Poetry for Palestine

In defence of freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom to access information

Some wants us to believe that:

“Ignorance Is Strength”,

“Restricting the boundaries of discussion expands Knowledge”,

“Crucifying intellectuals is Progressive”

“Shunning people for their thoughts and opinions is Revolutionary”

“Thinking independently is very Dangerous”

“Reading many sources affects the protocols of Health and Safety”

“Framing the Debate is Good… very very good”,

“Gagging is strategically crucial for gaining Wisdom”

“Suppressing of Information helps to uncover the Truth”

“Revising Historical narratives is a Crime, and should be Punished by Law”

“Following the Evidence is a Conspiracy Theory”

“Investigating a Crime is not Helpful, it’s a Distraction”

“Crying against Racism and Supremacy is anti-Semitism”

“Exposing the power-elite is Racist”

“Thought Terrorism leads to Truth and Justice” (somehow, eventually) !

And of course, “no mater what, the Earth is still Flat, flat as a thin crispy pancake”

All you have to do is to Believe!

Otherwise face the consequences of your “blasphemy and wickedness”, be prepared for the burning of your reputation at the stake of their Omniscience, and be prepared for the crucifying of your character at the altar of their omnipotence and self-righteousness.

Those who have experienced working in the media or in the solidarity movements know only too well the amount of pressure exerted upon them and anyone who tries to get some information out about what is happening in occupied Palestine, the history of Palestine, or the narrative as experienced by Palestinians.

The level of gagging is all too immense, all to intense, all too widespread, all too familiar to be passed unnoticed; cancellation of events, termination of academic course, stopping artistic plays and children dance and exhibitions… the list is endless.

Zionists exert incalculable pressure to suppress the dissemination of information, to confuse and silence truth and to control public opinion in order to dissuade people away from making the right informed choice. Zionists who indulge in this kind of suppression which became their very own trademark, have simultaneously and deceitfully continued to accuse of Muslims of exactly that which they are doing, i.e being “enemies of free speech” and “haters of freedom”. Accusing others of their own crimes, as we have seen repeatedly, is their modus operandi

Having said that, one can still find solace in the fact that those who practice such methods of suppression are doing so in line with their doctrine, philosophy and practice, in fact suppressing and concealing information by Zionists neither contradicts their racist belief system, nor their colonial mindset, as ugly as it might be, it is to be expected from oppressors and occupiers.

What comes as a shock and utter blow is to see such behaviour coming from liberals, progressives and activists who hold the banner of freedom, equality and justice and who work tirelessly to achieve those principles.

It is inconceivable to imagine that amidst those who have endless sleepless nights working to ensure that humanity would one day reach a level of ethical evolution that treats every single human being with justice and equality, that amidst those who work to ensure that all people are held by the same standard and equity before the law, that amidst those who embrace mankind with love and compassion they all deserve, it is inconceivable to see some amidst them resorting to similar methods of suppression of information and discrimination between people!

During my work with the movement, I came to realize that within our folks there are some who have absolutely zero tolerance to any views that does not match theirs, and they are willing to go as far as it takes to smother and conceal that which they disapprove of or disagree with.

The first uncomfortable observation came when I learned of the categorization of people; such and such person is liberal and forward thinking, this organization is progressive, but that group is reactionary, and those people are backwards thinking.

Although in our day and age, critical thinking is viewed as an acceptable if not essential part of human progress, and although no dogma should be immune against healthy scrutiny, no philosophy should have total impunity or be elevated beyond the realm of genuine debate, yet you come to learn that there exist one untouchable ideology that is set up above and beyond any and all criticism.

You come to learn that for some:
No description can be attached to the word “Jewish” except of course in the context of praise, adoration and glorification. All people, all faiths and all races have the good and the bad amongst them, except of course those of the Jewish faith or Jewish background, who unlike the rest of humanity, can only emanate righteousness, nothing but holiness and pure goodness radiate out of them. All ideologies and all beliefs are subjects to scrutiny, examination and evaluation, except of course for the Jewish ideology, this is above any criticism. Should any ill creed or ill behaviour oozes out to the public sphere, it has to immediately be glued to the word “Zionism”, the true villain, which has absolutely nothing to do with Jewish ideology or the Judaic faith. In fact it is an unforgivable sin to use the word “Jewish” associated with anything negative, the word has to be snapped away as a matter of urgency and replaced with “Zionism”, otherwise one would qualify as an staunch anti–Semite.

Have you ever heard of academic studies about the relationship between Jewish ideology and Zionism, except that which are designed to tear to pieces and sever any links between the two, and present them as worlds-apart mortal enemies and polarized opposites which have absolutely nothing in common?

To say “excuse me but…” immediately throws you in the abyss, makes you a loathed outcast, a vile anti-Semite, excommunicated by the gurus of thought control and perhaps stalked for the rest of your life.

As for revising history and re-examining documented chronological events, though to their credit, activists rejoice in digging out facts and celebrate the updating and the new reading of the Nakba, but the logic of some of them flips upside-down, their brain shuts off, their grey-matter turns into mush and their common sense turn into ice cubes, as they fail to apply the same principles when it comes to revising an almost simultaneous chapter of history, namely the Holocaust. To them the holocaust is no longer an historical event to be studied and scholarly examined like any other event or narrative. The perception of the Holocaust is no longer ruled by rationality nor is it subject to what other historical event are subject to, rather it is an untouchable sacred ideology to be revered, an unquestionable dogma to be hailed, made holy and glorified.

Isn’t there in the more recent events of 9/11, a living history in the making which we are still choking with its bitter fruit now, isn’t there a good example of how things can be written or miss-written?

Those who dare to mumble “excuse me but…” not only they are persecuted, heavily fined and imprisoned by the establishment, but also vilified by some liberals, defenders of freedom, seekers of truth and agents for justice. The unfortunate souls who naively happen to ask the most innocent question would be struck out from the flock of humanity into the space of loneliness and darkness designated for ghosts, creeps and vampires, accused of the worst crime ever known to man, and stamped with the red bold label, “holocaust deniers”, as the lowest of the low of mankind.

Now, please, hold your horses and don’t pull out that gluey outdated card; defending the right of people to freely conduct historical or scientific research without fear of persecution and excommunication, defending the right of affected people to independently investigate crimes, and defending the right of people to have access to information and the right of people to make informed choices and decisions, defending all this is a basic human right.

No one is entitled to smear or stick their label on intellectuals and researchers who call for the freedom of speech, the freedom to access information and liberation of intellect, as long as it is done in a non-insulting, honest and academic manner.

Sticking labels, smearing and branding people as a method to gain audience, make a point or win an argument, resembles only the Zionists methods and their fascist techniques. Such methods belong outside any peace and justice movement.

The inability or unwillingness to face the moral and intellectual challenges, which are presented and supported with massive wealth of information and documented evidence, reflects only logical impotence, ethical paralysis and academic incompetence.

A very dear and respected friend of mine put it Succinctly “Analysis and evaluation should be thorough and ongoing, however painful the results. So everything from Zionism to the Holocaust, 9/11, Middle-Eastern wars, Media ownership, political representation of communities within society etc are legitimate areas for constant review”

When people stand on solid grounds, when their case is just, when they can argue their standpoint and defend their position, why do they feel the need to limit the discussion and the urge to smother information?

The vital question that each and every soul that loves the truth should ask and ponder upon:

Why do some people fear knowledge and feel threatened by it?

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