Palestinians must demolish many years of Israeli disinformation predicated on a make-believe historical discourse that has been sold to the world as fact.
Merely being in the company of hundreds of Palestinian journalists and other media professionals from all over the world has been an uplifting experience. For many years, Palestinian media has been on the defensive, unable to articulate a coherent message, torn between factions and desperately trying to fend off the Israeli media campaign, along with its falsifications and unending propaganda, or ‘hasbara’.
It is still too early to claim any kind of paradigm shift, but the second Tawasol Conference in Istanbul, which took place May 18 to 19, served as an opportunity to consider the vastly changing media landscape, and to highlight the challenges and the opportunities facing Palestinians in their uphill battle.
Not only are Palestinians expected to demolish many years of Israeli disinformation, predicated on a make-believe historical discourse that has been sold to the world as fact, but also to construct their own lucid narrative that is free from the whims of factions and personal gains.
It will not be easy, of course.
My message in the “Palestine in the Media” Conference, organized by the Palestine International Forum for Media and Communication is that, if the Palestinian leadership is failing to achieve political unity, at least Palestinian intellectuals must insist on the unity of their narrative. Even the most compromising of Palestinians can acknowledge the centrality of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the destruction of their towns and villages in 1947-48.
They can—and should—also agree about the hideousness and violence of the Occupation; the dehumanization at the military checkpoints; the increasingly shrinking spaces in the West Bank as a result of the illegal settlements and the colonization of whatever remains of Palestine; the suffocating hold on Occupied Jerusalem (al-Quds); the injustice of the siege on Gaza, and the one-sided wars on the Strip that have killed over 4,000 people, mostly civilians, in the course of seven years, and much more.
Professor Nashaat Al-Aqtash from Birzeit University, perhaps more realistically, downgraded the expectations even further. “If we could only agree on how we present the narrative regarding Al-Quds and the illegal settlements, at least that would be a start,” he said.
The obvious fact is that Palestinians have more in common than they would like to admit. They are all victimized by the same circumstances, fighting the same Occupation, suffering the same violations of human rights, and facing the same future outcome resulting from the same conflict.
However, many are strangely incapable of disconnecting from their tribal-like, factional affiliations. Of course, there is nothing wrong with having ideological leanings and supporting one political party over another. It becomes a moral crisis, though, when the party affiliation becomes stronger than one’s affiliation to the collective, national struggle for freedom. Sadly, many are still trapped in this thinking.
But things are also changing; they always do. After over two decades of the failure of the so-called ‘peace process’, and the rapid increase in the colonization of the Occupied Territories in addition to the extreme violence used to achieve these ends, many Palestinians are waking up to the painful facts. There can be no freedom for the Palestinian people without unity and without resistance.
Resistance does not always have to mean a gun and a knife, but rather the utilization of the energies of a nation at home and in ‘shatat’ (Diaspora), along with the galvanization of the pro-justice and peace communities all over the world. There must soon be a movement in which Palestinians declare a global struggle against apartheid, involving all Palestinians, their leadership, factions, civil society and communities everywhere. They must speak in one voice, declare one objective, and state the same demands, over and over again.
It is bewildering to realize that a nation that has been so wronged for so long being so greatly misunderstood, while those who have done the harm are largely absolved and seen as if the victim.
Sometime in the late 1950’s, Israeli Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, became aware of the need to unify the Israeli Zionist narrative regarding the conquering and ethnic cleansing of Palestine. According to a revelation by Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, Ben-Gurion worried that the Palestinian refugee crisis was not going to go away without a consistent Israeli message that the Palestinians left their land of their own devices, following instructions to do so by various Arab governments.
Of course, that, too, was a fabrication, but many supposed truths often start with a sheer lie. He delegated several academics to present the most falsified, yet coherent, story on the exodus of the Palestinians. The outcome was Doc GL-18/17028 of 1961. That document has, ever since, served as the cornerstone of the Israeli ‘hasbara’ concerning the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. The Palestinians ran away and were not driven out, was the crux of the message. Israel has been repeating this falsehood for over 55 years and, of course, many have believed it.
Not until recently, thanks to the effort of a burgeoning group of Palestinian historians—and courageous Israelis—who counter the propaganda, a Palestinian narrative is taking shape, although much is yet to be done to offset the damage that has already taken place.
In fact, a real victory for the truth would only happen when the Palestinian narrative is no longer seen as a ‘counter narrative’ but as a sovereign story of its own, free from the confines of defensiveness and the burden of a history laden with lies and half-truths.
The only way I see that happening is when Palestinian intellectuals invest more time and effort in studying and narrating a ‘people’s history’ of Palestine, which could finally humanize the Palestinian people, and challenge the polarized perception of them as terrorists or perpetual victims. When the ordinary individual becomes the center of history, the outcomes are more relatable, more effective and poignant.
The same logic can be applied to journalism, as well. Aside from finding their common story, Palestinian journalists need to reach out to the wider world, not only to their traditional circle of dedicated friends and supporters, but to mainstream society. If people truly appreciate the truth, especially from a humanist perspective, they cannot possibly support genocide and ethnic cleansing.
And by ‘wider world’ I am hardly referring to London, Paris and New York, but to Africa, South America, Asia and the entire South. Nations from this hemisphere can fully understand the pain and injustice of military occupation, colonization, imperialism and apartheid. I fear that the emphasis on the need to counter Israeli ‘hasbara’ in the West has meant the allocation of a disproportionate amount of resources and energy in a few places, while ignoring the rest of the world, whose support has for long been the backbone of international solidarity. They must not be taken for granted.
The good news, however, is that Palestinians have been making great strides in the right direction, although with no thanks to the Palestinian leadership. The key, now, is to be able to unify, streamline and build on those existing efforts so that such growing solidarity translates into greater success in raising global awareness and holding Israel accountable for its Occupation and violations of human rights.
I`m not so sure that it`s “The World” that Palestine must convince when it comes to countering years of Zionist Israeli propaganda that is so disingenuous and misleading.
Some 400 million Arabs and some 80 million Iranians are well aware of Zionist Israeli misrepresentation of over 68 years of Zionist subjugation of the intrinsic Palestinian population by military force of arms.
As a Brit, I`m surprised at how often US politicians use the words “World opinion” when they are stating “US opinions” inferring that US opinions are accepted world wide!
The US is still the most affluent and militarily powerful country in the world, that was clear to Zionist Israelis in 1948 when Britain withdrew from Palestine, from that time Zionist Israeli concentrated it`s propaganda at the USA.
The US appointed King-Crane Commission findings were; a Zionist State in Palestine was not feasible as it would require the removal of the intrinsic Palestinians and could only be sustained by force of arms. A codicil letter to the 1919 King-Crane Commission, also emphasised to President Woodrow Wilson, that were a Zionist State created in Palestine, it would require permanent and unconditional US Financial, Military and Diplomatic support.
Today, nearly 100 years later that is the situation the USA finds itself in. US Government criticism of Zionist Israeli actions is always followed by reassurance that the USA will continue to support Zionist Israel, come what may.
In the European part of the world, the attitude is not so “Black and White”, public opinion and European Governments are moving slowly towards Palestinian sympathy, for example, the EC Supreme Court ruled a couple of years ago that Hamas was not a terrorist organisation and most European Governments have, or are, moving towards recognition of a Palestinian State.
US financial investments, and the influence they have, into European Countries have slowed this trend, but have not stopped it. China is also influential with it`s financial investments, Iran is an obvious example, the UK announced a couple of years ago that it would reinstate diplomatic contacts with Iran, the following day China announced it would move it`s Off-shore banking H.O. to London, coincidence? perhaps! .
Today China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany are satisfied that Iran has no nuclear weapons program, sanctions were lifted and Airbus received a $27 billion contract for aircraft, money talks.
Only the US (and Israel) have reservations, yet CIA reports confirm that Zionist Israel has between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads which pass unmentioned by the US.
Palestinians need to direct their efforts at informing the USA population of the realities for Palestinians under Zionist Israeli subjugation, the “World” is finding out for itself!
“Only the US (and Israel) have reservations…”
The world is changing, Mike, and you’re not keeping up if you don’t know that our Sunni neighbors have serious reservations about Iran, and they’re cooperating quietly with Israel more than ever because of it.
Indeed, Zev, nothing ever stays the same!
However my comments were related to successive US Governments acceptance of a Zionist Israeli perspective with a disregard, even disparagement of the Palestinian perspective.
The US, with a population of some 350 million has the financial and military strength to ignore the sensibilities of some 400 million Arabs and some 80 million Iranians, yet they remain (after some 68 years) opposed to a Zionist State which they regard as a European Colony that implements an Apartheid policy.
As for Iran, that country has thousands of years of history with a rich culture and, in my opinion superb food!
Iran has for over 1,500 years had close trading and diplomatic links with China (and India), today those links are being renewed, Iran also has friendly relations with every country sharing borders.
The last time Iran instigated a war (against Russia) was before the American war of Independence, indeed when a balanced examination of the conduct of Iran is made, it is difficult to justify the George Bush statement of Iran being an axis of Evil.
Iran has simply resisted US pressure to comply with US interests!
Saudi Arabia is an artificial creation of the West that was always known as Hijaz, with in WW1 the Hashemite family, being dominant. Abdullah and Feisal fought with Lawrence of Arabia against the Turkish, in return the British promised Arab independence.
The jigsaw puzzle of M.E. borders we now see, were imposed by by the British and French in British and French interests.
Feisal was imposed (By Britain) as “King” in Syria and kicked. out 2 years later by the French. Abhullah was promised the artificially created Jordan on condition he stopped fighting the French (If it were a comic book story no one would believe it!).
Iraq was then created and Feisal was installed as “King” there, both brothers were assassinated by the locals, but the Hashemite Dynasty still rules in Jordan.
So what? Well, oil was discovered in Hijaz and the Saudi family were installed as “Kings” supported from the beginning by the USA who had no objections to the name “Saudi Arabia” from 1932.
Even today the Hasemite`s still claim Hijza as their own with the Saudi family regarded as usurpers, and today Saudi Arabia is as violently repressive as any M.E. government you care to mention.
What holds it together is massive annual US aid to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and massive US military aid to Saudi Arabia to suppress dissent. One way or another the US imposes US interests on those two countries, and presents it to the American public as “Democracy at Work”.
Meanwhile Iran has completed it`s revolution to pursue it`s own interest, rejecting completely US (and British) influence while embracing China and to a lesser extent Russia.
In my opinion US support of Zionist Israel has become costly to the US, Iran recently placed a $27 billion order with Airbus, not in itself significant, but what was significant was that Boeing were not asked to tender.
As you say, Zev, The world is changing!
P.S. and the internet is wonderful
Thanks for your interesting but irrelevant response,
with which I mostly agree.
In the Middle East, Zev, nothing is “irrelevant”!
Arab “politics is at least as oblique and ambiguous as Japanese politics, without the advantage of Japanese words having only one meaning!
Well, the “funny” thing about the “Hasbara!” criers: While they accuse others of “Hasbara” and “Israeli desinformation” they themselves promote the Palestinian narrative which isn’t anything different.