Introduction

Abstract

For far too long the subject of Palestine in the United States has been met with accusations of anti-Semitism (or “self-hating” for Jews), as if mentioning Palestine is an attack on Jews. This dynamic reveals how tightly many Americans cling to a mythologized history, whether there is a consciousness about its mythology or not, and how it is tied to a distortion of language. It also shifts the focus from the reality that the struggle for Palestine is an anticolonial one that has nothing to do with the religion of the colonizer. Anti-Semitism also has little to do with Palestine, except for the ways in which it is wielded to silence people advocating for Palestinian rights by insinuating that doing so is anti-Jewish. After World War II anti-Semitism began to connote not racism directed at Semitic people (based on language groupings of Arabic, Aramaic, Akkadian, or Hebrew) in general, but rather only Jews, most of whom are of European origin and do not speak any Semitic language. This tactic shifts the discourse and the focus away from Palestine and diverts people from historical facts. In essence it is a tool that makes even those who wish to teach, write, or discuss Palestine censor themselves; and at times people who take a risk and broach the subject of Palestine find themselves censored by others.

We must not therefore be content with delving into the past of a people in order to find coherent elements which will counteract colonialism’s attempts to falsify and harm. We must work and fight with the same rhythm as the people to construct the future and to prepare the ground where vigorous shoots are already springing up.

—Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.

—Archbishop Desmond Tutu