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| Image by Christian Dorn from Pixabay |
Sam Bahour....."The truth is
that, if placed in the same ill-fated predicament, Americans and
Israelis would act just like Palestinians do today; some would use
violence, like what emerged from Gaza recently. This is not to say that
this is a smart or effective strategy, it merely is a human reaction
when a community feels no other path to live exists.
Others,
the majority, would use diplomatic and non-violent methods to protect
their community, like boycotting and divesting from their occupier and
refusing to attend an “economic workshop” called for by a third party in
a foreign venue aimed at beautifying life in their cages of military
occupation. These non-violent strategies would become a rallying call to
mobilize all four corners of the earth to hold the occupying state
accountable.
Imagine,
for example, China suddenly invading New York City claiming that a
Golden Sky-Dragon gave it all of Manhattan. Imagine further that native
New Yorkers were forced into just two boroughs, all their assets
forfeited. Furthermore, every aspect of their new lives will be
controlled by the Red Army.
Suppose
further that Russia, North Korea, and others block UN resolutions to
punish China, and funds its illegal invasion/occupation. How long do you
think red-blooded Americans would put up with that and not fight back?
Palestinians
have tried every form of protest — from armed resistance to civil
disobedience to negotiations to lawsuits to boycotts. Nothing has
worked. Israel, like 18th-century England (the US Declaration of
Independence lists 27 grievances that British King George III ignored),
blocks all forms of redress while continuing to kill, land grab, and
steal resources.
Palestinians
are being pushed into ever-smaller enclaves with less and less to lose.
The situation is volatile, a veritable tinderbox. If the Mideast blows
up, many will die, Palestinians and Israelis. It would be a historic
tragedy for history to look back, yet again, and question how a
developed, modern society allowed itself to be governed into
never-ending turmoil."
Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American business consultant from Ramallah/Al-Bireh in the West Bank. He is chair of Americans for a Viable Palestinian Economy (AVPE) and serves as a policy adviser to Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network and is co-editor of “Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians” (1994). He blogs at ePalestine.com. @SamBahour