I just attended a demonstration by Israelis and Palestinians
that fell under the rubric of demonstration for “peace based on two states for
two people.” I won’t get into the issue of the two state “delusion” since I wrote
a whole book on the subject which you can read here [1]. But I do want to reflect on what I
observed and show you some illustrative pictures of how such events are used in
the Israeli hasbara (propaganda) campaigns. The Israelis were a mix of good intentioned
individuals who knew nothing of the reality of settler colonialism that is the
state of Israel or really knowledgeable Zionists who wanted to prove to
Palestinians (us) that they are not as bad as they really are (and in the
process say “look Israel is a democracy that allows opinions to be expressed). A good example of the latter category is this
guy who is a good friend of a settler security official.
"Friendly demonstrator" with settler police officer
The slogan “two states for two people” is also racist and
only corroborates colonialism.
Settler colonial entities like Israel [2] ace one of three possible outcomes and never get resolved via a two state scenario. The three
models historically known are: 1) the Algeria model, 2) The Australia/New
Zealand model, and 3) (most common) the Latin America/South Africa model. The
third model is the most common outcome of colonialism and the one that the vast
majority of native people always support whether in South Africa or Palestine.
Says "freedom" but verbally they call for two states
crossing streets but not allowed to stay
while this settler allowed on street
Many of the Israelis attending the demonstration as I said
are good intentioned “left wing” who did not study their own history well. They
have this delusion that the problems for Israel and Zionism started in 1967
with the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. But the main problem
started much earlier in the late 19th century with the notion of transforming a
multi-religious and multi-cultural society called Palestine (at the time 97%
not Jewish) to a “Jewish state of Israel.” This idea called Zionism by necessity
entailed ethnic cleansing, massacres, home demolitions, 1967 occupation and
other symptoms. We should not confuse one of the symptoms (e.g. 1967 occupation)
with the underlying etiology of this disease. Unfortunately many Palestinians (like Chief
Buthalesi in South Africa during apartheid) adopted the Zionist language. So
some of the Palestinian demonstrators today wanted freedom for Palestine “from
Hebron to Jenin”!!! But even these soft demands for 1/5th of the Palestinian
land stolen got booed by passing settler cars who honked and gave us fingers. The demonstration was mainly drawing attention
to the plight of the Palestinian political prisoners, many of them where on
hunger strike hoping to end their detentions without trial for months (also
called “administrative detention).
Just in case we get ideas! Me next to masked soldiers
more for "just in case"
Meanwhile, the Palestinian public is numbed by economic
need, accumulated debts, mental occupation, lack of water (our museum guest
apartment had no water for two weeks now), and much more. The self-declared
leadership is not concerned with people’s lives but is merely concerned with
their own selfish interests. The idea of holding municipal elections under
occupation used to be a challenge to the occupation when held in 1976. Today it
is a distraction and a chess game between various factions. The real significant
events happen elsewhere with little media coverage.
It has been almost 100 years from the time of the British
Balfour declaration and French Jules Cambon declaration in support of Zionism
issues in 1917 partially as a quid pro quo to get Zionists to lobby for the US
entrance into World War 1. Much mayhem
has happened since then. Some more important events than others. There was the
formation and Zionists take-over and of the “Federal Reserve Bank” in the US
that ensures printing money backed only by US military power to become the
world “reserve” currency (a sham system of debt and credit that enriched
thousands by that impoverished billions). There was the financing of both sides
of wars from WW2 to the Iran-Iraq war. There was Vietnam and Cambodia where
millions were massacred. The war on Iraq that cost three trillion dollars and
the lives of about a million Iraqis was a war for Israel (see [3]). The Zionist elite are enjoying major political
successes: normalization with many Arab governments, PLO now exists only in
name and only to help be a subcontractor for the occupation. But they are
suffering from some setbacks: 1) strengthening of the
Iran-Syria-Hizbollah-Russia-China alliance, 2) growth of the boycotts,
divestments, and sanctions movement [4], 3) population growth of non-Jews under
the apartheid Israeli rule (now and for the first time since the 1948 ethnic
cleansing, there are less than 50% Jewish), 4) the dream of creating sectarian
states in the Middle East by the intelligence services of Israel and the US is
evaporating (this was supposed to normalize sectarian Israel).
Many gave us the finger, I gave the V sign
at least we bought good grapes
Much has been happening that causes rational people to
question the future of the Zionist project known as the Jewish state of Israel.
The last pregnant Palestinian young women shot by an occupation army was Sara
Haddoush Trayra. It is too soon to declare that she will be the last
victim. Israel also released the body of Bahaa Ulayan, a bright young man who
helped form a reading ring around the old city f Jerusalem and promoted reading
among many young people in schools and universities throughout the occupied
areas. Israel had murdered him and held his body for 11 months. Israeli colonial
settlers continue their theft of Palestinian lands, their destruction of
Palestinian homes and their promotion of racism as law of the land [5]. These and
millions of other examples are the signs of a moral bankruptcy that is
acceleration t is too soon to declare the Zionist empire failing but many signs
point to an arrogance of power that is only seen in dying empires that stretch
themselves too thin. Yes, Israel get $4 billion of US taxpayer money (more
federal aid to Israel than any state of the United States).
The explosion yesterday that destroyed an Israeli satellite
two days before it was to launch is causing many in the circles of elite power
to ponder the changing landscape. The Israeli company Spacecom was to be sold
for $285 million to a Chinese company. The deal, announced only last week was
pending the successful launch of the satellite (dubbed Amos-6) but now the deal
is off. Whether accident or divine intervention or something else, this is
worrying Israeli elite apartheid rulers. The wind, as the Arabic proverb goes,
does not always g the way the ships want
to go.
There is a concerted Zionist campaign to oust Jeremy Corbyn
as leader of the Labor party in the UK with much money and extortion and propaganda
being spent (but may ultimately fail as evidence by the large crowd attending
any Corbyn appearance). Corbyn dares to put British and human public interests
front and center. Zionists want a puppet like they had in Clinton I (the
philanderer corrupt) or the upcoming Clinton II (the war criminal corrupt). As
public opinion shifts in the US as it did in Britain and Europe, inevitably it
will trickle to the government. As Jill Stein has little chance Trump and Hillary might accelerate the demise
of the US empire and thus be the last of the “lesser of two-evils” charade.
Meanwhile, we the people must change our approach and stop playing the game
using the rules placed on us by the bankers.
[2] Israel the last
of the Settler Colonies
[5] See the list of over 50 laws that discriminate against
non-Jews in the “Jewish state” https://www.adalah.org/en/law/index
(ofcourse for those of us in the West Bank there are hundreds of other discriminatory
“laws” being the military orders)
[6] Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
