IHRC collaborated with Islamic Courses for the panel discussion Palestine and the Quest for Justice with speakers Professor Ilan Pappe, Laila Al-Arian and Jonathan A.C. Brown. The event was held at the Al Manaar Islamic Centre in Ladbroke Grove and was chaired by Yahya Birt, Research Director at the Ayaan Institute.
WATCH HERE:
The conversation has been edited for better readability.
Pappe discussed what is happening in Gaza, “or rather the Western perceptions of what goes on in Gaza” through the lens of his latest publication, Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic, before delving into he “possible scenarios of the future.” He explained the methods of the Israel lobby which mainly relied on intimidating the “political and financial elites to support the state or they are able to seduce them with financial or strategic dividends.” He elaborated that the main aim of Zionist advocacy was to “gain moral validity for the project,” which in reality is failing year after year. The biggest reason for this failure is due to the continued existence and resistance of the Palestinian people. According to Professor Pappe, Zionism was first introduced by Christian Zionists in Europe, as well as explaining why many of them supported Zionism: which was to stop the immigration of Jews in to America & Europe. Pappe discussed the history of Palestinian resistance to Zionism before explaining how Israel reacted: “Israel reacted brutally against the second uprising in the West Bank and had a sense that it could continue with good lobbying and advocacy to brutally oppress the Palestinians in the West Bank.” He spoke about the situation in Gaza, highlighting the fact that it is in open-air prison and why the people of Gaza would want to break out. Pappe ended on a hopeful note, explaining how things are changing and how the next generation “will be far more aware morally and will take it as their duty not to be complicit in the crimes that Israel commits.”
Laila Al-Arian explored the statistics of the latest massacre of Palestinian death toll and the role of the media in preserving the pro-Israeli narrative. She explained why the media do this and why we must document the role of the media so that “we can hold them accountable and we can undo the narratives that are being shaped in real time.” According to Laila, the deaths of Palestinians is expected and is not treated the same as other massacres that have happened especially those committed in Europe. She then explained the number of ways the media has failed the Palestinians, before going on to say that all Palestinians wants from the media is to “do yours jobs, that’s all we say, just do your job” and that all they want is for the media to promote the truth. She examined the role of the media in providing justification for Israel’s current genocide: “you all see the bias, it is screaming at us. The language that absolves Israel of any responsibility in the headlines where its like a riddle trying to say who’s responsible for this.” She ended her talk by talking about alternative media and her front lines documentary on Al Jazeera, The Night Won’t End.
Jonathan Brown shared his first encounters with the Israel-Palestine issue and how he was ignorant of it until he watched a few documentaries on the issue. He discussed his activism, including writing letters and articles on the issue and explained how the release of the book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by John Mearsheimer, was a seminal moment as it opened the door to talk about the Israel lobby. Brown discussed the role of Netanyahu in strengthening the pro-Palestine movement and the role of the Black Lives Matter movement in promoting anti-racism, critiquing the role of the police which further strengthened the Palestinian solidarity movement. He ended his talk by exploring about the nature of American politics and the role trump has played in promoting socialism in the US.
