Invaders fear memories
I was supposed to make an update about me and my boring life today, but instead I decided to write about those amazing, wonderful Palestinians who're finally trying to move things around - I know I barely mention any kind of Middle-East issue here on LJ, and that's partly because I realise that most of you, being non-Arabs and non-Politics students, will be quite detached from what's going on, and since I'm no miracle talker, it'll be hard for me to try and make it mean something. So I'm gonna apologise in advance for the longness of what I'm about to write, and I'm sorry no I'm not if I come across as if bashing certain things and/or people.
In the next few days, a small number of brave Palestinians have decided to try something that the rest of the world is actually familiar with; not terrorist bombing, and not lighting themselves on fire. They will risk attack and arrest to commit a forbidden act: they will ride a public bus.
Palestinians in Israel are forbidden to use buses and roads reserved for non-Arabs, just another rule set by the Zionist government there to treat Palestinians as second-class citizens, and fifty years ago African-Americans in the US challenged these rules by refusing to follow them. Rosa Parks is now an icon for racial segregation, and it's easy to see why now, in the only country where such a harsh racial segregation still exists, her defiance has moved people into acting with more brain than brawn. Earlier today, Palestinians took the same approach, trying to take the fight for their freedom into their own hands, whilst letting the very much under-represented Palestinian Authority or the more violent Hamas Party get on with whatever the hell they're doing.
Recently, you would have heard of the US cutting their fund to UNESCO because the Palestinians won their bid to join. Even more recently, you might known of the prisoner swap that was finally negotiated between the thousand Palestinian prisoners and the one Israeli soldier. This, to some people, could show the Palestinians in a very bad light indeed; their selfish bid to join UNESCO means the other countries in the group will have their money cut also; their need to hold an Israeli hostage for five years to only have a thousand convicts released into the streets in return for his exchange.
What most people don't know is that Hamas begged Netanyahu to release all the woman and children first, and then a certain number of politicians arrested without trial. What they don't know is that Mr. Netanyahu released the thousand prisoners his government had personally picked. What they don't know is that the official Palestinian Authority had been negotiating for years and were even reduced to saying they didn't care about the prisoners, didn't care about shared politics, betraying their people to say they only wanted a tiny bit of land to call their own and then they'd just leave it at that. And still, Israel didn't budge.
So you know what America backing out of UNESCO and this prisoner swap really shows? It shows that they're panicking. Enough to have taken those extreme measures without caring what the rest of the world thought. Israel is desperate to regain the international support they've lost, and the US have arrogantly been backing them the whole way though, saying that to support Palestine would be to undermine the peace talks...which are obviously working. But what frustrates me the most, is that in the end, it all played into Israel's favour the most. Don't let those propagated news pieces sway you, guys. Yes, I don't encourage more crazy woman to go about killing children and then laugh about it when questioned on tv, but it's a proven fact most Palestinians are suffering from some psychological trauma, which ofc won't go treated since they can't get any help. Yes, I don't think joining UNESCO will do much, but surely a country with as much culture and tradition as Palestine ought to have been more well received into the group.
Then there's these news pieces about "ohmygod, Netanyahu is so great and kind, he let out all those terrorists even though they're dangerous." There are ten thousand more prisoners held back there, most of whom have been arrested on no charge, with no trial, and who're as much harmful to society as a fly. Thank God some people can see through the propaganda and realise that the Great Netanyahu may have just possibly strategically picked out those prisoners, all who either already have a bounty on their heads, or will be rearrested within the next few months. Another very cynical opinion is that these convicts may actually revert to terror to press their cause, meaning further attacks, meaning more bad media for Palestine.
The ridiculous notion of Arabs not getting along with Jews, is just that, and it's their actions, not their religion, that makes them wrong. Do you think there would have been such a huge campaign behind getting Gilad Shilat's release if Israel didn't have the Conscriptions Service? Every Israeli empathises with this soldier taken hostage on a shelling-raid, and yet they condemn terrorism. Well. WELL. Isn't this man the very symbol of the terrorism the Palestinians have to face every frickin' day? He personally might not have killed anyone or even really known what he was getting into, because I know most Israelis have been brainwashed into their current ideologies. And I am happy he's been reunited with family, but he did decide to not refuse the service like many others have done. Israel is a Military State. Israel is on the side of Justice. Israel, you a paradox.
What I want to really get across is this: the word 'terrorist' can no longer be used so casually any more. I can't judge those who've been forced into a corner and get driven into taking desperate measures to try and gain their freedom. But I can judge those who forced them there, and I can help raise awareness - not even for "Pro-Palestine" but simply "Pro-Human Rights." And I can definitely raise awareness for peaceful protests, such as these new Palestinian Freedom Riders, whom I hope can make a difference in the world's view of them and their cause.