Palestine is a global, not a Western issue

[Israeli]

Topics : #Occupation

Ilan Pappe
Wednesday 9 September 2015

A few weeks ago, a very important conference took place in London organised by the NGO, Middle East Monitor, focusing on Latin America’s engagement with the cause of Palestine. The most striking feature of the conference was the ease with which several speakers, who came from the continent, spoke of Palestine, totally liberated from the inhibitions that obfuscate the discourse on the issue in the West.

The most notable inhibition absent from their straightforward support for the human and civil rights of the Palestinians was the fear of being accused of anti-Semitism. We heard in that meeting politicians and professors from South and Central America supporting these rights as an obvious position for anyone with a modicum of decency and humanity in them. They were not walking on eggshells, as their Western counterparts would do, when criticising the criminal policies of Israel on the ground.

This openness and transparent discourse indicate how urgent it is to expand the solidarity movement with the Palestinians beyond the boundaries of the West. The guilt-free basis for discussing Palestine can be found also in South Africa and South-East Asia. One cannot stifle and silence a debate there on Israel by intimidating allegations of anti-Semitism.

The need to expand the boundaries is important in two additional aspects. It can create an alternative to the failed and destructive notion of Pax Americana - an alternative that would suit not only Palestine but also the rest of the Arab world. Away from Washington, the discussion on peace will extend beyond the agenda imposed by this Pax Americana on the people who live in Israel and Palestine and those engaged with their future.

- See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/palestine-global-not-western-issue-2011398530#sthash.wGEu5j2c.z72Lo5MG.dpuf