We mustn't be afraid to triumph, writes Mazin Qumsiyeh*. Repression can end, if you want it to After I finished my last book on popular resistance in Palestine over the past 130 years I became certain that political Zionism would fail and that Palestinian refugees will return to their homes and lands. My certainty is based on the lessons of history in Palestine and lessons from similar struggles like South Africa, Vietnam and Algeria. Some of the peculiarities that will be critical for our success are: - The incredible and inspiring history of the local popular resistance: the subtitle of my book is "A history of hope and empowerment". Over 200 forms of popular resistance are practised, including a wide spectrum of what we call in Arabic sumud. Resistance is the main thing that stood in the way of the Zionist project. Five and a half million Palestinians still live in the dreamed of "Eretz Yisrael". - The logarithmic growth of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. In five years alone (2005-2010), we achieved more than we were able to achieve in BDS movements in South Africa from the 1950s to the 1980s. - The unrest in Algeria and Tunisia tell us that the era of backward selfish undemocratic Arab leadership will (and must) come to an end. There are tremendous intellectual resources in the Arab world that can then be unleashed to build a vibrant society (at all levels, in culture, economics, science, etc). - Despite the heavily censored/controlled mainstream media, people of good conscience are and have been able to get the truth out, and many of the myths of Zionism stand demolished. The Internet only accelerated this. - The publication of the civil society call to action in 2005 and the Palestine Kairos document in 2009 has given a tremendous push to activism around the world, including in mainstream churches. - The growth of international solidarity was unparalleled in history. Despite attempts by the Israeli authorities to stop this international support (including refusing entry to activists), the movement only grows stronger. We went from a few hundred to tens of thousands and from one ship to seven, and as many as 60 ships are coming to break the siege on Gaza later this year. - We are a very proud and persistent people. The thriving art and culture scenes in Palestine and the Palestinian community in exile are testament to the spirit of a people that seek life and refuse to be dehumanised. We do not and will not resort to the tactics of those who chose to be our enemies. From dabka to good food to other cultural traditions, Palestine remained not only physically in our surroundings but also deep in our hearts. We developed the most educated populace in the region. In Palestine, these and many other reasons increase our certainty in the inevitability of a successful end to our decades of repression, colonisation and occupation. We faced, almost alone, the best-organised, best-financed, most Western-supported colonial enterprise in history. Rational human beings see that the spread of fundamentalism is only fostered when Israel is made an exception and is funded and protected while it flouts human rights and international law. Zionists act to control and manipulate and we must continue to calmly resist and refuse to be enslaved. We tell our stories with dignity and we explain why this racist/tribalist system is harmful to all humanity. We do it without hatred for any person but with anger and hatred at the inhuman actions of a deluded few that think they can get away with war crimes and crimes against humanity forever. People around the world increasingly see the reality and join our struggle. I talk about and show reality in Bethlehem area to groups of visitors almost every day in Palestine. I get invitations to speak abroad frequently but I choose to limit such trips because there is so much to do at home. We speak to diverse groups sometimes to the consternation of puritans on all sides. I spoke, for example, at colleges and schools in the US where the majority of students and faculty were Jewish (eg Brandeis, Manhattenville). And I have spoken at the NATO Defense College, at conservative churches, at synagogues and Jewish community centres, at editorial board meetings of influential papers largely owned by Zionists, and we even spoke at a US Naval Academy. In the West Bank, I spoke to visitors ranging from church leaders to US congressmen, from British parliamentarians to US consular officers, and even to Israeli academics. Some people, especially on the left, balk at these events and some even openly criticised us for these kinds of engagements. But if we are willing to speak to Israeli soldiers, telling them how they are committing war crimes by obeying orders, and we manage to occasionally (though rarely) touch a cord in the heart of our direct oppressors, why can't we talk to all other human beings regardless of their background? It is counterproductive to imagine the worst in humanity, misjudge the trends in history, and insist that we can only talk to those we agree with. This is a losing attitude that relegates many on the left to holding signs at street corners without creatively thinking how we get power. It also relegates those in power to complacency and corruption and mistrust of the people. Many develop their diagnostic language (the corporate media is controlled, the Zionist lobby is too strong, the politics cannot change, power structures are what they are, etc), but are not willing to seriously take action to make this world a better place. In this year, we will be seven billion human beings on this earth. The distortions in many countries (including Italy and Israel/Palestine) of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer cannot and will not continue. Fear of change is what paralyses many people. As others have pointed out, our biggest fear is not that we will fail but that we can be more successful than our wildest dreams. I believe indeed it is fear of success that keeps most people complacent. After all, if people really go after their dreams -- personal or collective -- and succeed, then it will show that the years they spent worrying and being afraid have indeed been only because of their lack of courage to challenge themselves. Neurobiologists tell us that we humans only use a tiny fraction of our brain (we are told that geniuses use 1-2 per cent). In the 1950s civil rights movement in the US, a common saying was "free your mind and your ass will follow". I think positive change always comes after people change attitudes in life towards a positive direction. This is not only possible; it is imperative and inevitable. The more people realise this, the quicker we will get there. And we should all be working on the nature of the society to follow our inevitable victory: one based on human rights and the rule of law, not on military might and repression. * The writer is a professor at Bethlehem University and author of the book Popular Resistance in Palestine: A history of hope and empowerment .
