Juveriah Alam says an insecure, unhinged Israel and its desperate supporters are green with sheer envy at the mass support the Palestinian cause has around the world, including the West.
As Gaza is being indiscriminately bombed by Israeli airstrikes and amid a surge in Zionist settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, there can be no question that the Palestinian people are victims of a textbook case of genocide, driven by the ideology of Zionism.
But all the while a strange phenomenon seems to be emerging. One that was there all along but has now become clearer than ever – while Palestinian children have their limbs torn from their bodies by Israel, there’s a strange envy of them; an envy that comes from the very people killing them en masse.
Throughout the past decade, there have been regular occurrences of Israeli brutality and each time there have been protests in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Many times, the term “fashion” has been used to dismiss this activism. Unfortunately, this has again reared its ugly head as much larger protests emerged in reaction to the intensification of Israeli violence.
In the minds of such people, pro-Palestinian activism should only be expressed by the Palestinian diaspora, not other Arabs, or Muslims of other races, and especially not by non-Muslims.
“What connection do these protestors have with the Palestinians?” they ask. They usually conclude that the cause has become a trend, that the people protesting don’t understand the issues, and that it is underpinned by antisemitism. And now, after seeing the huge numbers protesting for Palestine, they’re claiming that it’s all orchestrated by Iran!
They simply cannot come to terms with the reality: that the plight of the Palestinian people has touched the hearts of many in Britain. That the solidarity is genuine. That we are hurt, angered and deeply moved by the images we are seeing on social media. After all, if one struggles to understand why a human being would feel solidarity with another human being in distress, it seriously calls into question one’s own humanity.
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Hadley Freeman wrote in the Sunday Times regarding a pro-Israel rally: “It was nice, but it was also strange, because everyone I could see there was clearly Jewish: the men wore kippahs and tallits, and everybody knew the words to ‘Hatikvah,’ Israel’s national anthem. Across town a pro-Palestinian rally was happening. I looked at the photos in the papers the next day and was struck by what a mixed crowd it was. Young Muslims, older white people, everyone marching together in defence of – what? Pogroms? Meanwhile, the Jews just had themselves.”
Comedian David Baddiel tweeted: “…it remains the case that at the few gatherings held in solidarity for those murdered on Oct 7th , bleakly, only Jews showed up.”
Even more bizarre, this, from uber Zionist David Collier: “Islamophobia Awareness Month Anyone else notice? There is no antisemitism awareness month.”
And Countdown presenter Rachel Riley quickly deleted a tweet in which she accused a pro-Palestinian protest of being an angry mob screaming “Jihad now”. Then, after claiming she “misheard” she declared: “I stand by the sentiment.”
These commentators may not have the self-awareness to understand how desperately sad it is to envy the cross-cultural support for the Palestinian cause, especially as Israel has killed 8,000 Palestinians and counting. But they do make important observations.
Israel has the full backing of major Western governments to commit genocide and strong words of support from powerful world leaders. No European country lit up a monument with the Palestinian flag. Yet it remains clear that, despite all this, the Zionist cause is not keenly felt in the hearts and minds of ordinary people. And it begs the question: where does this scorching jealousy arise from?
Well it comes from Israel’s deep insecurity. Israel is insecure of its own legitimacy and whether it really does have a right to exist. It is insecure because it knows that Palestinians have their roots there. You cannot displace a whole people from their land without it haunting you everyday.
And despite the growing death toll of civilians in Gaza, Israel is getting increasingly angry and unhinged. The rhetoric has changed with Hamas being compared to ISIS, and “worse than Nazis.” Every week we have wild new accusations levelled at Hamas. First it was beheading babies and later, slicing off women’s breasts, gouging children’s eyes out, chopping their fingers and baking them in the oven.
Most sadly, we must remember that with most Israeli propaganda, every accusation is a confession of the sordid crimes perpetrated by Israel against Palestinians throughout the decades – all well documented. Of course, their inspiration has to come from somewhere.
The entire world is inspired by the strength of the Palestinian people and this is a painful reality for Israel which has become the “green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.”
Israel has become consumed and distorted by this jealousy, much like a monster. Today it is Palestinian children that have to bear the brunt of Israel’s deadly sins. And so I ask Netanyahu: who are the people of darkness again?
