"A free people in our land" - Gershon Baskin of the Israeli Green Movement

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Thu, 2010-03-18 23:24

radiorahim radiorahim's picture

Judy Rebick posted a link to this article by Gershon Baskin on Facebook and I'm passing it along to folks here. It appeared ... believe it or not...in the Jerusalem Post.

Quote:

The country has apparently made its choice – it prefers territories to peace. By our own hands, we are putting an end to the Zionist enterprise. A people that occupies another and denies it self-determination, liberation and freedom cannot be a free people in its lands.

THE AVERAGE Palestinian and more so the intellectuals are voicing a new understanding: There is no longer a chance to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza with east Jerusalem as its capital. A new strategy is developing and Israelis should be worried about what this strategy will mean for them.

Phase one of the strategy will be what is already being termed a “white intifada.” This is a strategy for massive civil disobedience and a refusal to cooperate with the occupation. This strategy is based on non-violent confrontation with the occupation authorities. We have seen evidence of this in Bil’in, Ni’lin, Budrus, Masara and other places that are so far unfamiliar to Israeli consciousness. The Palestinian Authority is actively advancing the boycott of settlement products and will soon encourage Palestinian workers to stop working in settlements.

And further down

Quote:

This year there were 40 university campuses around the world taking part in the “Israel Apartheid Week” campaign; next year it might be 400 or more. Once the Palestinians adopt the strategy of “democracy” as their solution, they cannot lose. It will only be a matter of time before the world treats Israel like it treated the last white government of South Africa.

So, comparisons between Israeli policies and those of South African apartheid appear in mainstream Israeli newspapers. But here in Canada, we have a federal government attempting to criminalize this comparison...and politicians from all parties trying to shut down this discussion.

The other thing he is saying is that if negotiations can't bring about a "two state solution"...the only alternative is full democratic rights for everyone in a single state.

Thu, 2010-03-18 23:33

radiorahim radiorahim's picture

Silly me...tired...forgot to post the link...it's here

Thu, 2010-03-18 23:47

al-Qa'bong

The Palestinian Authority is promoting the "White Intifada?" If so, it's a positive development, but it's a complete reversal of Abu Mazen and Fatah's recent acts of collaboration with the US-Israeli occupation.

Fri, 2010-03-19 01:34

N.Beltov

Fatah can't sell out the movement if they're not at the head of it. Robert Fisk called the corrupt leadership of Fatah "the men of the gold-plated bathrooms" for their lavish (and gold-plated) toilets.

Fri, 2010-03-19 08:32

Stargazer

radiorahim wrote:

Judy Rebick posted a link to this article by Gershon Baskin on Facebook and I'm passing it along to folks here. It appeared ... believe it or not...in the Jerusalem Post.

Quote:

The country has apparently made its choice – it prefers territories to peace. By our own hands, we are putting an end to the Zionist enterprise. A people that occupies another and denies it self-determination, liberation and freedom cannot be a free people in its lands.

THE AVERAGE Palestinian and more so the intellectuals are voicing a new understanding: There is no longer a chance to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza with east Jerusalem as its capital. A new strategy is developing and Israelis should be worried about what this strategy will mean for them.

Phase one of the strategy will be what is already being termed a “white intifada.” This is a strategy for massive civil disobedience and a refusal to cooperate with the occupation. This strategy is based on non-violent confrontation with the occupation authorities. We have seen evidence of this in Bil’in, Ni’lin, Budrus, Masara and other places that are so far unfamiliar to Israeli consciousness. The Palestinian Authority is actively advancing the boycott of settlement products and will soon encourage Palestinian workers to stop working in settlements.

And further down

Quote:

This year there were 40 university campuses around the world taking part in the “Israel Apartheid Week” campaign; next year it might be 400 or more. Once the Palestinians adopt the strategy of “democracy” as their solution, they cannot lose. It will only be a matter of time before the world treats Israel like it treated the last white government of South Africa.

So, comparisons between Israeli policies and those of South African apartheid appear in mainstream Israeli newspapers. But here in Canada, we have a federal government attempting to criminalize this comparison...and politicians from all parties trying to shut down this discussion.

The other thing he is saying is that if negotiations can't bring about a "two state solution"...the only alternative is full democratic rights for everyone in a single state.

That's a good article, but I can't say I am surprised that it was written. There are a lot of Jews who live in Israel who fight alongside their Palestinian brothers and sisters for justice. They just don't get the MSM attention here. That's the sad part.

Sat, 2010-03-20 00:42

radiorahim radiorahim's picture

Stargazer wrote:

That's a good article, but I can't say I am surprised that it was written. There are a lot of Jews who live in Israel who fight alongside their Palestinian brothers and sisters for justice. They just don't get the MSM attention here. That's the sad part.

Was surprised to see this in the Jerusalem Post (which Conrad Black used to own...not sure who owns it now)...although wouldn't have been so surprised to see it in Haaretz.

In any case, you're right...these Israeli voices are rarely heard in this part of the world...and yes I met many progressive Israelis who struggle in solidarity with the Palestinians when I was there last year.

Sat, 2010-03-20 10:18

Frustrated Mess Frustrated Mess's picture

While I agree there are many Israeli voices who recognize the injustice committed against Palestinians, I think you may be misinterpreting this Israeli voice. He is not condemning nor criticizing Israeli mistreatment of Palestinians nor even the occupation. He does not criticize the ethnocracy of the Zionist project. Rather, he is putting forward an argument that Israel is threatened by a Palestinian democracy movement if Israel does not stop expanding into the West Bank turning the "two state solution" into a fading opportunity.

But the two state solution was never a real possibility in the first place. It was always a constructed illusion to placate Arab and Palestinian leadership. Otherwise, what was to negotiate? Israel could have at any time declared its borders and left Palestinians to work out how they would manage their little state. But the Zionist project has always been about entirely consuming historic Palestine from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean--without Palestinians.

This illusion has been costly to Palestinians in terms of lives, suffering, and lost opportunity for a true democracy movement. But it will be as costly, if not more so, for Zionism in the long term. There no longer remains the possibility of a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza and, in any case, even the most progressive of Israeli politicians will only offer Palestinians what are best Bantus surrounded by Israeli settlers and military and subject to continued harassment and violence, with an economy relegated to the proceeds of serfdom, exploitation, and international charity.

Palestinians are recognizing, if not the PA and Hamas who are mostly interested in protecting their own shrinking enclaves of power and privilege over their own people, that the only viable and true peace will come not from negotiating borders with a military machine that denies your humanity, but in seeking political and social justice, equality, and full rights as human beings within an existing state structure.

The Wall will come down.