don't agonize! organize! -- al-falasteenyia

Tweet Link to original (entirety below): http://alfalasteenyia.blogspot.com/2009/02/dont-agonize-organize.html

ive been asked repeatedly by those around me to comment on the israeli elections. i really dont see the point. israeli administrations change, but their policies vis a vis the palestinians are virtually consistent.

on a side note, it seems that many have moved on from the whole gaza thing. i want to take a moment here to talk about this. first let me say that for all the cyncism i exude on this blog, i really want to thank everyone that has stood by the palestinian people, demanding freedom justice. i oftentimes hate on a lot of people (arabs, muslims, my fellow americans, despotic regimes, hopeless US adminstrations) but i know there are a lot of people doing good work out there. but we need more. yes, gaza was a massacre. the images of it are still in ingrained in me somewhere. i try to reconcile them- but i can't. photos of burned babies, disfigured bodies- stories like that of the samouni family etc etc. and every time i think about how i cannot recover from this madness, i remember the people of gaza, and how they are the ones really who will never be the same. for them i determined to continue my activism and remain optimistic in spite of everything.

but its not just about gaza. gaza is just the tip of the iceberg. ethnic cleansing can occur in one of two ways, you see. one is more brutal, fast, and shocking. the other slow and methodical. both forms are violent. gaza was (and is) prime example of the former. the latter is what we see in the west bank and within israel proper. the point i want to make here (and i've said this before) is that this is not over. I quote Azmi Bishara here:

The war on Gaza has not ended. It continues using the means described above: border crossings, the blockade, the Quartet's conditions, the alliance with moderates and the emphasis on the role for Palestinian and moderate Arab security forces. Popular forces and their leadership must realise that it is too early to call off the protest movement calling for a freeze to relations with Israel and security coordination with Israel, and insisting on the opening of crossings, the lifting of the blockade and the prosecution of war criminals. The protest movement must be sustained, rather than starting and stopping in time with the horrors that appear on the television screen. The powers that are alienated from their people will not benefit much from Obama's support, since he will not be firmer in his defence of them than his predecessor. Ultimately, it is those who hold on to their land and resist who will prevail, on the condition that they assess the current situation well, plan accordingly and forge the alliances needed to face the forthcoming challenges.

i was at an event one evening about gaza where a girl broke down crying. i tried to comfort her, and she proceeded to tell me that she couldnt take anymore, that she was frustrated, etc etc. "my whole winter break was consumed by this," she said. as she stood there crying, i told her "look, its good that you're crying. but we need to take this frustration of yours and turn it into action." this is what i would encourage everyone (including myself) to do. sure we can cry for the palestinians, but you know, they don't need our tears. they've got their own. so cry all you want, but make sure your tears feed your activism. don't stop. look around you- look at how the bds movement is picking up. this is just the beginning. i'm so proud of the students over at hampshire college and rochester. i hope the rest of us can do that too.

i returned home that night to the news of how israel had allowed flowers to be exported from gaza. i was really struck by that. after weeks of bombardment, the palestinians of gaza rose up out of the ashes and offered the world flowers for valentine's. in the meantime, israel has closed off gaza from the world and palestinians continue to suffer from a deadly blockade.

indeed, there remains a lot to be done.