← Back to context

Comment by lazyasciiart

2 years ago

So you agree that every Palestinian who has never killed a Jew is being unfairly oppressed and should be allowed to immediately live in freedom. Great, that’s what, 1.999 million of them in Gaza?

As I said it before, you should know by now that the "free" in Free Palestine does not, and has never, meant "freedom". That is a Western expectation imposed on the phrase. Determining what it actually means, I will leave as an exercise for the reader. As research materials, I refer you to the writings, life and times of Mohammed Amin al-Husseini who was the architect and sire of the Free Palestine movement. Note particularly the memorandum of understanding he signed on behalf of Palestians with the Nazis. I also refer you to the Hamas charter (both versions 1.0 and 2.0) (Hamas enjoys an 85% approval rating, by the way).

We know "free" does not mean "freedom" in the Western understanding of that phrase, because sovereignty has been proffered many times in 75 years. It is not what Palestinians want. You need to listen to Palestinians, not Westerners westsplaining. And then, when you are really clear on what they mean by "free", you must bravely make your own moral evaluation of whether the "free" they actually mean is something you can support. Only then, and I mean this honestly, will you be able to really understand the dynamic going on over there. Only when you understand what Palestinians, by their own words, want, will you be an effective advocate for peace and prosperity in the region.