking deliverance, and the ultimate place next to heaven
for those in quest of salvation. There, it has been written that the
tireless hunt for spiritual quintessence shall come to an end; the armies
shall meet there, once more; they shall fight in the name of God, an
Armageddon not like any other, of which victory has already been promised
to the righteous.
Palestine has also been a
rallying cry for the dispossessed and for the aspiring underdog. Its
letters have been inscribed in blood on prison walls throughout Israel
and the Arab world as a promise of victory or as a lamentation of defeat.
When anti-globalization activists
take on neo-imperialist institutions, they raise a Palestinian flag,
and when Venezuela’s poor brought Hugo Chavez back to power in
April 2002, a Palestinian flag also wavered in the wind.
Palestine also had its fair
share of political exploitation. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
fought his Iranian foes, in some of the cruelest and most costly wars,
in the name of Palestine, and in the name of Palestine Iran fought back.
Arab nations have long hidden behind liberation-of-Palestine slogans
to excuse their ineptitude and to rationalize their oppression.
And in the United States,
Palestine takes on a plethora of unique and often deadly meanings. It’s
a prophecy waiting to be fulfilled and a market for politicians wishing
to sell their will to the highest bidder. It’s a major and everlasting
news headline that, despite its ominous presence, seems to teach and
evoke nothing except the intentional misrepresentation of the facts.
As for Palestine the reality
— the suffering, the loss, the hopelessness and hurt, the refugee
camps, the checkpoints, the expanding settlements, the encroaching Israeli
wall, the ruined lives, the packed prisons, the anger and prevailing
sense of betrayal, the desperation and human bombs, the shattered economy,
the bulldozed orchards, the more than 50 years-long fear of the future
— it seems to be the least relevant point.
Symbolic Palestine —
Palestine the dream — has for long hijacked Palestine the reality.
Thus when Palestine is discussed, examined and scrutinized, the frame
of reference is hardly the one invoked when any other similar conflict
is discussed. Its resolution is rarely seen pertinent to international
law or human rights edicts and is barely understood — as it should
be — in terms of power and strategy. Rather it’s a subject
of flared imaginations, religious fantasy and fictitious constructs.
One cannot and must not undermine
the efforts of the inspiring activists whose awareness of the Palestinian
reality on the ground is unmatched and whose sincere efforts to achieve
peace with justice in Palestine translate to more than a few heart-rending
words and phrases, but steady action and unequaled readiness to labor
and even sacrifice for their beliefs. However, it’s this wrestle
between the real as opposed to figurative and abstract awareness that
shall define the course of action that is likely to follow.
If Palestine continues to
be understood — or misunderstood — outside its proper frame
as a national struggle for rights within the appropriately corresponding
international context, then little can be expected from any attempts
to remedy its ailments.
It is time to distance Palestine
from further interpretations and understand it as it is. Otherwise,
Palestine, its people and conflict shall be confined to the ever-augmented
edifices of rhetoric with no connection to the real aspirations of a
real people with real demands, awaiting justice and a moment of peace.
-Excerpts of this article appeared in Ramzy Baroud’s latest book:
The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a People’s Struggle
(Pluto Press, London), available on Amazon.com, Plutobooks.com and many
bookshops.
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