The discourse surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict has drastically changed. For this, I am grateful. It is becoming increasingly politically correct to condemn Israel as a terrorist state, while the plight of the Palestinians has been gaining traction and sympathy all across the world. I have seen pictures of demonstrations numbering in the thousands in London, New York, Los Angeles, Scotland, Jakarta, and beyond. The current massacre in Gaza is being increasingly viewed as what it is, an act of terrorism by Israel, by all except the mainstream media. We have two main factors to thank for this: 1. Non-traditional sources of media. Facebook, Twitter, live updates from independent journalists and third-party non-biased news sources have given us the ability to see past the strictly controlled mainstream media version of events. We can see gruesome photos of Gaza like never before. 2. BDS movement. The past 10 years of pushing for boycotts, sanctioning, and divesting from Israel has made an impact. It is no longer a fringe campaign that only so-called radicals pursue. It is now an international campaign with activists promoting it all around the world. Our job as activists is to promote awareness, push for divestment and boycotts, and to engage the general public. As our influence grows, so does our ability to legitimize Israel and call it out for what it is: an apartheid, fascist, terrorist, ethnocratic regime that will one day soon, Inshallah, fall. My parents used to tell me that my grandchildren would not see a free Palestine, but perhaps their grandchildren would. That disheartened me. Now, however, after seeing the change in the discourse surrounding this conflict and how far BDS has come, I believe we can see a free Palestine within our lifetimes. #FreePalestine #GazaUnderAttack #Palestine
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 05:43:49 +0000
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