A big challenge to turning Americans on to the idea of action to support the human rights of Palestinians is that the situation appears to many as a) far away and b) totally hopeless. Try to talk up the issue, and you are likely to get a look that says, "Why should I pay more attention to something that is far away and totally hopeless? I already have enough opportunities to feel angry, depressed, and powerless."
Since this is the case, it's clearly a good thing if an appeal to action in support of Palestinian rights is a) something that is obviously doable by the person asked and b) comes along with a plausible story for how taking the suggested action will help make the world a better place.
While it won't solve all the problems of human beings on Earth, I claim that going to see the documentary "Budrus," about the successful nonviolent resistance of Palestinians and Israelis against the route of the Israeli "separation barrier" and its confiscation of Palestinian land in the West Bank village of Budrus, is an action that is within the reach of most literate Americans; and furthermore I claim that I have a plausible story for how this action would help make the world a better place.
Robert Naiman is Policy Director at Just Foreign Policy. Mr. Naiman edits the Just Foreign Policy daily news summary and writes on U.S. foreign policy at Huffington Post.
Full Article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/help-the-palestinians-go_b_780609.html
No comments:
Post a Comment