There is so much going on at the moment, it’s almost hard to keep up with all the articles and posts that are being published about the Israel-Palestine conflict. One thing seems clear though: all the uproar brings cracks in the old beliefs about the justification of the state of Israel.
And because it’s so easy to get overwhelmed by all the negativity, let’s highlight this momentum and sum up at least eight reasons why times are changing.
- Human Rights Watch continuously reports on how “Israeli policies are making apartheid and persecution a reality for millions of Palestinians” (their latest from April 27, 2021).
- Independent media platforms bring insightful information about the conflict as opposed to the mainstream media’s old rhetoric:
- The latest US House of Congress speeches show that something is changing in the way American politicians are approaching the conflict.
- There is more awareness about the relationship between Black Lives Matter and FreePalestine and a renewed interest in Black solidarity movements. People even say that the BLM protests of last year changed the American conversation about Israel and Palestine.
- Activists have a strong voice on social media and make use of artists to let their message go viral:
- More and more people are calling out tech platforms for silencing pro-Palestinian voices, saying it’s “Digital Apartheid”.
- Jewish people use their voices to speak louder against Israel on social media platforms:
- Celebrities speak out against Israel, like Bella Haddid who has 41,7 million followers on Instagram. Although football players of Ajax in The Netherlands receive a lot of backlash for their support to the Palestinian case.
What’s next? Decolonizing Israel
And now what? Even though the posts on social media definitely create a new momentum where unheard voices are being heard and the censorship by mass media is being bypassed, the long-term solution won’t come from posting online.
Telesur’s Empire Files interviewed everyday Israelis in 2017 about the conflict. The video shows a huge amount of quotes of Israelis that want to eliminate all Palestinians, so there is still a long way to go. But journalist Abby Martin also visits Ronnie Barkan who grew up in Israel and criticizes the policies of his home country:
Ronnie Barkan
“I managed to overcome the indoctrination I grew up in Israel. And then everything became very clear. One of the main successes of Israeli propaganda is to convince the world that the situation is complicated. But it’s probably the least complicated conflict in the world”.
Barkan’s remark about overcoming indoctrination is important as a starting point. We need to ask ourselves hard questions, we will feel uncomfortable, we need to educate ourselves and listen to other truths. This is in the end what decolonizing our mind is. And scrolling through our timeline can help, but the real work is done by people who are in this for the long term. The continuous research by NGOs like Human Rights Watch and the courage of independent journalists who risk their lives to report on the issue. Don’t forget to support them.
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