To Divide and Conquer
“High walls are built all over the occupied areas not just to protect Israeli settlements, but to divide and conquer all aspects of Palestinian life. ”
I was not quite sure what to expect going to Palestine to better understand the conditions that exist there. After returning this week and recovering from jet-lag, I am now trying to formulate my thoughts.
First, a comment about our group: it was a diverse one with ages ranging from early twenties to early eighties. In terms of identity, we had a mixture of African Americans, Palestinian Americans, African American Palestinian Americans, and white people like me. I think our diversity helped us with learning from varied perspectives on the situation in Palestine.
Our group visited Jerusalem to meet with Palestinians of African origin, refugee camps, outposts of resistance to Israeli settlements, and resistance groups such as the founders of the BDS movement. We were able to get an idea of how the people of Palestine cope within a system of Zionist occupation that is usurping their lands and marginalizing them economically with a police state that controls activity of all kinds.
High walls are built all over the occupied areas not just to protect Israeli settlements, but to divide and conquer all aspects of Palestinian life. One cannot help but compare the racism used on the people of Palestine to what goes on in the USA against Black and Latino people especially. One might compare the building of an expressway that divides neighborhoods in Chicago to the walls of Palestine. I am impressed with the resilience and the fighting back of the Palestinian people against tremendous odds. I see parallels with the Movement for Black Lives and other similar movements in the US.
As mentioned in the theme of our group: Class is an important component of the plight of the average Palestinian worker, as it is for many Israeli workers as well. Many Jews, often of Ethiopian origin, are in the lower paying jobs and the Israeli military.
Understanding that the capitalists of Israel and of Palestine both benefit from exploitation of the working class in Israel-Palestine is important. There is a basis for unity in a similar struggle, but it would appear, this is not in the cards right now. It is also important to understand the role of Israel internationally including US support that allows for its policies to be implemented with impunity in Palestine.
The more that is known about what is going on in Palestine, the greater the groundswell of support to the Palestinian’s struggle can lead to a better life for Palestinians and a greater level of struggle against the racism that we are fighting in the US.
At dinner at a neighbor’s home here on Chicago this week, I met Murad Al Khufash, a Palestinian from Marda (near Nablus) who happened to be in town. I learned a bit about his Permaculture farm. This was a welcome coincidence, reinforcing my understanding of the resistance to and resilience against the Zionist occupation.
