tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/palestine-1178/articlesPalestine – La Conversation2024-03-26T18:10:35Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2266532024-03-26T18:10:35Z2024-03-26T18:10:35ZHow will the UN security council’s call for a Gaza ceasefire affect Israeli politics and relations with the US? Expert Q&A<p><em>Washington’s decision to abstain from voting on a UN security council resolution which calls for a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages with Hamas has angered Israel, which has traditionally counted on the US for unwavering support in international forums. We spoke with John Strawson, a Middle East expert at the University of East London, who has been researching and publishing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for several decades.</em></p>
<p><strong>The United Nations security council has passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire and the return of the hostages held by Hamas. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that Israel’s military campaign will continue. Does he have the full support of his government in this or is there a risk that any of his more moderate coalition partners will break ranks?</strong></p>
<p>UN security council <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147931">resolution 2728</a> is a testimony to ambiguous drafting. It calls for an immediate ceasefire but only to cover the rest of Ramadan, which is only about two weeks. It also seems to link the ceasefire to the return of “all hostages” but is silent as to whether this is a condition for the ceasefire. </p>
<p>It should also be noted that Hamas is not mentioned nor are Israeli hostages. At the conclusion of the relevant paragraph there is a reference to all who are detained – again without reference to their identity. It’s also important to note that Hamas and other Palestinian sources refer to all Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel as “hostages”. As a result there are many possible interpretations of the obligations the resolution seeks to create. </p>
<p>Netanyahu <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/world/middleeast/israel-ceasefire-rafah-netanyahu.html">has denounced</a> the US for not vetoing the resolution. Any responsible Israeli leader would have used the ambiguities to say that Israel was already negotiating such a ceasefire and was waiting on Hamas’s reply to their proposals. But Netanyahu’s stance is about keeping his coalition going with the support of the far-right which will enable him to keep his job. </p>
<p><strong>New Hope party leader Gideon Saar has already quit after Netanyahu refused to appoint him to the war cabinet. Obviously this doesn’t bring down the government, but what does it mean in terms of the power dynamic in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, particularly when it comes to the far-right parties?</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-conflict-washingtons-patience-is-wearing-thin-over-the-lack-of-leadership-from-both-israel-and-palestine-225915">Gideon Saar</a> is effectively launching his campaign to be prime minister. He has been a long-term opponent of Netanyahu on the right. He stood for the leadership of Likud, Netanyahu’s party, in 2019. Then in 2021 he broke away and sided in the Knesset with the broad anti-Netanyahu coalition that was able to govern for 12 months before being defeated in November 2022.</p>
<p>Saar wanted to be in the war cabinet where the key decisions are being taken. But the far-right minister of national security, Itamar Ben Gvir, insisted that if Saar was appointed he would need to be as well. But Benny Gantz, one of three voting members of emergency war cabinet had made it a condition that no one from the far-right would be allowed to join.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-conflict-washingtons-patience-is-wearing-thin-over-the-lack-of-leadership-from-both-israel-and-palestine-225915">Gaza conflict: Washington's patience is wearing thin over the lack of leadership from both Israel and Palestine</a>
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<p>Netanyahu is not yet ready to break relations with Gantz whose moderate politics plays well with foreign politicians. Saar knows this but wants to position himself to be the next leader of the right when the Netanyahu era is over. In the medium term it just illustrates how febrile Israeli politics are. </p>
<p><strong>Benny Gantz, who is a member of the war cabinet, has threatened to quit over proposed legislation that would exempt ultra-orthodox Jews from being conscripted into the army. The law would also put the government at loggerheads with Israel’s high court. What are the risks for the legitimacy of Netanyahu’s leadership?</strong></p>
<p>It is quite clear that Benny Gantz is trying to break up to the coalition. The ultra-orthodox parties in the ruling coalition really have one aim, which is to maintain the huge government financing of their communities. This is resented by the majority of Israelis especially given their general exemption from military service. </p>
<p>This is particularly stark when Israel is at war and more than 250 soldiers have been killed in action and thousands injured. Gantz knows that the last thing the Israel Defense Forces needs are thousands of reluctant recruits, but he also knows that it is a question of fairness that appeals to the vast majority of Israelis. Gantz is still <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240308-israel-poll-shows-gantzs-national-unity-party-leading-over-netanyahus-likud/">popular in the polls</a> and undoubtedly sees this issue as a weak spot for Netanyahu’s alliance.</p>
<p>Both the Sephardic and Ashkenazi chief rabbis have said that should the exemption be ended those affected should leave the country. Such statements give Gantz the opportunity of being seen as a patriot and taking the shine off Netanyahu’s nationalist credentials. So Netanyahu faces pressure from the ultra-orthodox, the far right, the more moderate right of Gideon Saar and from Benny Gantz at the centre. But the more these forces circle, the more Netanyahu doubles down on his rhetoric for complete victory over Hamas, seeing the war as his route to political survival. </p>
<p><strong>Netanyahu reacted to the US abstention by cancelling a visit from a high-level Israeli delegation to Washington for talks. But defence minister Yoav Gallant was already in Washington and is reportedly meeting with US officials. How does this affect the Israeli government’s unity?</strong></p>
<p>The Israeli delegation was asked by the Biden administration to discuss in detail the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/18/israeli-delegation-us-officials-plan-offensive-rafah-gaza-war">plans for the proposed Rafah operation</a> that Netanyahu has been talking about for weeks. The Americans wanted to know how it could be achieved without causing catastrophic civilian causalities among the 1.2 million people – mostly displaced – sheltering there. But instead of sending military experts, the delegation was headed by the minister for strategic affairs <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/07/world/middleeast/netanyahu-dermer-israel-war.html">Ron Dermer</a> (a Netanyahu confidant) and <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/tzachi-hanegbi">Tzachi Henegbi</a>, a former right-wing rabble rouser now serving as national security adviser.</p>
<p>Neither are military experts and Dermer has not even served in the IDF. What they could have told the US military team they were there to brief would be interesting to hear. But these armchair generals will now be staying at home. </p>
<p>Gallant, meanwhile, continues his Washington talks as if nothing has happened. Despite being a member of Likud, Gallant has steered his course especially carefully since March last year when Netanyahu tried but failed to sack him over his opposition to the government’s unpopular judicial reforms, which Gallant said would endanger national security. </p>
<p>Having survived in part due to mass demonstrations in his support, Gallant has occupied a unique position in the cabinet, as someone who stood up to Netanyahu and survived. He is liked in Washington and Netanyahu is probably relieved that he is keeping lines of communication open with the Biden administration. But it’s hard to hide the contrast between Gallant’s meetings and Netanyahu’s pique at Washington’s decision to abstain on the security council vote.</p>
<p><strong>What does this say about the future of US-Israeli relations?</strong> </p>
<p>The US has only really seen Israel as strategic ally since the early 1970s. Until then relations had been more problematic. When Israel declared independence in 1948 a US arms embargo was in force. In the 1948 war it was Soviet arms via Czechoslovakia that gave Israel its military advantage. </p>
<p>In the 1950s and 1960s it was mainly France who supplied Israel with arms – <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/the-us-discovery-israels-secret-nuclear-project">including nuclear weapons</a>. The 1956 <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/suez">Suez affair</a> – in which Israel attacked Egypt in coordination with Britain and France – was denounced by the US. But after the six-day war in 1967, the US became more engaged and interestingly has always promoted normalisation between Israel and its Arab neighbours. The 1978 <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/camp-david">Camp David Accords</a> when Israel and Egypt recognised each other underlined this. </p>
<p>My reading of this is the US entanglement with Israel since the 1970s has been about promoting a particular Middle East order. So we need to understand Israel-US relations in a regional context. </p>
<p>The Biden administration knows you can’t end a war without a peace plan – and that must mean a Palestinian state alongside Israel. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, began his recent Middle East visit to Saudi Arabia, seeing Riyadh as central to a stable Middle East. Saudi recognition of Israel comes at the price of concrete steps to a Palestinian state. </p>
<p>The longer Netanyahu resists paying that price the more the agony of Gaza will continue. And all the while the US will have to ratchet up its pressure on the Israeli government.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226653/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Strawson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>John Strawson, a UK-based researcher on Israeli politics, answers questions about the US decision to abstain from voting on a UN security council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.John Strawson, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2082122024-03-25T18:23:53Z2024-03-25T18:23:53ZGaza conflict: snapshot of a population being starved into submission<p>Israel has <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147916">banned the UN aid-coordinating agency, Unrwa</a>, from accessing the population of northern Gaza where a major famine is now believed to be imminent. The country <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/no-evidence-israel-back-unrwa-accusations-says-eu-humanitarian-chief-2024-03-14/">has accused</a> UNWRA staff of involvement in the October 7 Hamas attack but has provided no evidence this was the case and the agency <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/27/middleeast/unrwa-israel-hamas-october-7-allegations-intl/index.html">denies the allegations</a>. </p>
<p>Across the whole 141-square-mile Palestinian enclave, there are now high levels of <a href="https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-97/en/">critical food insecurity</a>. But the situation is worst in the <a href="https://ecfr.eu/special/mapping_palestinian_politics/governorates/">governorates</a> of North Gaza and Gaza, where the situation is assessed at the highest level under <a href="https://www.ipcinfo.org/famine-facts/en">international standard</a> IPC 5, which represents “catastrophe/famine”. </p>
<p>This is defined as “an area has at least 20% of households facing an extreme lack of food, at least 30% of children suffering from acute malnutrition, and two people for every 10,000 dying each day due to outright starvation or to the interaction of malnutrition and disease”.</p>
<p>The middle governorates of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, and Rafah in the south, are presently classed as being IPC 4, or “emergency”. This means the areas have large food consumption gaps, which are reflected in very high acute malnutrition and excess mortality. </p>
<h2>Developing catastrophe</h2>
<p>The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification or IPC was originally developed by the UN in 2004 for use in Somalia. It is administered and implemented by a global partnership of 15 organisations. </p>
<p>It enables both governmental and non-governmental organisations to assess situations using a scientific measure, allowing decision-makers to reach informed decisions quickly and accurately in situations of extreme urgency – as in Gaza at the moment. </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Gaza_Strip_Acute_Food_Insecurity_Feb_July2024_Special_Brief.pdf">most recent IPC rankings</a> published on March 18 and based on data taken during the month to March 15, 677,000 people in Gaza were in IPC 5 – that is, a “catastrophic” situation. Another 876,000 people were in IPC 4, or an “emergency”. </p>
<p>Some 578,000 people were judged to be in IPC 3 or “crisis” and 90,000 were in IPC 2 or “stressed”. There were no people in Gaza judged to be “food secure”.</p>
<p>But the situation is worsening by the day. By July the projections are that 1,107,000 people will face an IPC 5 catastrophe, another 854,000 people are expected to face an IPC 4 emergency and 265,000 people will be in an IPC 3 crisis. </p>
<p>In addition to the lack of access to sufficient food, the quality of the available food is also a major concern. There is a significant worry about <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33896431/#:%7E:text=Hidden%20hunger%20is%20the%20presence,%2C%20but%20nutrient%2Dpoor%20diet.">“hidden hunger”</a>. This is when, even when people have some access to food supplies, they are getting an insufficient quantity of essential nutrients. </p>
<p>The report goes into detail about the urgency of the <a href="https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Gaza_Strip_Acute_Food_Insecurity_Feb_July2024_Special_Brief.pdf">nutrition situation</a> in northern Gaza, where in January 2024 is was estimated that 98% of children consume two or fewer food groups, these being breast milk and eggs. </p>
<p>The report found that in the children they examined, legumes, vitamin A rich fruits and vegetables, other vegetables, grains, meat and dairy products, had “almost completely disappeared from their daily diet”.</p>
<p>It’s worth noting that 95% of pregnant and breastfeeding women had themselves consumed two or fewer food groups the previous day. Eating a well-balanced diet is crucial for pregnant and lactating women, as it directly impacts their health, the healthy growth and development of unborn babies and infants, postpartum recovery, and the quality of breast milk produced. </p>
<p>While most critical in northern Gaza, these conditions are repeated across the whole of the strip with varying severity.</p>
<h2>Collapsing healthcare</h2>
<p>The results of this lack of nutritious foods is increasingly manifest in a rise in preventable health problems, particularly among children. Given the breakdown in services across most of Gaza, the report said it had been unable to obtain sufficient information about the health of the population to “reach a minimum sample allowing exploitation of the information”.</p>
<p>Nonetheless the World Health Organization <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/12/middleeast/gaza-diseases-spread-what-we-know-intl/index.html">has reported</a> steep rises in acute jaundice, acute respiratory infections, bloody diarrhoea, diarrhoea, meningitis and skin diseases. Attacks on <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/12/middleeast/gaza-diseases-spread-what-we-know-intl/index.html">hospitals and clinics</a>, such as the sieges on Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis and the attack on Al-Shifa earlier in the month, will only exacerbate the situation. </p>
<p>Unwra’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, called Israel’s closure of aid deliveries into northern Gaza “outrageous” and said it was an intentional plan to “obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man made famine”.</p>
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<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>The IPC’s famine review committee (FRC) says a <a href="https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Famine_Committee_Review_Report_Gaza_Strip_Acute_Food_Insecurity_Feb_July2024_Special_Brief.pdf">ceasefire</a> is the only way to alleviate this imminent famine. Provision of food and medical aid must be scaled up as a matter of urgency. </p>
<p>Attacks on hospitals and sanitation facilities must be halted. And any humanitarian intervention must ensure that in addition to aid provision, commercial access to food and medicines must be restored as a matter of urgency. </p>
<p>It’s also vital that aid organisations be protected and allowed to collect up-to-date information about the state of the crisis, so that resources can be directed to where they are needed most. But there’s little sign of this happening at the moment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208212/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nnenna Awah does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The situation in Gaza grows more desperate by the day.Nnenna Awah, PhD candidate, Department of Food and Nutrition, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2255232024-03-25T15:23:27Z2024-03-25T15:23:27ZDoes the destruction of homes in Gaza constitute genocide?<p>The intentional destruction of homes — by a government or private entity, during war or peacetime, on an individual or communal basis — is referred to as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0267303032000087766">domicide</a>” <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/from-bureaucracy-to-bullets">by scholars</a> and by Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a77190-right-adequate-housing-during-violent-conflict-report-special">United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing</a>.</p>
<p>Domicide <a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/83825/the-case-for-the-international-crime-of-domicide/">can constitute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes</a>. It has been used in armed conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Myanmar and now in Gaza, where Israel has destroyed <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-158">more than 60 per cent of homes</a>. The bombings of Gazan homes have also killed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/21/gaza-death-toll-25000-un-antonio-guterres">tens of thousands</a> of Palestinians.</p>
<p>In the wake of Russia’s demolition of homes in Ukraine in 2022, <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a77190-right-adequate-housing-during-violent-conflict-report-special">Rajagopal argued</a> that domicide goes <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a77190-right-adequate-housing-during-violent-conflict-report-special">beyond collateral damage and deserves stand-alone prohibition and punishment</a> in international law.</p>
<h2>Cutting homeland ties</h2>
<p>Homes are <a href="https://thefunambulist.net/magazine/the-land/colonial-lives-of-property-in-south-australia-british-columbia-and-palestine">more than physical dwellings or property</a>. Widespread domicide extinguishes individual and collective identity, memory and ties to homeland. </p>
<p>The deep connection of homes in Gaza to Palestinian land, territory and nationhood renders Israel’s destruction of them a genocidal tactic. Israel’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1068/d">long history</a> <a href="https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/435686">of intentional</a> and <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/from-bureaucracy-to-bullets/9781978802711/">arbitrary destruction of Palestinian homes</a>, and the <a href="https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/1649445">subsequent displacement of Palestinians</a>, have been accompanied by the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2017.47.1.18">legalized annexation of Palestinian land</a>.</p>
<p>This history reveals a <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/">strategy of deliberately targeting homes</a> to harm Palestinians as a <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf#page=72">national, racial and ethnic group</a>. </p>
<p>The home is a crucial site of Palestinian group identity and national belonging. </p>
<p>In the words of social work scholar Nuha Dwaikat-Shaer: “<a href="https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/ww72bh72r">Palestinians see the home as a symbol of existence and as a means that connects them to the land</a>.” The UN Commission on Human Rights further makes note of the <a href="https://undocs.org/E/CN.4/2001/121">deep attachment of Palestinians to their homes and agricultural land</a>, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1555-2934.2009.01061.x">olive and citrus trees</a>.</p>
<h2>Home is critical to Palestinians as a group</h2>
<p>While the home is central to many communities, it holds a particular significance to the continued existence of Palestinians as a national group. The home is where <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316159927">identities, localities, social relations, cultures and nationhood</a> are produced, as feminist historian <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/palestinians-9781848132573/">Rosemary Sayigh</a> has argued.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/nakba/9780231135795">volume of studies into the 1948 <em>Nakba</em></a> — the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/5/23/the-nakba-did-not-start-or-end-in-1948">mass dispossession and displacement</a> of more than 750,000 Palestinians during the creation of Israel — by political scientist Ahmad Sa’di and anthropologist Lila Abu-Lughod, ethnographic accounts document how the Palestinian home is a site of individual and collective memory passed on generationally. In the face of the ongoing erasure of Palestinian experiences, culture and places, that memory is also political.</p>
<p>Memories of the Nakba continue to infuse present-day Palestinian life. Subsequent displacements are being <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/14/a-second-nakba-echoes-of-1948-as-israel-orders-palestinians-to-leave">collectively experienced as a continuation of Nakba</a>.</p>
<p>Under constant threat and attack by Israel, the security and meaning of the home have become central to Palestinian national existence and identity. As Palestinian legal scholar <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/434/article/829323/summary">Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian</a> explains, the Palestinian home is “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316159927">responsible for the preservation of psychological and social life and the prevention of social death</a>.”</p>
<p>As a site of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-5661.2009.00352.x">collective memory-making</a>, the home is also essential to the preservation of Palestine as a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2201473X.2013.859979">national homeland with territorial sovereignty</a> and the continuation of Palestinians as a <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/palestinians-9781848132573/">distinct national group</a> protected by the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide-convention.shtml">United Nations Genocide Convention</a>.</p>
<h2>Domicide as genocide</h2>
<p>Under the 1948 Genocide Convention, when “<a href="https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/1948-convention.shtml">committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group</a>,” acts causing serious bodily or mental harm or deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about a protected group’s physical destruction constitute genocide. </p>
<p>Both of these prohibited acts are implicated by the destruction of Palestinian homes in Gaza. As South Africa argued at the International Court of Justice in November 2023 — in reference to crimes committed by Hamas and militants from other armed groups on Oct. 7, 2023 and the continued holding of Israeli hostages — “<a href="https://www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/article/icj-hearing-the-south-african-case-in-full/">no matter how outrageous or appalling an attack or provocation, genocide is never a permissible response</a>.”</p>
<p>Domicide inflicts deep emotional trauma that <a href="https://www.nybooks.com/online/2024/01/27/gaza-two-rights-of-return/">is passed on to future generations</a>. In Gaza, the tragic last public words of <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/10/at-least-six-palestinian-journalists-killed-in-israeli-strikes-on-gaza">journalists</a>, <a href="https://lithub.com/read-the-last-words-of-writer-heba-abu-nada-who-was-killed-last-week-by-an-israeli-airstrike/">poets</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/11/middleeast/refaat-alareer-gaza-professor-killed-in-airstrike-intl/index.html">academics</a>, <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2023/11/13/remembering_hammam_alloh">doctors</a> and <a href="https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/patients-medical-staff-trapped-in-hospitals-under-fire/">medical personnel</a>, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-12-19/farewells-from-gaza">residents</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/in-gaza-thousands-of-aid-workers-risk-their-lives-on-mission-to-ensure-the-well-being-of-others-1.7066053">international aid workers</a> bear witness to Israel’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2024/jan/30/how-war-destroyed-gazas-neighbourhoods-visual-investigation">widespread destruction of homes</a>, forcible displacement and the mental and physical suffering in the ensuing long journeys to the southern Gaza Strip.</p>
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<p>Israel has displaced <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-158">75 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people</a> at a <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/mass-exodus-begins-in-gaza-as-israel-tells-people-to-leave-ahead-of-more-raids">staggering pace</a>.
Approximately <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/02/urgent-statement-from-chief-executives-of-humanitarian-agencies-and-human-rights-organizations-on-rafah-gaza/">1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza are concentrated under abominable conditions in Rafah</a>, forced to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/gaza-destruction-bombing-israel-aa528542">sleep in the street and burn garbage to cook</a> while <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/2/9/israeli-bombs-target-gazas-overcrowded-rafah">being subjected to frequent bombings</a>.</p>
<p>Domicide and mass displacement have also created conditions for greater suffering and loss of life due to inadequate shelter, disease, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/18/israel-starvation-used-weapon-war-gaza">starvation</a> and lack of medical care. </p>
<p>It has exacerbated the <a href="https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/trapped-the-impact-of-15-years-of-blockade-on-the-mental-health-of-gazas-children/">vulnerability of children</a>, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/01/gaza-israeli-attacks-blockade-devastating-people-disabilities">disabled people</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/two-months-war-gaza-leave-elderly-newborns-destitute-displaced-2023-12-07/">the elderly</a>, <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/world/gaza-queering-the-map/">LGBTQ2A+ people</a> <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/01/gender-alert-the-gendered-impact-of-the-crisis-in-gaza">and women</a>, exposing them to <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/a-pediatricians-two-weeks-inside-a-hospital-in-gaza">severe physical</a> and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/01/01/a-palestinian-poets-perilous-journey-out-of-gaza">mental harm</a>. </p>
<p>Doctors have described the <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/a-pediatricians-two-weeks-inside-a-hospital-in-gaza">horrors of Gazan children losing limbs and being operated on without supplies or anesthesia</a> and losing their entire families — now referred to by the acronym WCNSF <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67614139">(wounded child, no surviving family)</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf#page=72">dehumanizing statements by senior Israeli officials about Palestinians</a> along with the staggering violence in Gaza — sometimes graphically <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/videos-of-israeli-soldiers-acting-maliciously-emerge-amid-international-outcry-against-tactics-in-gaza">celebrated by Israeli soldiers</a> — suggests an intention to bring about the total or partial destruction of Palestinian life.</p>
<h2>Recognizing domicide in Gaza</h2>
<p>The illegality of disproportionate destruction of civilian property and dwellings is currently recognized under international law. However, the significance of the destruction of the home warrants further attention. Whether through its existing role in international crimes or additionally as a separate crime, the atrocities in Gaza highlight the need to recognize domicide as deliberately furthering the destruction of a group. </p>
<p>When Israel attacks Palestinian homes in Gaza, it is doing more than destroying property — it is demonstrating a genocidal intention to destroy Palestinians as a group. </p>
<p>Given the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/gaza-destruction-bombing-israel-aa528542">widespread current destruction</a>, <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf#page=72">the indications of an intent to destroy Palestinians as a group</a> and the <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-00-en.pdf">International Court of Justice’s ruling on the plausibility of genocide</a> in Gaza, there are compelling reasons to assess Israel’s destruction of Palestinian homes as genocide.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225523/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Priya Gupta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The deep connection of homes in Gaza to Palestinian land, territory and nationhood makes Israel’s destruction of them a genocidal tactic.Priya Gupta, Associate Professor of Law, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2259362024-03-25T12:38:41Z2024-03-25T12:38:41ZIsrael’s ‘Iron Wall’: A brief history of the ideology guiding Benjamin Netanyahu<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583238/original/file-20240320-16-lzg9fz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C9%2C3052%2C1932&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A view of Khan Yunis in Gaza on Feb. 2, 2024, after weeks of continuous Israeli bombardment and bulldozing.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/view-of-destruction-with-destroyed-buildings-and-roads-news-photo/1973198679?adppopup=true">Abdulqader Sabbah/Anadolu via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled that Israel’s military will soon <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-rafah-offensive.html">launch an invasion of Rafah</a>, the city in the southern Gaza Strip. More than 1 million Palestinians, now on the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-malnutrition-famine-children-dying-israel-palestinians-2f938b1a82d7822c7da67cc162da1a37">verge of famine</a>, have sought refuge there from their bombed-out cities farther north. Despite U.S. President Joe <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/biden-warns-netanyahu-an-assault-on-rafah-would-cross-red-line-c78677ba">Biden’s warning against the move</a>, Netanyahu appears, for now, undeterred from his aim to attack Rafah. </p>
<p>The attack is the latest chapter in Israel’s current battle to eliminate Hamas from Gaza. </p>
<p>But it’s also a reflection of an ideology, known as the “<a href="https://en.jabotinsky.org/media/9747/the-iron-wall.pdf">Iron Wall</a>,” that has been part of Israeli political history since before the state’s founding in 1948. The Iron Wall has driven Netanyahu in his career leading Israel for two decades, culminating in the current deadly war that <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Israel-Hamas-War">began with a massacre of Israelis</a> and then turned into a <a href="https://hhi.harvard.edu/news/humanitarian-situation-gaza">humanitarian catastrophe for Gaza’s Palestinians</a>.</p>
<p>Here is the history of that ideology:</p>
<h2>A wall that can’t be breached</h2>
<p>In 1923, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vladimir-Jabotinsky">Vladimir, later known as “Ze’ev,” Jabotinsky</a>, a prominent Zionist activist, published “<a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/quot-the-iron-wall-quot">On the Iron Wall</a>,” an article in which he laid out his vision for the course that the Zionist movement should follow in order to realize its ultimate goal: the creation of an independent Jewish state in Palestine, <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/timeline-for-the-history-of-judaism#brits2">at the time governed by the British</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583249/original/file-20240320-20-uluqu0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a double breasted suit, wearing round glasses." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583249/original/file-20240320-20-uluqu0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583249/original/file-20240320-20-uluqu0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583249/original/file-20240320-20-uluqu0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583249/original/file-20240320-20-uluqu0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583249/original/file-20240320-20-uluqu0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1045&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583249/original/file-20240320-20-uluqu0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1045&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583249/original/file-20240320-20-uluqu0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1045&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vladimir ‘Ze'ev’ Jabotinsky, in Prague in 1933.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1176800">United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of L. Elly Gotz</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Jabotinsky admonished the Zionist establishment for ignoring the Arab majority in Palestine and their political desires. He asserted the Zionist establishment held a fanciful belief that the technological progress and improved economic conditions that the Jews would supposedly bring to Palestine would endear them to the local Arab population. </p>
<p>Jabotinsky thought that belief was fundamentally wrong. </p>
<p>To Jabotinsky, the Arabs of Palestine, like any native population throughout history, would never accept another people’s national aspirations in their own homeland. Jabotinsky believed that Zionism, as a Jewish national movement, would have to combat the Arab national movement for control of the land. </p>
<p>“Every native population in the world resists colonists as
long as it has the slightest hope of being able to rid itself of the danger of being colonised,” <a href="https://en.jabotinsky.org/media/9747/the-iron-wall.pdf">he wrote</a>. </p>
<p>Jabotinsky believed the Zionist movement should not waste its resources on Utopian economic and social dreams. Zionism’s sole focus should be on developing Jewish military force, a metaphorical Iron Wall, that would compel the Arabs to accept a Jewish state on their native land. </p>
<p>“Zionist colonisation … can proceed and develop only under the protection of a power that is independent of the native population – behind an iron wall, which the native population cannot breach,” <a href="https://en.jabotinsky.org/media/9747/the-iron-wall.pdf">he wrote</a>.</p>
<h2>Jabotinsky’s heirs: Likud</h2>
<p>In 1925, Jabotinsky founded the <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/revisionist-zionism">Revisionist movement</a>, which would become the chief right-wing opposition party to the dominant Labor Party in the Zionist movement. It opposed Labor’s socialist economic vision and emphasized the focus on <a href="https://www.knesset.gov.il/vip/jabotinsky/eng/Revisionist_frame_eng.html">cultivating Jewish militarism</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://embassies.gov.il/MFA/AboutIsrael/Maps/Pages/1947%20UN%20Partition%20Plan.aspx">In 1947, David Ben Gurion and the Zionist establishment</a> <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-202101/">accepted partition plans</a> devised by the United Nations for Palestine, dividing it into independent Jewish and Palestinian Arab states. The Zionists’ goal in accepting the plan: to have the Jewish state founded on the basis of such international consensus and support. </p>
<p>Jabotinsky’s Revisionists opposed any territorial compromise, which meant they opposed any partition plan. They objected to the recognition of a non-Jewish political entity – an Arab state – within Palestine’s borders. </p>
<p>The Palestinian Arab state proposed by the U.N. partition plan <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-Nations-Resolution-181">was rejected by Arab leaders</a>, and it <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/history/">never came into being</a>.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.gov.il/en/departments/general/declaration-of-establishment-state-of-israel">1948, Israel declared its independence</a>, which sparked <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/arab-israeli-war">a regional war between Israel and its Arab neighbors</a>. During the war, which began immediately after the U.N. voted for partition and lasted until 1949, more than half the Palestinian residents of the land Israel claimed were expelled or fled. </p>
<p>At the war’s end, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Partition-of-Palestine">the historic territory of Palestine was divided</a>, with about 80% claimed and governed by the new country of Israel. Jordan controlled East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>In the new Israeli parliament, Jabotinsky’s heirs – <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/herut-movement">in a party first called Herut</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Likud">and later Likud</a> – were relegated to the opposition benches.</p>
<h2>Old threat, new threat</h2>
<p>In 1967, another war broke out between Israel and Arab neighbors Egypt, Syria and Jordan. It resulted <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/arab-israeli-war-1967">in Israel’s occupation of</a> East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip and Golan Heights. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39960461">Yitzhak Rabin led Israel’s military</a> during that war, called the Six-Day War.</p>
<p>From 1948 until 1977, the more leftist-leaning <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Israel-Labour-Party">Labor Party governed Israel</a>. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Menachem-Begin">In 1977, Menachem Begin led the Likud to victory</a> and established it as the dominant force in Israeli politics. </p>
<p>However in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/24/world/israel-s-labor-party-wins-clear-victory-in-election-ready-to-form-a-coalition.html">1992, Rabin, as the leader of Labor, was elected as prime minister</a>. With Israel emerging as both a military and economic force in those years, fueled by the new high-tech sector, he believed the country was <a href="https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/what-would-rabin-do">no longer facing the threat of destruction</a> from its neighbors. To Rabin, the younger generation of Israelis wanted to integrate into the global economy. <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1994/rabin/facts/">Resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict</a>, he believed, would help Israel integrate into the global order. </p>
<p>In 1993, Rabin negotiated <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1993-2000/oslo">the Oslo Accords</a>, a peace deal with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The two men <a href="https://www.npr.org/2016/08/06/488737544/oslo-tells-the-surprising-story-behind-a-historic-handshake">shook hands</a> in a symbol of the reconciliation of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The agreement created a Palestinian authority in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as part of the pathway to the long-term goal of creating two countries, Israel and a Palestinian state, that would peacefully coexist.</p>
<p>That same year, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benjamin-Netanyahu">Benjamin Netanyahu had become the leader of the Likud</a> Party. The son of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/world/middleeast/benzion-netanyahu-dies-at-102.html">a prominent historian of Spanish Jewry</a>, he viewed Jewish history as facing <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/2012-04-30/ty-article/benzion-netanyahu-father-of-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-dies-at-102/0000017f-e958-d639-af7f-e9df59c90000">a repeating cycle of attempted destruction</a> – from the Romans to the Spanish Inquisition, the Nazis and <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2018-07-05/ty-article/when-netanyahus-father-adopted-the-view-of-arabs-as-savages/0000017f-e00a-d3ff-a7ff-f1aa22770000">the Arab world</a>. </p>
<p>Netanyahu saw the Oslo peace process as <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/oslo/interviews/netanyahu.html">the sort of territorial compromise</a> Jabotinsky had warned about. To him, compromise would only invite conflict, and any show of weakness would spell doom. </p>
<p>The only answer to such a significant threat, Netanyahu has repeatedly argued, is <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-no-full-palestinian-state-no-surrender-in-exchange-for-gaza-hostages/">a strong Jewish state that refuses any compromises</a>, always identifying the mortal threat to the Jewish people and countering it with an <a href="https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/world-news/no-compromise-on-rafah-operation-israeli-pm-vows-to-continue-fight-despite-global-appeals/articleshow/107792076.cms">overwhelming show of force</a>. </p>
<h2>No territorial compromise</h2>
<p>Since the 1990s, Netanyahu’s primary focus has not been on the threat of the Palestinians, but rather that of <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/netanyahu-at-war/transcript/">Iran and its nuclear ambitions</a>. But he has continued to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/21/1225883757/israels-netanyahu-rejects-any-palestinian-sovereignty-post-war-rebuffing-biden">say there can be no territorial compromise</a> with the Palestinians. Just as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/22/netanyahu-biden-two-state-solution-palestine-river-to-sea/">Palestinians refuse to accept Israel as a Jewish state</a>, Netanyahu <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68025945">refuses to accept the idea of a Palestinian state</a>.</p>
<p>Netanyahu believed that only through strength would the Palestinians accept Israel, a process that would be <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/22/middleeast/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-cnn-interview-intl/index.html">aided if more and more Arab states normalized relations with Israel</a>, establishing diplomatic and other ties. That normalization reached new heights with the 2020 <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Abraham-Accords">Abraham Accords</a>, the bilateral agreements signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain. These agreements were the ultimate vindication of Netanyahu’s regional vision.</p>
<p>It should not be surprising, then, that Hamas’ horrific attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, took place just as Saudi Arabia was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/un-israel-netanyahu-politics-4d07d9fd0413c6893d1ddfb944919ae0">nearing normalization of relations</a> with Israel. In a twisted manner, when the Saudis subsequently backed off the normalization plans, the attack reaffirmed Netanyahu’s broader vision: The Palestinian group that vowed to never recognize Israel <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-07/saudi-says-no-ties-with-israel-unless-gaza-aggression-halted">made sure that Arab recognition of Israel would fail</a>. </p>
<p>The Hamas attack gave Netanyahu an opportunity to reassert Israel’s – and Jabotinsky’s – Iron Wall. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/12/israel-gaza-hamas-biden-netanyahu/">The massive and wantonly destructive war that Netanyahu has led</a> against Hamas and Gaza since that date is the Iron Wall in its most elemental manifestation: unleashing overwhelming force as a signal that no territorial compromise with the Arabs over historical Palestine is possible. Or, as Netanyahu has repeatedly said in recent weeks, there will be no ceasefire until there’s a complete Israeli victory.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225936/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eran Kaplan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The destructive force that Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu has unleashed in Gaza is rooted in a century-old ideology that says overwhelming power is how Israel should deal with Palestinians.Eran Kaplan, Rhoda and Richard Goldman Chair in Jewish Studies, San Francisco State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2260862024-03-21T14:42:07Z2024-03-21T14:42:07ZStarvation is a weapon of war: Gazans are paying the price<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/a0ebccbd-65af-4884-ae7e-49ae086cd98f?dark=true"></iframe>
<p>On Monday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ipc-gaza-famine-report-1.7146974">accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war</a> and provoking famine in Gaza. </p>
<p>Israel <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-asks-world-court-not-order-new-measures-over-gaza-hunger-2024-03-18/">denies the allegations</a>, which are some of the strongest words we have heard from a western power about the situation in Gaza since October. The EU statement comes on the heels of a <a href="https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-97/en/">UN-backed report</a> that warns that more than one million people — half of Gaza’s population — face catastrophic starvation conditions. </p>
<p>The report compiled through a partnership of more than 19 international agencies, including the United Nations and the Canadian International Development Agency, goes on to say that without an immediate ceasefire and a major influx of food especially into areas cut off by fighting, famine and mass death in Gaza are imminent.</p>
<p>In response to Monday’s report, the United Nations Secretary-General, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/3/18/un-backed-report-says-famine-imminent-in-northern-gaza">António Guterres said</a> Palestinians in Gaza are “enduring horrifying levels of hunger and suffering” and called the findings an “appalling indictment of conditions on the ground for civilians.”</p>
<p>“We must act now to prevent the unthinkable, the unacceptable and the unjustifiable,” he said.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/famine-expert-analyzes-gaza-humanitarian-crisis/">Scholars of famine</a> say this is the worst food deprivation they have observed in war time since the Second World War. And according to international law, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/31/israel-gaza-starvation-international-law">intentional starvation of a population is a war crime</a>.</p>
<p>Hilal Elver joined us to share her extensive expertise on the issue. Prof. Elver is the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, a position she held for six years, from 2014 to 2020. She is also a research professor of Global Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara and a Global Distinguished Fellow at the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law. Elver currently serves on the committee of experts at the Committee on World Food Security.</p>
<p>With almost 50 per cent of Gaza’s population under 18, Elver says children are forced to grow up quickly in Gaza. She worries for their future. She says even if we stop the war right now, “we’re going to lose this generation.” </p>
<h2>Listen and follow</h2>
<p>You can listen to or follow <a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/"><em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em></a> on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/dont-call-me-resilient/id1549798876">Apple Podcasts</a> <a href="https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2024/03/apple-introduces-transcripts-for-apple-podcasts/">(transcripts available)</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/37tK4zmjWvq2Sh6jLIpzp7">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_mJBLBznANz6ID9rBCUk7gv_ZRC4Og9-">YouTube</a> or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts. </p>
<p><a href="mailto:dcmr@theconversation.com">We’d love to hear from you</a>, including any ideas for future episodes.</p>
<p>Join the Conversation on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dontcallmeresilientpodcast/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ConversationCA">X</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/theconversationcanada">LinkedIn</a> and use #DontCallMeResilient.</p>
<h2>Resources</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Famine_Committee_Review_Report_Gaza_Strip_Acute_Food_Insecurity_Feb_July2024_Special_Brief.pdf">Famine Review Committee Report: Gaza Strip Acute Food Insecurity March 2024</a> — Integrated Food Security Phase Classification</p>
<p><a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Mass+Starvation%3A+The+History+and+Future+of+Famine-p-9781509524662"><em>Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine</em></a> by Alex de Waal</p>
<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/un-chief-pushes-get-aid-into-gaza-process-is-slow-2023-10-20/">U.N. chief pleads for Gaza lifeline at Egypt border crossing</a></p>
<h2>From the archives - in The Conversation</h2>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/western-moral-credibility-is-dying-along-with-thousands-of-gaza-citizens-220449">Western moral credibility is dying along with thousands of Gaza citizens</a>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/ramadan-will-be-difficult-for-those-in-gaza-or-other-war-zones-what-does-fasting-mean-for-those-who-might-be-already-starving-225152">Ramadan will be difficult for those in Gaza or other war zones – what does fasting mean for those who might be already starving?</a>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/israeli-siege-has-placed-gazans-at-risk-of-starvation-prewar-policies-made-them-vulnerable-in-the-first-place-222657">Israeli siege has placed Gazans at risk of starvation − prewar policies made them vulnerable in the first place</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226086/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
We speak with Hilal Elver, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food and current University of California professor about the looming famine in Gaza after months of Israeli attacks.Vinita Srivastava, Host + Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientAteqah Khaki, Associate Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientHusein Haveliwala, Student Journalist/Assistant Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2247112024-03-04T20:47:47Z2024-03-04T20:47:47ZSelf-immolation and other ‘spectacular’ protests: How impactful are they?<p>On Feb. 25, United States Air Force member Aaron Bushnell <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-airman-self-immolation-israel-embassy-1.7126137">set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C.</a>. The 25-year-old, who was in uniform, live-streamed what he called his “extreme act of protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people.” </p>
<p>His startling and fatal act quickly went viral on social media <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13127485/Air-Force-engineer-Aaron-Bushnell-set-fire-outside-Israeli-embassy-pro-Palestine-protest-belonged-Christian-cult-SUPPORTS-airstrikes.html">while the public</a>, and his <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68455401">friends and family have struggled to make sense</a> of Bushnell’s painful sacrifice. How can we begin to make sense of such an extreme act? And, will his actions have any impact on public opinion?</p>
<p>While undeniably remarkable, Bushnell’s actions begin to make a little more sense when seen in broader context. Self-immolation, the act of setting oneself on fire, can be seen as an extreme form of a modern repertoire of protest that is both common and familiar, not just in the U.S. but in many parts of the globe.</p>
<p>For example, in <a href="https://www-sup.stanford.edu/books/title/?id=35102">my research with frontline women workers in Pakistan</a>, I found self-immolation was part of a broader set of attention-grabbing tools women used in an effort to attract both attention and allies for what they saw as an otherwise lost cause. I call this broad set of publicity seeking efforts “spectacular agency,” a set of stunning dramas people stage to publicize abuse, critique injustice, censure abusers and protect the vulnerable. </p>
<h2>Spectacular agency</h2>
<p>Spectacular agency, including extreme forms like self-immolation, is not new. Many people from the 1960s generation will be familiar with the <a href="https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/the-burning-monk-1963/">photograph of Thich Quang Duc, the Buddhist monk</a> who self-immolated to protest the South Vietnamese government’s persecution of Buddhists. His unthinkable gesture <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195176056.003.0013">brought international attention to the plight of Buddhists</a> in South Vietnam.</p>
<p>Now, since the advent of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/27/1233985097/self-immolation-political-protesters-history-aaron-bushnell">globalized broadcast media,</a> such actions can quickly gain attention across the globe. Indeed, with the wider availability of social media and the possibility of going viral, such protests have become more common than you would think. </p>
<p>Not all spectacular actions include the extreme act of self-immolation, but many examples exist within its realm. They have included the use of hashtags like <a href="https://canadianwomen.org/the-facts/the-metoo-movement-in-canada/">#metoo,</a> the circulation of leaked <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/you-dont-belong-here-canadian-teacher-lambastes-muslim-student-for-eschewing-pride">videos</a>, the practice of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/mcmaster-divestment-project-hunger-strike-ends-1.6793248">hunger strikes</a>, the use of <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/pro-palestinian-protesters-return-to-union-station-for-rush-hour-sit-in/article_21490aa0-93ee-11ee-bb99-032a49e54b60.html">inflammatory posters</a>, the burning of effigies (for example when U.S. protestors <a href="https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/draft-card-protest/">burnt their draft cards</a> in 1965) and also attempted <a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/366731/lhws-protest-pushed-to-limits-man-sets-himself-on-fire">self-immolation</a>. </p>
<p>And as I found in Pakistan, this also includes the organization of <a href="https://archive.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/03/21/lady-health-workers-protest/">dharnas</a> (sit-ins). Sit-ins have also been recently used as a protest technique to call for a ceasefire in Gaza <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/pro-palestinian-protesters-return-to-union-station-for-rush-hour-sit-in/article_21490aa0-93ee-11ee-bb99-032a49e54b60.html">at Toronto’s Union Station</a> and in Washington, D.C. in October.</p>
<p>While such acts may generate attention, this kind of agency is often costly, requiring the protesters involved to make considerable personal investments of time, money, comfort, privacy, dignity and even life. </p>
<p>Yet, despite the costs, the outcomes of spectacular agency are frequently uncertain. </p>
<p>This is because spectacular agency requires recruiting others, such as audiences, who need to buy into a message, an idea or a point of view. But no matter how carefully they stage their dramatic contention, protesters have limited control over the way their vivid efforts will be read and interpreted by others.</p>
<h2>How audiences interpret protests</h2>
<p>When the public sees spectacular acts, they may focus on the symbols protesters use, such as military uniforms, that may be both symbolically loaded and multivocal. People invest a lot of meaning into military uniforms and they may read their use in many different ways depending on their different points of view. While symbols like uniforms can be arresting, their use may not always produce the interpretation the protester desired. Instead, the use of a loaded symbol may be taken by spectators as sacrilegious, and their use, therefore, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/02/29/aaron-bushnell-suicide-protest/">can lead audiences to question the protester’s sanity</a>.</p>
<p>The meanings audiences draw from spectacular performance, moreover, often interact with broader currents of inequality in society. An actor’s race, gender or age can be important factors that determine whether they have the authority, in an audience’s eyes, to use a particular symbol or to spectacularly tell a story that is important to them. </p>
<p>Women engaging in spectacular agency to draw attention to sexual assault, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/columbia-student-brings-rape-protest-mattress-to-graduation-1.3079582">like the Columbia student who carried a mattress</a> around campus to draw attention to sexual abuse, may find audiences either blame the victim or <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/08/columbia-university-mattress-girl-emmas-sulkowicz-paul-nungesser-lawsuit-rape-accusation-exonerated/">refuse to believe her account</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Emma Sulkowicz, walks across the stage at Columbia College, 2015, with her mattress as audience members cheered and clapped. Two years later, the accused was cleared of any wrongdoing in a settled lawsuit.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Selflessly fighting for a better future</h2>
<p>In Pakistan, women frontline workers’ spectacular actions also brought mixed results. When I say frontline workers, I mean people who provide face-to-face service to citizens. One airline attendant <a href="https://www.edition.pk/news/1006210/pia-air-hostess-sabira-rizvi-talks-age-and-being-internet-famous">took to social media in an effort to protest against the ageism and sexism of some passengers</a> and found supportive and allies <a href="https://twitter.com/ammarawrites/status/882899735690039296?lang=en">among other social media users</a>. </p>
<p>But other women workers were not so fortunate.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/4/10/the-plight-of-pakistans-lady-health-workers">Pakistani Lady Health Workers</a>, who travelled from city to city across Pakistan engaging in long running spectacular efforts to grab attention for their poor working conditions, succeeded in getting the Pakistani Supreme Court’s attention and intervention. </p>
<p>However, the women then had to confront a slowly moving bureaucratic administration that found ways to delay or limit the women’s gains. Some of these women said the reforms they had worked so hard for would not benefit them directly. They were on the verge of retirement and were told by their bosses that their hard-won gains in wages and pensions would not apply to them.</p>
<p>Yet, most of these women said they did not regret having made the effort. </p>
<p>Speaking about her own inability to reap the rewards of spectacular agency, Nuzhat, a frontline health worker said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It doesn’t matter. The next generation will get it. One person grows a tree so that the next generation can sit in its shade…What is important is that you plant it.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Spectacular agency is costly, requiring the surrender of money, time, comfort and also, at times privacy and dignity. Therefore, people who engage in it, often see it as an altruistic sacrifice made in the name of others. </p>
<p>Rehana, a health worker said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I don’t feel sad that I derived little benefit from that effort…I feel that you should do whatever you can do. Whatever we can do for the next generation, we do it. You can’t control the outcome, but you can say: ‘O Allah, I have fulfilled my obligations. I spared no effort to create a better world for the next people who will take my place. Now it’s up to them and you.’</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224711/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fauzia Husain does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation is an example of ‘spectacular agency,’ a form of attention-grabbing but costly protest. And, it is uncertain how the public will perceive such protests.Fauzia Husain, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2220922024-02-29T17:37:32Z2024-02-29T17:37:32ZIndians are fleeing their growing economy to work abroad – even in conflict zones. Here’s how to create more jobs at home<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576217/original/file-20240216-18-l70jpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C59%2C7951%2C5237&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/people-workers-standing-line-outside-construction-728813566">Rahul Ramachandram/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Israel <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68027582">plans</a> to bring in 70,000 workers from abroad, including 10,000 from India, to boost its construction sector. A labour shortage has emerged after 80,000 Palestinian workers were barred from entering the country after the October 7 Hamas-led attacks.</p>
<p>Figures suggest that India is one of the <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/mi/research-analysis/india-seizes-crown-of-fastest-growing-g20-economy-dec23.html">fastest-growing</a> economies in the world. Between July and September of 2023, it grew at a pace of 7.6%. If it continues along this current growth trajectory, India will become the world’s <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/benjaminlaker/2024/02/23/india-to-become-third-largest-economy-by-2027-implications-for-leaders/">third-largest</a> economy by 2027.</p>
<p>The fact that thousands of Indian workers are nonetheless queuing up to secure a job in a conflict zone abroad is a consequence of a jobs crisis at home. Despite the country’s apparent economic growth, many Indians – even those with a university degree – are struggling to secure stable employment.</p>
<p>Casual work makes up <a href="https://eastasiaforum.org/2023/04/10/indias-workforce-woes/#:%7E:text=About%2052%20per%20cent%20of,cent%20are%20regular%20salaried%20workers.">25% of the workforce</a>, while only 23% of workers are paid a regular salary. The remainder are self-employed, and quite vulnerable to irregular and insecure income too.</p>
<p>But India has a large working-age population (people between 15 and 64 years of age), so the demand for jobs is immense. India needs to create an <a href="https://eastasiaforum.org/2023/04/10/indias-workforce-woes/">estimated</a> 10 million to 12 million jobs each year for the unemployed, new workforce entrants, and surplus agricultural workers to be able to secure non-farm work.</p>
<p>How can India provide jobs for its increasingly educated young? It needs even faster economic growth and for this growth to be labour intensive. This will, in turn, generate demand in the economy from all sections of society (not just the middle class and above).</p>
<h2>Structural change</h2>
<p>Between 2004 and 2014, India’s economy grew at a rate of <a href="https://thewire.in/economy/modi-claims-india-saw-a-lost-decade-between-2004-and-14-is-that-true">nearly 8% per year</a> (despite the global financial crisis in 2008). This rapid growth was accompanied by a hastening of structural change in employment.</p>
<p>During that period, the economy created on average <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ijlaec/v64y2021i2d10.1007_s41027-021-00317-x.html">7.5 million</a> new non-farm jobs every year. The number of manufacturing jobs in India rose from 53 million in 2004 to 60 million by 2012.</p>
<p>However, ₹500 (£4.78) and ₹1000 (£9.56) notes were <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.34.1.55">taken out of circulation</a> in 2016, making 86% of India’s currency illegal. The cash recall was intended to accelerate the country’s transition towards a formal economy. But it led to acute shortages of cash, destroying jobs in the construction and manufacturing sectors.</p>
<p>Growth slowed to 2020 when, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the Indian government imposed a nationwide lockdown at <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-52081396">four hours’ notice</a>. The lockdown caused India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to <a href="https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/">contract by 5.8%</a> – more than twice the rate at which the global economy shrank.</p>
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<img alt="Six Indian police officers wearing masks and standing on a city street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576586/original/file-20240219-22-2qhktj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576586/original/file-20240219-22-2qhktj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576586/original/file-20240219-22-2qhktj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576586/original/file-20240219-22-2qhktj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576586/original/file-20240219-22-2qhktj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576586/original/file-20240219-22-2qhktj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576586/original/file-20240219-22-2qhktj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Police in Gujarat, India, enforcing the COVID lockdown.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bharuch-gujarat-india-april-05-2020-1702650391">Kunal Mahto/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Employment in manufacturing jobs fell again, especially in labour-intensive manufacturing where employment had already been in decline for five years following the botched implementation of demonetisation. Around <a href="https://thewire.in/economy/what-we-know-about-indias-post-covid-economy-recovery-and-rising-inequality">60 million workers</a> returned to jobs in agriculture, reversing the structural change in employment that had been underway for 15 years.</p>
<p>To take advantage of its bulging working-age population, India needs to create more non-farm jobs. In his new book, “Breaking the Mould”, the former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan, <a href="https://www.penguin.co.in/book/breaking-the-mould/">says</a> that India needs to focus on exports of services, drawing on the country’s new digital infrastructure and IT-based services growth for the domestic (and export) market.</p>
<p>But a focus on services alone will not suffice. This “New India” economy currently constitutes <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/indian-economy-gdp-growth-capex-global-market-share-digital-public-infrastructure-9073549/">less than 15%</a> of the country’s economy and a fraction of that in employment. Such a strategy will generate jobs mainly for highly skilled people, rather than the millions of Indian workers that are searching for non-farm jobs.</p>
<p>What India needs is a <a href="https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2022/02/03/make-in-india-a-work-in-progress/">manufacturing strategy</a> akin to China’s that focuses on labour-intensive manufacturing. China has pursued an industrial policy since the 1950s, which has become even more evolved since the 1980s, helping the country establish dominance in global high-tech manufacturing.</p>
<h2>Creating jobs in India</h2>
<p>In India, the demand for jobs will only be met if several different factors come together. Construction activity needs to continue at its current brisk pace. But, for the next year or two, it must be led by public sector investment as private investment remains sluggish. </p>
<p>India’s investment-to-GDP ratio is <a href="https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/">still below 30%</a>, and has remained below the 31% inherited by the current government when it came to power ten years ago. The potential for a twofold increase in construction employment (a trend that was observed between 2004 and 2012) over the next five years hinges on the revival of private investment.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of workers in hi-vis jackets at a construction site." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576587/original/file-20240219-28-phmg80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576587/original/file-20240219-28-phmg80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576587/original/file-20240219-28-phmg80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576587/original/file-20240219-28-phmg80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576587/original/file-20240219-28-phmg80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576587/original/file-20240219-28-phmg80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576587/original/file-20240219-28-phmg80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Labour workers building an overhead metro in Bangalore, India.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bangalore-karnataka-india-january-21-2014-282302282">PI/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Labour-intensive manufacturing by micro, small and medium enterprises also needs a sustained fillip. The government’s focus is currently on large companies – so-called “national champions” like industrial conglomerates Tata and Mahindra – which are being encouraged through <a href="https://thewire.in/political-economy/why-the-modi-government-policy-of-national-champions-is-unravelling">subsidies</a>.</p>
<p>If these subsidies were instead redirected towards smaller enterprises, they might do more for employment generation. Large corporations <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/planning-in-the-20th-century-and-beyond/817DA53ABC693583B3E3D052CA5B2CE5#fndtn-information">typically</a> use highly capital-intensive methods of production, whereas smaller ones tend to absorb more labour. Historically, it is the latter that has generated <a href="https://archive.org/details/developmentwithh0000unse/mode/2up">most</a> of the non-farm jobs in developing countries.</p>
<p>The third area where employment can be generated is, indeed, services. Public expenditure should prioritise public health, education, vocational training and universities.</p>
<p>These sectors are labour-intensive, contribute to the creation of public goods, and will build the human capital needed by both manufacturing and modern export-oriented services. That is the only way India’s health and education services can reach the <a href="https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/385696/hcd-sa.pdf">levels observed</a> in east Asia and attract more foreign investment.</p>
<p>A renewed focus on smaller enterprises across these sectors is needed. Inclusive growth requires providing jobs rapidly at the bottom of the pyramid, not only at the top of the wage – and skill – distribution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222092/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Santosh Mehrotra does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>India needs to follow a path akin to China’s to find answers to its job woes.Santosh Mehrotra, Visiting Professor at the Centre for Development Studies, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2247642024-02-29T12:55:31Z2024-02-29T12:55:31ZWhat is Netanyahu’s plan for a post-conflict Gaza and does it rule out a workable ceasefire? Expert Q&A<p><em>In recent days Joe Biden has been promising that a deal for a ceasefire is very close to agreement. But at the same time the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has revealed his vision for Gaza once the fighting stops, which appears to rule out Palestinian sovereignty on the strip. We spoke with John Strawson, a Middle East expert at the University of East London, who has been researching and publishing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for several decades.</em></p>
<p><strong>After weeks of wrangling, Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has published his vision for a post-conflict Gaza. How compatible is it with the idea of a two-state solution? To what extent is his tough line influenced by the more hawkish members of his government who take a hardline attitude to Palestinian sovereignty?</strong></p>
<p>Netanyahu’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/27/post-war-gaza-plan-netanyahu-israel-day-after-future-abbas/">plan for a post-war Gaza</a> is simply not practical and does not rise to the political challenges of the times. It is based on two principles: Israeli security control over Gaza and a civil administration run by non-Hamas officials. </p>
<p>But there has been Israeli security control over Gaza in one form since 1967 and it has not brought security for either Israel or Palestinians. There is no reason to think that the Israel Defense Forces can do better now, especially after this catastrophic war. At the same time, it is difficult to see where the non-Hamas Palestinian officials will come from. Hamas has had a tight grip of Gaza since 2007 and anyone with any experience of administration is likely to be a member of Hamas, a sympathiser or someone used to working with Hamas. </p>
<p>While there is opposition to Hamas in the Gaza Strip, there is little organised political opposition that could replace them. Like the US and Britain in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, when they <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/29/usa.iraq">banned officials from the Ba'athist party</a> from the administration, chaos will follow. The only realistic option is to extend the power of the Palestinian Authority – presently <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/11/what-is-the-palestinian-authority-and-how-is-it-viewed-by-palestinians">based in Ramallah</a> – into Gaza. But Netanyahu and his <a href="https://theconversation.com/israeli-elections-benjamin-netanhayu-set-to-return-with-some-extreme-new-partners-193814">far-right allies</a> think it will advance pressure for a two-state solution – something they are opposed to. </p>
<p><strong>To what extent is this a starting point for Netanyahu? Has he left himself the political space to manoeuvre given pressure from the US and other international allies?</strong></p>
<p>The plan was provided mainly due to international pressure – especially by the Americans. It should be noted that the US secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, has been raising the issue of post-conflict Gaza with the Israelis since November and it still took months to produce this flimsy document. </p>
<p>This gives us an insight into how difficult it is in practice for the US administration to use its apparent power over the Israeli government. Netanyahu has much experience of dealing with American politicians and plays the system very well. He knows that Biden needs a calmer Middle East as a background to his re-election bid in November. As a result, the bargaining relationship is quite complex. </p>
<p>Netanyahu clearly thinks he has time on his side. The nearer it gets to the US election the more difficult it gets for Biden to please the progressive Democrats who want a ceasefire and the more traditional Democrats who have Israel’s back. What Netanyahu is doing is the minimum in the hope of hanging on hoping for a Trump win. </p>
<p><strong>Does Netanyahu’s vision reflect the feelings of the Jewish community in Israel? What about Arab voters? The prime minister appears deeply unpopular among most voter groups – is his intransigence more about maintaining his hold on power than on seeking a workable long term solution?</strong></p>
<p>While Netanyahu is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/only-15-israelis-want-netanyahu-keep-job-after-gaza-war-poll-finds-2024-01-02/">deeply unpopular</a> with all sections of the Israeli public, we have to be careful in reading the public mood on policies for a post-war dispensation. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/27/opinion/israel-hostage-negotiations-entebbe.html">Polling suggests</a> that support for a two-state solution is declining. Israelis have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-war-blaming-israel-for-october-7-hamas-attack-makes-peace-less-not-more-likely-223934">so traumatised by October 7</a> that there is little support for Palestinian empowerment. </p>
<p>To some extent this is the result of the way that the Israelis view their country’s disengagement from Gaza in 2005. It is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/a-decade-later-israelis-see-gaza-pullout-as-big-mistake/2015/08/14/21c06518-3480-11e5-b835-61ddaa99c73e_story.html">often presented</a> as an example of what happens when Israel ceases to occupy Palestinian land. In this account Israel leaves Gaza and Gaza becomes an armed encampment with the aim of destroying Israel – and indeed this <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67039975">remains Hamas’s policy</a>, despite the group releasing an <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/doctrine-hamas">amended charter in 2017</a>. </p>
<p>But the 2005 disengagement which included dismantling all Israeli settlements in the strip was not the result of negotiations, but a unilateral act. The then prime minister, Ariel Sharon, did not want to hand over power to the elected Palestinian Authority, thinking it would boost the PA’s for statehood. Instead, Israel just left – and that allowed Hamas, the major political force in Gaza, to claim that Israel has <a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/45870/chapter-abstract/400820054?redirectedFrom=fulltext">“retreated under fire”</a>. Hamas then capitalised on the situation and went on to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jan/26/israel1">win the Palestinian legislative</a> elections in 2006. </p>
<p>The lesson of this is that Israel needs proper negotiations that can lead to a sustainable future – and that can only mean a Palestinian state alongside Israel. That is not merely right for the Palestinians but essential in any plan to defeat Hamas. It’s not only a military operation but a political one and Palestinians need to be offered a peaceful and just alternative.</p>
<p><strong>The US president, Joe Biden, has been talking up the idea of a ceasefire deal in recent days. But Netanyahu’s plan seems to make the deal brokered in Qatar an impossibility. Is Netanyahu serious about bringing an end to the conflict? Or is talk about a possible deal more about Israel’s need to be seen to be playing the game as well as optimism from a US president who needs to be able to show to his own voter base that he is getting results?</strong></p>
<p>Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert argues that Netanyahu is <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-02-22/ty-article-opinion/.premium/netanyahus-messianic-coalition-partners-want-an-all-out-regional-war/0000018d-d237-d06c-abbd-daf733870000">dragging Israel into a long term war</a> to save himself. Olmert draws some drastic conclusions from his analysis suggesting that Netanyahu and his far-right allies want a permanent war that would also see Palestinians driven out of the West Bank. That might seem too apocalyptic – but it does convey a sense of the mismatch between US aims and the Israeli political dynamic.</p>
<p>Talks are going on simultaneously in Qatar, in Paris and in Cairo. It is evident that the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/27/what-we-know-so-far-about-the-draft-israel-hamas-ceasefire-deal#:%7E:text=It%20envisions%20a%2040%2Dday,and%20fuel%20to%20start%20rebuilding.">formula for a 40-day ceasefire</a> has been agreed but there is now <a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-war-palestinian-prisoners-will-be-a-key-condition-of-any-ceasefire-deal-heres-why-224700">wrangling over the details</a>. Much of this focuses on the grizzly trading over how many Palestinian prisoners will be exchanged for which Israeli hostages – both those still alive and those dead. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-war-palestinian-prisoners-will-be-a-key-condition-of-any-ceasefire-deal-heres-why-224700">Gaza war: Palestinian prisoners will be a key condition of any ceasefire deal – here's why</a>
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<p>What is quite clear is that both Israel and Hamas have been dragging their feet as each thinks it is gaining the advantage by continuing the fighting. But with the arrival of the month of Ramadan (beginning March 10 – the date that Israel <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68334510">plans to begin</a> its ground assault on the city of Rafah) there is some likelihood of a Ramadan truce. </p>
<p>Netanyahu is under <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/19/pressure-building-netanyahu-hostages-hamas-israel">massive popular pressure</a> in Israel to move on the hostages even if that means painful concessions. Hamas is also under pressure by the masses of displaced Gazans who just want a semblance of a bearable existence for their families. So while Washington is exerting maximum pressure on Israel and its Arab allies, it is likely to be factors in Israel and Gaza that will lead to at least a temporary ceasefire. The challenge will then be to use the time to produce something permanent. </p>
<p><strong>Is it even feasible for the Israeli government to continue with its policy of refusing to deal with Hamas?</strong></p>
<p>In effect Israel has been dealing with Hamas indirectly all along. If the Israeli war aims were being successful it would not have to be negotiating with them over the hostage release issue. But I think that it’s now no longer possible for Israel to talk to Hamas politically. In 2009 I thought <a href="https://www.dissentmagazine.org/author/michael-walzer-john-strawson-ghada-karmi-donna-rob/">it was still possible</a> At the time it seemed possible that Hamas and Israel could agree a <em>Hudna</em>, an Islamic legal term for a long-term truce. But October 7 and subsequent Hamas statements and actions show that its real policy is the annihilation of Israel. So there is nothing to speak about. The real question is Israel speaking to the Palestinian Authority and having a viable plan for Gaza after the war rather than a renewed occupation. </p>
<p>The key to the next stage is to create a security mechanism that can replace the IDF and ensure the security of both Israel <em>and</em> the Palestinians. The international community – in particular the UN – has to stop being rhetorical and start being practical about peacemaking. What is needed is a security force that will give both Israelis and Palestinians confidence that the situation will change. Both sides must be able to feel secure – no more atrocities like October 7 and the Israeli response which has now killed 30,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians – and a high proportion of which have been women and children. </p>
<p>What is required is a multinational force that combines Arab League and Nato forces under perhaps Saudi command. Unless there is movement on this issue, there is little chance of a framework where any meaningful talks can take place.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224764/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Strawson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>John Strawson, a UK-based researcher of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, answers questions about the Israeli prime minister’s plan for Gaza.John Strawson, Emeritus professor of Law, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2239292024-02-28T16:52:39Z2024-02-28T16:52:39ZRestaurants outside of Palestine and Israel are being attacked in protest of the war<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577061/original/file-20240221-18-tts63c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Olives at a stall in Machne Yehuda Market, Jerusalem.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rebecca Haboucha</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 2023 and the ensuing war between Palestine and Israel, there has been a rise in <a href="https://cst.org.uk/data/file/9/f/Antisemitic_Incidents_Report_2023.1707834969.pdf">antisemitism</a> and <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2023-11-09/i-was-terrified-islamophobic-incidents-up-by-600-in-uk-since-hamas-attack">Islamophobia</a> around the world. </p>
<p>Much of this hate-driven crime has been committed against restaurants owned by Israelis and Palestinians, as well as by Jewish and Muslim people. Scholars <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraine-how-boycotting-everything-russian-and-blaming-russian-society-rather-than-putin-is-xenophobic-179267">highlight</a> the long-standing trend of <a href="https://www.bonappetit.com/story/russian-restaurant-owners-ukraine-war">restaurants being attacked</a>, physically or virtually, on social media, in relation to sociopolitical events.</p>
<p>My research looks at <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003085430-4/reimagined-community-london-rebecca-haboucha?context=ubx&refId=bb3d8c68-e404-4d4e-9e7b-49cee15abf6b">culinary heritage and diaspora</a>. People attacking restaurants in protest create a false dichotomy between food culture and national conflict, wherein one group casts the opposing group’s restaurants variously as villains or as diplomats. The question is what power such protest can wield in addressing war abroad. </p>
<h2>Food as a tool for soft power and protest</h2>
<p>Throughout the 20th century, food has been used as a tool for soft power, that is a means for achieving influence through means other than directly political ones. </p>
<p>When places like restaurants and warehouses, where food is sourced or served, have become <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=2603315">sites of protest</a>, the aim has been to directly address a contemporary issue (<a href="https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2031397/m2/1/high_res_d/1981-v59-n02_a02.pdf">segregation</a> in the American south, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190629038.013.46">human rights violations</a> in apartheid South Africa or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/joie.12298">diplomatic relations</a> between Japan and Korea). The protest is about enacting a change that could have observable, immediate effect by addressing those responsible. </p>
<p>Restaurants do often represent ethnic or <a href="https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.soas.idm.oclc.org/lib/soas-ebooks/reader.action?docID=7109689&ppg=4">national cuisines</a>. This can build the public’s idea of a particular community’s cuisine. </p>
<p>However, very few diasporic restaurants are <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.16980/jitc.13.4.201708.93">sponsored</a> by the diaspora’s home government as a resource for diplomacy. More often, the restaurant’s culinary culture is related to the owner’s personal identity. In this way, the restaurant operates what might be termed <a href="https://liveencounters.net/2017-le-mag/12-december-2017/jennifer-shutek-gastrodiplomacy-in-palestineisrael/">“unofficial” culinary diplomacy</a>.</p>
<p>The attacks perpetrated against Israeli and Palestinian food stores and restaurants over the past five months, however, follow a different model. </p>
<p>In London, one attack on a restaurant, which was later classified as a burglary, evoked fear in the Jewish community. This led to public comments by <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/09/jewish-restaurant-pita-attack-golders-green-free-palestine/">local politicians condemning</a> the excuse to <a href="https://theconversation.com/attacks-on-jews-always-rise-globally-when-conflict-in-israel-and-palestine-intensifies-216590">target Jews</a> as a response to the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East. </p>
<p>Similarly, a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67172707">Palestinian takeaway in London</a> has been receiving dozens of death threats, daily. The staff have spoken about being frightened and intimidated.</p>
<p>In Philadelphia, the Philly Palestine Coalition stormed an Israeli restaurant, <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/usa/antisemitic-mob-targets-jewish-falafel-restaurant-in-philadelphia-g3xe630y">Goldie Falafel</a>, after closing time, chanting: “Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.” This accusation was rightly likened to the long-recognised antisemitic trope of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26770791">“blood libel”</a>.</p>
<p>Dating back to the middle ages, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1535685X.2015.1110380">blood libel</a> accused Jewish people of killing Christians to use their blood in Jewish ritual. The unfounded accusation that a Jewish restaurant owner is “genocidal” is a modern iteration of that idea in that it wrongly views a Jewish individual – and the Jewish people – as violent and hateful against others and uses that view as a justification for antisemitism.</p>
<p>The restaurant’s owner, Michael Solomonov, does not hide the Israeli inspiration of his restaurants or his Israeli-American identity. However, the fact that the restaurant was closed at the time of the attack shows that the protestors’ accusation was not entirely about the owner himself. Rather, it was an attempt to publicly scare Jews and hold them responsible for the actions of the Israeli government. </p>
<h2>Eating together can create community</h2>
<p>In this kind of attack, a national cuisine (Israeli or Palestinian) becomes a nationalistic symbol. The distinction is important. The protesting group simplifies their understanding of a national character and imposes it on the restaurant and the local community it is a part of, in a bid to justify its iconoclasm. By targeting a restaurant that identifies with a specific cuisine, the protester makes that restaurant’s owner responsible for the actions of an entire group, or country. </p>
<p>In so doing, the protestor also dehumanises the “other”. These attacks preclude any attempt to engage in a nuanced conversation with those of differing opinions, a phenomenon mirrored on <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43545-021-00240-4">social media</a>.</p>
<p>This point is made clearer by the fact that protesters have also targeted <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/i-fought-off-the-golders-green-knifeman-with-only-a-broom-u9zhon1h">kosher</a> and <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/amp/ex-barack-obama-official-arrested-for-islamophobic-harassment-of-halal-food-seller-in-new-york-13014119">halal</a> outlets, that have links to neither Israel nor Palestine. </p>
<p>Research shows that the act of equating Israel with all Jews and speaking of Judaism as a homogenised entity is <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-is-criticism-of-israel-antisemitic-a-scholar-of-modern-jewish-history-explains-220995">antisemitic</a>. In the same way, attacking anyone or anything that is Muslim, in response to Hamas’s actions, is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-islamophobia-and-anti-palestinian-racism-are-manufactured-through-disinformation-216119">Islamophobic</a>.</p>
<p>Restaurants, ironically, are precisely the kind of spaces where nuanced understanding can actually be built through what is termed <a href="https://theconversation.com/family-meals-are-good-for-the-grown-ups-too-not-just-the-kids-158739">commensality</a> – the act of eating together. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">For the owners of Ayat, a Palestinian restaurant in Brooklyn, food is a way to bring people together.</span></figcaption>
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<p>This has been evident both in some responses to attacks on restaurants and in actions restaurants themselves have taken. Contrary to iconoclastic or dehumanising protest, some have chosen to create opportunities for diners to find comfort in being together. </p>
<p>On the day after the rally outside <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/04/pa-gov-rebukes-protesters-for-chanting-outside-jewish-restaurant/">Goldie Falafel</a>, hundreds of customers showed up in solidarity. They bought and ate falafel. Some prayed together. </p>
<p>In January, meanwhile, a Palestinian restaurant in Brooklyn called <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/29/ayat-brooklyn-palestinian-restaurant-jewish-sabbath-shabbat-dinner">Ayat</a> rose above the threatening calls and online messages they had received since December, by hosting a meal for the Jewish Sabbath. </p>
<p>They provided meals to over 1,300 customers. People came from across all communities – Muslim, Jewish and others – looking to support the restaurant. This act of eating together was about finding hope in a hopeless situation. </p>
<p>Access to food is playing a central role in the conflict itself. In Gaza, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/16/middleeast/gaza-famine-starvation-un-israel-war-intl-hnk/index.html">Palestinians</a> are facing <a href="https://theconversation.com/israeli-siege-has-placed-gazans-at-risk-of-starvation-prewar-policies-made-them-vulnerable-in-the-first-place-222657">famine and starvation</a>. Aid has been hampered, with the World Food Programme <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68360902">citing</a> “complete chaos and violence” for its decision to halt deliveries.</p>
<p>In Israel, meanwhile, around 200,000 people <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02521-7/fulltext">have been internally displaced</a> by the war. This has led to new initiatives for <a href="https://asif.org/en/the-open-kitchen-project/">food sharing</a> and volunteering in the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/volunteers-rush-israeli-farms-stripped-workers-after-hamas-attack-2023-11-16/">agriculture sector</a>. </p>
<p>Ayat’s owners said that through their Shabbat meal, they wished to convey a message of peace and shared humanity that has largely been lacking from this conflict. Food has the incredible power to unite, to provide natural spaces for conversations and to heal, if we let it. In a time of overwhelming grief, it is worth remembering that food is charged with the power we give it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223929/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Haboucha is currently the holder of a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship (2023-2026) for her project, titled 'Jewish Table Talk: Discerning Mizrahi Belonging through Foodways'.</span></em></p>By targeting a restaurant owner who identifies with a specific cuisine, the protester makes that one person responsible for the actions of an entire group or country.Rebecca Haboucha, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Anthropology, SOAS, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2240852024-02-22T11:10:59Z2024-02-22T11:10:59ZIsrael-Gaza: how opinion polls used in Northern Ireland could pave a way to peace<p>Amid the death and suffering unleashed by Israel’s war on Gaza and the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, prospects for lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians appear ever more elusive. But when the war eventually ends, pressure will mount for negotiations to begin for a deal. When that day comes, how can opposing sides in such an intractable conflict find enough common ground to reach an agreement?</p>
<p>In this episode of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly</a> podcast, we hear about a method called peace polling, tried out successfully in Northern Ireland, that could offer a blueprint for how to reach a settlement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.</p>
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<p>After living through decades of violence, in May 1998 the people of Northern Ireland were asked to vote in a referendum on a peace deal, known as the Good Friday Agreement. The referendum passed with a 71% majority. </p>
<p>Colin Irwin was not surprised. He’d been part of a team working for months alongside the formal negotiations on a series of public opinion polls in Northern Ireland. The questions were agreed with all the political parties involved in the negotiations, including some of those linked to the worst of the violence during Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Irwin says the most important poll he did was the one just before a deal was reached. </p>
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<p>We had a precis of the agreement and we asked people if they would accept it. Within one percentage point, we were accurate to what the final referendum was, by which time the parties knew that our polls were very accurate … They then knew that they wouldn’t be committing political suicide by signing up to the deal.</p>
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<p>Today, Irwin is a research fellow at the University of Liverpool in the UK. He’s worked to bring the method of peace polling developed in Northern Ireland to inform peace negotiations in a variety of conflicts around the world, from Syria to the Balkans and Sri Lanka. </p>
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<p>Peace polling can work in any context and we can always find out what people can accept. My personal view is that it always should be done in every conflict all the time so the world should know what the deal is and what can be accepted.</p>
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<p>In early 2009, Irwin conducted a peace poll in Israel and Palestine, meeting with political parties from all sides in the conflict, including Hamas. The only person who wouldn’t meet him, he says, was Benjamin Netanyahu. And he argues that since then, Israel <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-israel-failed-to-learn-from-the-northern-ireland-peace-process-220170">has failed to learn the lessons</a> from the Northern Ireland peace process. </p>
<p>Listen to <a href="https://pod.link/1550643487">The Conversation Weekly</a> podcast to hear Colin Irwin explain about how the Inuit helped inform the design of peace polling, and more about his work in Northern Ireland and Israel-Palestine. The episode also includes an interview with Jonathan Este, senior international editor at The Conversation in the UK. </p>
<p>A transcript of this <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/3170/Peace_Polls_Transcript.docx.pdf?1710953332">episode is now available</a>. </p>
<p><em>This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Gemma Ware and Mend Mariwany, with assistance from Katie Flood. Sound design was by Eloise Stevens, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Stephen Khan is our global executive editor, Alice Mason runs our social media and Soraya Nandy does our transcripts.</em></p>
<p><em>You can find us on X, formerly known as Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">theconversationdotcom</a> or <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">via email</a>. You can also subscribe to The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter">free daily email here</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a> or find out <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">how else to listen here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224085/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colin John Irwin receives funding from: Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in South East Europe, Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, OneVoice, Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (now FCDO), Economic and Social Research Council (UK ESRC), United Nations, InterPeace, Health and Welfare Canada, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), British Academy, Norwegian Peoples Aid, The Day After, No Peace Without Justice, US Department of State, Local Administrations Council Unit (Syria), Asia Foundation, Department for International Development (UK DFID), OpenAI, Atlantic Philanthropies, Universities: Dalhousie, Manitoba, Syracuse, Pennsylvania, Queens Belfast, Liverpool. Also member of the World Association of Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) which promotes freedom to publish public opinion polls and sets international professional standards.</span></em></p>In The Conversation Weekly podcast, researcher Colin Irwin explains how peace polls can help build consensus in conflict negotiations – but only if all parties are at the table.Gemma Ware, Editor and Co-Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2236722024-02-20T16:52:18Z2024-02-20T16:52:18ZThe destruction of Gazaʼs historic buildings is an act of ‘urbicide’<p>Buildings are often celebrated as symbols of <a href="https://www.youthreporter.eu/de/beitrag/buildings-as-symbols-of-the-nation.15643/#:%7E:text=Many%20of%20the%20most%20iconic,consistent%20presence%20within%20their%20countries.">history</a>, <a href="https://politicstoday.org/the-politics-of-architecture-the-subtle-message-of-buildings/">political events</a> and <a href="https://www.pdcnet.org/wcp22/content/wcp22_2008_0001_0015_0025?file_type=pdf">creative expression</a>. However, the simplest, most pure function of buildings is often forgotten: the way they fulfil needs and form memories. </p>
<p>For years, <a href="https://www-sciencedirect-com.ntu.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S0264275123003712?via%3Dihub#s0015">research</a> has shown that buildings, people’s memories and everyday life are connected elements that form our attachment to a place and create our relationships to our <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82964593.pdf">“homeˮ</a>. This triangle of connection helps us identify with places and feel like we belong somewhere.</p>
<p>Gaza has long been cherished as a sanctuary for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264275117300094">creative experimentation</a>, and as a place where resilient people strive to defy the violence of colonisation. Within this landscape of destruction and occupation, the locals have always tried to hold onto the concept of home, beyond a fleeting shelter that could vanish with the next bombing campaign.</p>
<p>However, this continuous cycle of destruction and hopeful reconstruction has now come to an abrupt halt. Since October 7 2023, the bombardment of Gaza is reported to have damaged <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/14/a-cultural-genocide-which-of-gazas-heritage-sites-have-been-destroyed">more than 100 historic sites</a> and destroyed 69,700 homes. </p>
<p>At the time of writing, <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/100th-day-gaza-genocide-100000-palestinians-killed-missing-or-wounded-enar#:%7E:text=The%20Euro%2DMed%20Monitor%20team,187%2C300%20housing%20units%20have%20been">1.9 million</a> Palestinians have been displaced. This ongoing <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Urbicide-The-Politics-of-Urban-Destruction/Coward/p/book/9780415573566">urbicide</a> – the destruction of cultural hubs in the built environment – <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781351214100-10/century-cultural-genocide-palestine-daud-abdullah">also threatens</a> that triangle connecting people to their homes, land and heritage. </p>
<p>With <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68006607">more than half of Gazaʼs buildings</a> either damaged or destroyed, it is impossible to cover the immense changes to the lives of these Palestinians in one article. So, here are just three examples of these lost buildings, and how their destruction has affected the everyday lives of local people in Gaza.</p>
<h2>The Great Omari Mosque</h2>
<p>A reflection of Palestine’s history <a href="http://kutaksam.karabuk.edu.tr/index.php/ilk/article/view/2751">where multiple religions coexisted</a>, the Great Omari Mosque has undergone multiple transformations <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Politics_and_Power_of_Tourism_in_Pal/-b00CwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=omari+mosque+gaza&pg=PA137&printsec=frontcover">throughout history</a>. </p>
<p>Built on the site of a pagan temple, this fifth-century church became a mosque in AD635. With a courtyard area of 1,190m², the mosque was the second-largest in Palestine and served as a daily destination for more than 3,000 worshippers. </p>
<p>Situated near Palestine Square, it has played a crucial role in the everyday life of Gaza, as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9780470996423.ch21">mosques in Middle Eastern cities</a> foster social interactions, informal conversations and societal bonds. But this incubation of societal interactions came to an abrupt stop in December 2023, when the mosque was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67664853">reduced to rubble</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gazas-oldest-mosque-destroyed-in-an-airstrike-was-once-a-temple-to-philistine-and-roman-gods-a-byzantine-and-catholic-church-and-had-engravings-of-jewish-ritual-objects-220203">Gaza's oldest mosque, destroyed in an airstrike, was once a temple to Philistine and Roman gods, a Byzantine and Catholic church, and had engravings of Jewish ritual objects</a>
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<h2>Palestine Square</h2>
<p>Palestine Square has long been the centre of everyday life in Gaza and is widely regarded as the heart of the city. <a href="https://shorturl.at/sEMX1">It is significant</a> due to its proximity to the Great Omari Mosque and many services, as well as the passage it provides to various markets. </p>
<p>Urban squares play a crucial role not only in facilitating transportation and passage but also as <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Becoming-Places-Urbanism--Architecture--Identity--Power/Dovey/p/book/9780415416375">places</a> that are connected to our identity, memories and how we perceive our city. </p>
<p>Therefore, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/scale-of-vast-tent-city-in-gaza-revealed-with-destruction-leaving-residents-little-to-return-to-13046970">targeting Palestine Square</a> and completely destroying the surrounding buildings in January posed a threat to some fundamental aspects of people’s daily lives and their sense of belonging to the city.</p>
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<h2>Omar Al-Mukhtar Street</h2>
<p>Often called <a href="https://conference.corp.at/archive/CORP2001_Mahrouq_FR.pdf">the most important street</a> in Gaza City, Omar Al-Mukhtar Street is one of its <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0263775820955196">two main thoroughfares</a> along with Al-Wihdi Street. </p>
<p>It serves as the city’s commercial centre and is home to the city hall and public library. However, on October 8 2023, the street became one of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/15/how-gaza-city-high-street-became-a-landscape-of-debris">first targets</a> of Israeli airstrikes, abruptly ending the bustling commercial activities that so many people relied on. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1729440902563725684"}"></div></p>
<p>This street was not only a place for Palestinian families to fulfil their everyday needs, but a hub for leisure and entertainment. For years, cultural sites like Omar Al-Mukhtar Street have fostered social bonds, preserved memories, and created societal bonds through everyday life and cultural events. </p>
<h2>Seeing past the ashes</h2>
<p>Gaza faces a challenging and lengthy path to recovery. These destroyed buildings serve as a reminder of the lost everyday life and rich cultural heritage hidden beneath the rubble. </p>
<p>The scale of destruction is immense, as is the humanitarian loss and disruption to daily life patterns. All will have long-lasting effects on the city’s identity and the local community’s heritage. </p>
<p>While it is important to highlight the destruction of buildings, it is even more crucial to shed light on how this affects everyday life and the functioning of the city. Gaza, once a hub of creative experimentation, now lies in ruins and urgently requires humanitarian, architectural and heritage support. </p>
<p>In this complex landscape, aid efforts should prioritise the restoration of physical structures that facilitate everyday life. Commercial spaces, urban squares, places of worship and homes formed a network that sustained daily life in Palestine. </p>
<p>When the bombing finally ends, it will be crucial to uncover and restore this network to restore Palestinians’ sense of belonging to their cities – and connection with their land.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yousif Al-Daffaie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The bombardment of Gaza is reported to have damaged more than 100 historic sites and destroyed 69,700 homes.Yousif Al-Daffaie, Lecturer and Researcher, School of Architecture, Design, and the Built Environment, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2235522024-02-15T02:49:22Z2024-02-15T02:49:22ZThe Jewish creatives’ WhatsApp leak was more whistleblowing than doxing. Here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575762/original/file-20240215-30-wzbohm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=98%2C35%2C5829%2C3952&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-in-white-shirt-holding-black-iphone-4-VGmgsDsck58">Miquel Parera/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Debate around doxing is raging in Australia after the <a href="https://theconversation.com/doxing-or-in-the-public-interest-free-speech-cancelling-and-the-ethics-of-the-jewish-creatives-whatsapp-group-leak-223323">leak of a WhatsApp chat group</a> called “Jewish Australian creatives and academics”. While the group was formed as a supportive space, some of its conversations focused on challenging media critiques of Israel.</p>
<p>The leakers have <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C3MIOyySAfM/?hl=en&img_index=1">stated they acted in the public interest</a>, because they claim the chat group was coordinating actions to target pro-Palestinian activists.</p>
<p>The Australian government has reacted to this episode with a move to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-13/federal-government-to-criminalise-doxxing/103458052">criminalise doxing</a> and introduce jail terms for culprits. </p>
<p>But was this leak actually <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/industry/tech-trends-and-challenges/doxing">doxing</a>? Terms like this are always up for debate, but the government’s own definition throws up questions about this case. </p>
<h2>Personal information</h2>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-13/federal-government-to-criminalise-doxxing/103458052">Prime Minister Anthony Albanese</a> and <a href="https://ministers.ag.gov.au/media-centre/transcripts/media-conference-parliament-house-13-02-2024">Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus</a>, doxing is the “malicious release” of someone’s personal information without their consent.</p>
<p>The first question here is one of personal information. Was any personal information actually leaked? </p>
<p>Early <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/hundreds-of-jewish-creatives-have-names-details-taken-in-leak-published-online-20240208-p5f3if.html">media reports stated</a> the leak contained a transcript of chat discussions. A separate spreadsheet was reportedly circulated that contained a list of the group members’ names, workplaces, social media accounts, as well as people’s photographs.</p>
<p>Those who released the information <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C3MIOyySAfM/?hl=en&img_index=5">say they scrubbed any details</a> that could be used to track people down, such as phone numbers and email addresses. They also say no private photographs were released, nor any photos of children. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-doxing-and-how-can-you-protect-yourself-223428">What is doxing, and how can you protect yourself?</a>
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<p>This is very different to other high-profile doxing events. For example, in 2018, men’s rights activists ran a campaign called #ThotAudit in which they tried to report online sex workers to the US Internal Revenue Service.</p>
<p>Some participants <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/gy7wyw/thotaudit-databases-of-sex-workers-and-reporting-them-to-paypal">compiled a detailed database of sex workers</a>, containing more than 166,000 entries, which included full names, locations, links to wish lists, types of payment processors and bios. This campaign <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/30/18119688/thotaudit-sex-work-irs-online-harassment">was part of a long history</a> of sex workers being publicly exposed, and resulted in significant, personalised harassment of those on the list. </p>
<p>Some will say that releasing a list of names is itself doxing. But this is very murky. If participants need to be anonymous to join a cause – for example, for their own safety – there might be a case. But many of the participants in this WhatsApp chat were already high-profile people. </p>
<p>Therefore, the WhatsApp chat leak seems less like a case of doxing, and more like a leak of how groups organise around their political agendas. Similar leaks have exposed the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-26/secret-recordings-show-one-nation-staffers-seeking-nra-donations/10936052">links between Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party</a> and the US National Rifle Association, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/did-the-morrison-government-change-the-relationship-between-religion-and-politics-in-australia-190650">connections between Pentecostal Christian churches and politicians</a>.</p>
<p>I would argue this action was more in line with whistleblowing, not doxing. Whistleblowing is the release of information revealing activities that are deemed to be illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent.</p>
<p>These terms are also very much up for debate, but the publishers of this list believed the activity within to be immoral, and therefore within the public interest.</p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/doxing-or-in-the-public-interest-free-speech-cancelling-and-the-ethics-of-the-jewish-creatives-whatsapp-group-leak-223323">Doxing or in the public interest? Free speech, 'cancelling' and the ethics of the Jewish creatives' WhatsApp group leak</a>
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<h2>Malicious intent</h2>
<p>This leads to the second question, which is one of intent. The government claims the leak was done <a href="https://ministers.ag.gov.au/media-centre/transcripts/media-conference-parliament-house-13-02-2024">with malicious intent</a>, and this claim has been <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-drive/one-third-of-australian-children-can-t-read-properly/103457018">backed by the opposition</a> and organisations such as <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/doxxing-laws-to-be-brought-forward-after-jewish-whatsapp-leak-20240212-p5f4cc.html">the Executive Council of Australian Jewry</a>. </p>
<p>Yet the malicious intent is also up for debate. The release of this chat cannot be isolated from its content. This was, by and large, not simply a group of people having friendly conversations.</p>
<p>Some people in the group were high-profile supporters of Israel in Australia. Members also used the chat to organise politically, with some conversations allegedly centred on ways to target pro-Palestinian activists.</p>
<p>This creates a clear political reason for the release of the information. There is of course a reasonable debate here as to which private discussions of political issues are fair game, and everyone will have a different view.</p>
<p>But the political nature of the chat moves this incident closer to being a political leak or whistleblowing rather than doxing. </p>
<p>This does not mean the leakers are immune to criticism, either. There were harms associated with their actions. Members of the WhatsApp chat <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/09/josh-burns-jewish-whatsapp-group-channel-publication-israel-palestine-clementine-ford">have reported</a> they have been subjected to harassment, including death threats. This includes some who <a href="https://twitter.com/GingerGorman/status/1754680956760543247">were not actively participating</a> in the chat, and have since disowned the group’s conversations.</p>
<p>This fallout can and should be pursued by authorities under current anti-harassment legislation. Yet we must be careful about blaming those who leak material for this behaviour.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-wants-to-criminalise-doxing-it-may-not-work-to-stamp-out-bad-behaviour-online-223546">The government wants to criminalise doxing. It may not work to stamp out bad behaviour online</a>
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<p>Other examples of politically charged doxing help to illustrate this point. In the wake of the 2017 white supremacist Charlottesville riots in the United States, many anti-fascist organisers <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/150159/doxx-racist">tracked down and released</a> the names and details of participants using photographic evidence. In some instances this included details of where participants lived or worked. </p>
<p>This clearly meets the first part of the government’s definition of doxing. But it is debatable whether the anti-facist campaign was malicious or not.</p>
<p>While there were problems with this campaign, particularly as some people were wrongly identified, there is an ethical case to be made: people participating in violent white supremacist riots should be exposed so their community is aware of their actions. This made the Charlottesville leak political, rather than personally malicious.</p>
<p>This is where the risk lies in banning doxing if the definition of what that means is left too broad. By the government’s current definition, the WhatsApp leak seems more like an act of whistleblowing.</p>
<p>A legislative ban could therefore have a much broader impact than criminalising the release of personal information. Instead, it could result in further crackdowns on political activities, and serve to weaken the accountability of people with power. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-in-desperate-need-of-a-whistleblower-protection-authority-heres-what-it-should-look-like-223295">Australia is in desperate need of a Whistleblower Protection Authority. Here's what it should look like</a>
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<p><em>Correction: This article has been amended to clarify that there were two separate reported instances of information being released about the chat group and its participants.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223552/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Copland has signed a statement of solidarity with Palestine from academics in Australian universities.</span></em></p>If doxing is the malicious release of someone’s personal information without their consent, publicising politically charged discussions in a private chat group may not qualify.Simon Copland, Honorary Fellow in Sociology, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2233232024-02-14T00:53:07Z2024-02-14T00:53:07ZDoxing or in the public interest? Free speech, ‘cancelling’ and the ethics of the Jewish creatives’ WhatsApp group leak<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575250/original/file-20240213-20-7r8ddf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=69%2C23%2C5106%2C3414&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nap1/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent release of a leaked transcript of a private WhatsApp group for Jewish writers, artists, musicians and academics has stirred a controversy that has led to <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/hundreds-of-jewish-creatives-have-names-details-taken-in-leak-published-online-20240208-p5f3if.html">threats of violence</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/09/josh-burns-jewish-whatsapp-group-channel-publication-israel-palestine-clementine-ford#:%7E:text=The%20publishing%20of%20a%20Jewish,MP%20Josh%20Burns%20has%20said">a family in hiding</a>, and the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-13/federal-government-to-criminalise-doxxing/103458052">fast-tracking</a> of new federal legislation to criminalise doxing. </p>
<p>The WhatsApp group in question, administered by writer Lee Kofman, was formed to give Jewish creative people a private and supportive space to connect, in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s war in Gaza. Not all members knew they had been added to the group at first, and many didn’t participate in the conversations that resulted in the leak.</p>
<p>Last week, a transcript from the group chat was leaked and uploaded onto social media by pro-Palestinians, including the writer Clementine Ford. <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/hundreds-of-jewish-creatives-have-names-details-taken-in-leak-published-online-20240208-p5f3if.html">The leak included</a> a spreadsheet with links to social media accounts and “a separate file with a photo gallery of more than 100 Jewish people”.</p>
<p>This week, a joint statement from “First Nations, Palestinian, Lebanese and anti-Zionist Jewish activist collectives, community leaders, artists” and those who said they had been “targeted” by particular chat members <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C3MIOyySAfM/?hl=en&img_index=1">argued</a> the WhatsApp transcript</p>
<blockquote>
<p>clearly demonstrates collective actions taken by zionists to contact employers, funding bodies, publishers and journalists to censure anyone deemed to be a threat to the zionist narrative.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The leak gives rise to a complex tangle of contemporary ethical issues, including concerns with privacy, doxing, free speech and “cancelling”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575254/original/file-20240213-18-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575254/original/file-20240213-18-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575254/original/file-20240213-18-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575254/original/file-20240213-18-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575254/original/file-20240213-18-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575254/original/file-20240213-18-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575254/original/file-20240213-18-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575254/original/file-20240213-18-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Writer and feminist Clementine Ford was targeted by some group members for her pro-Palestinian views.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Allen & Unwin</span></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/israel-hamas-war-what-is-zionism-a-history-of-the-political-movement-that-created-israel-as-we-know-it-217788">Israel-Hamas war: What is Zionism? A history of the political movement that created Israel as we know it</a>
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<h2>Privacy and public interest</h2>
<p>The WhatsApp group was a private one, where group members would have had a reasonable expectation their conversation would not be made public.</p>
<p>Everyone needs a <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/this-isn-t-advocacy-social-posts-on-distant-conflict-tear-at-close-community-20240208-p5f3h6.html">place</a> to let off steam, to make conjectures and speculations, and to speak in an unguarded way among trusted people. <a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights">Violating people’s privacy</a> (especially through leaking information onto the forever-searchable internet) is always a moral cost. </p>
<p>But sometimes that cost must be paid, particularly if the exposure is in the public interest. Whistleblowers, for example, often justifiably release confidential information.</p>
<p>It could be argued that revealing the WhatsApp group’s activities <em>was</em> in the public interest. Pro-Palestinian writers and editors worried they were being targeted for their public statements in a way that imperilled their livelihoods, or were concerned about a similar risk to others. There is evidence this threat was real.</p>
<p>One of the <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/hundreds-of-jewish-creatives-have-names-details-taken-in-leak-published-online-20240208-p5f3if.html">targeted</a> pro-Palestinian figures was the broadcaster Antoinette Lattouf, who was fired, and has filed an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/dec/22/antoinette-lattouf-files-unlawful-termination-claim-over-losing-abc-radio-role-after-israel-gaza-social-media-posts">unlawful termination claim</a> against the ABC. </p>
<p>There was also <a href="https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/pro-palestinian-supporters-under-attack-in-australia,18296">a collective effort to target</a> vocally <a href="https://overland.org.au/2023/11/to-let-suffering-speak-a-response-to-our-critics/">pro-Palestinian</a> literary journal Overland, and its co-editors Jonathan Dunk and <a href="https://twitter.com/evelynaraluen/status/1753977179346776211">Evelyn Araluen</a>. Some within the Whatsapp group called for complaints to be made to Deakin University, where Araluen and Dunk are employed as academics, and also to Creative Victoria, which funds Overland.</p>
<p>And <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/09/josh-burns-jewish-whatsapp-group-channel-publication-israel-palestine-clementine-ford">the Guardian reported</a> that others in the group encouraged members to contact the publisher of Ford, a vocal pro-Palestinian, and target others in the media, over their coverage of Israel and Palestine.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-what-else-should-i-lose-to-survive-the-young-writers-living-and-dying-in-gaza-219806">Friday essay: 'what else should I lose to survive?' The young writers living – and dying – in Gaza</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The ethics of doxing</h2>
<p>“<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-doxing-and-how-can-you-protect-yourself-223428">Doxing</a>” refers to the public release (usually onto the internet) of identifiable information about a person. It is usually done without the person’s consent, and aims to expose or punish them in some way. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C3MIOyySAfM/?hl=en&img_index=1">statement</a> from those behind the release asserted no links had been made to members’ addresses, phone numbers or emails, which were all deliberately redacted. This is important. </p>
<p>“<a href="https://doi.org/https:/doi.org/10.1007/s10676-016-9406-0.">Targeted doxing</a>” – where information on a person’s physical location or address is released – is particularly sinister. However, the release of people’s identities is still <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-016-9406-0">a form of doxing</a> and a serious moral concern. Evidence of the group’s activities that were in the public interest could arguably have been provided without naming names. The public gained little from knowing exactly who was in the almost 600-strong group. </p>
<p>Worse still, only some in the group were active in the actions against pro-Palestinians that prompted the leak, but this made no difference to whose identities were shared. This creates additional ethical concerns, with the risk innocent parties are being inappropriately punished or harassed for the actions committed by other group members. </p>
<p>Identifying individuals came at a real cost. Predictably, some parties <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/this-isn-t-advocacy-social-posts-on-distant-conflict-tear-at-close-community-20240208-p5f3h6.html">did attach</a> information about names, occupations, social media profiles, and even pictures to the leaked transcript. </p>
<p>Tragically, threats of violence were later made, even to people’s <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/this-isn-t-advocacy-social-posts-on-distant-conflict-tear-at-close-community-20240208-p5f3h6.html">children</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-doxing-and-how-can-you-protect-yourself-223428">What is doxing, and how can you protect yourself?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What was the WhatsApp group doing?</h2>
<p>The WhatsApp group conversations were wide-ranging, and some members made <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/this-isn-t-advocacy-social-posts-on-distant-conflict-tear-at-close-community-20240208-p5f3h6.html">statements</a> many might find offensive or upsetting.</p>
<p>One part of the group’s activities involved organised <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/09/josh-burns-jewish-whatsapp-group-channel-publication-israel-palestine-clementine-ford#:%7E:text=The%20publishing%20of%20a%20Jewish,MP%20Josh%20Burns%20has%20said">letter-writing</a>, including to the employers or publishers of writers or journalists they felt crossed the line into anti-Semitism.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575246/original/file-20240213-24-wlrtzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575246/original/file-20240213-24-wlrtzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575246/original/file-20240213-24-wlrtzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575246/original/file-20240213-24-wlrtzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575246/original/file-20240213-24-wlrtzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575246/original/file-20240213-24-wlrtzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575246/original/file-20240213-24-wlrtzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575246/original/file-20240213-24-wlrtzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One aspect of the WhatsApp group’s activities was letter-writing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BigTunaOnline/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On its face, such communications are clearly legitimate, and a part of democratic life. Letters can be used to raise awareness of ethical concerns, to share information and ideas, and to persuade.</p>
<p>But letters can also do other things, and an innocuous practice can sometimes gradually progress into more fraught territory. Rather than persuading, letters can pressure others, perhaps threatening their organisations with public shaming. They can also try to get people to act in ways that are morally concerning — such as having someone sacked for their political views.</p>
<p>One member <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/this-isn-t-advocacy-social-posts-on-distant-conflict-tear-at-close-community-20240208-p5f3h6.html">had offered in the group chat</a> to “do a deep dive” into the social media posts of Nadine Chemali, a freelance writer and occasional SBS contributor who describes herself as avidly pro-Jew but anti-Israel, to see if there was anything there that might breach her contract with SBS. (This deep dive wasn’t done.)</p>
<p>While certainly legal, such practices are ethically concerning because they deliberately and systematically create workplace challenges for individuals and organisations that put forward controversial views.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/10-books-to-help-you-understand-israel-and-palestine-recommended-by-experts-217783">10 books to help you understand Israel and Palestine, recommended by experts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Should artists be protected?</h2>
<p>Before the story broke in the media, but after extracts from the group chat began circulating on social media, the Australian Society of Authors Board published a <a href="https://www.asauthors.org.au/news/asa-board-letter-to-members/">letter</a> noting its “growing concern” that artists and authors in Australia were facing repercussions for expressing their political positions publicly or in their work. </p>
<p>The society stated its commitment to freedom of speech (within the limits set by law) and its opposition to attempts to silence or intimidate authors.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575247/original/file-20240213-28-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575247/original/file-20240213-28-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575247/original/file-20240213-28-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575247/original/file-20240213-28-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575247/original/file-20240213-28-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575247/original/file-20240213-28-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575247/original/file-20240213-28-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575247/original/file-20240213-28-jhf7np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Australian Society of Authors stated its commitment to free speech.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/red-pen-taped-x-on-wooden-2274678701">Pla2na/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We might try to frame the underlying moral principle at work as a principle of political tolerance. People should not suffer workplace repercussions, discrimination or be pushed out of their livelihood on the basis of their political views (and still less on the basis of their religion or race).</p>
<p>Simple, right? Not quite.</p>
<p>The society also opposed attempts to intimidate or silence people through hate speech, explicitly noting antisemitism, and anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab rhetoric. </p>
<p>This hints at a different, also relevant, moral principle – preventing harm. Hate speech, racism and bigotry, and harmful disinformation or stereotyping, should be stopped, and speakers should face the consequences of their wrongdoing.</p>
<p>There are cases where these principles of tolerance and harm-prevention can be sensibly aligned. For example, many people would agree that no one should be pushed out of their job because they support a mainstream political party — but that people should face social and professional repercussions if they hurl around racist slurs. </p>
<p>However, it’s tempting to interpret harm prevention beyond this bare minimum. After all, surely it’s a good thing to prevent the spread of misinformation, harmful stereotypes and hateful speech — and to stand up against wrongdoing more generally. </p>
<p>This is where the two principles begin to directly conflict. What we perceive as dangerous misinformation or harmful speech (like antisemitism or Islamophobia) will inevitably be coloured by our cultural, political and moral worldviews. </p>
<p>In other words, many will agree in principle that we should tolerate those who think differently. But it is precisely those who think differently who will disagree with us about what counts as harmful or wrongful speech.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-rai-gaita-and-the-moral-power-of-conversation-217670">Friday essay: Rai Gaita and the moral power of conversation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Ethical worries</h2>
<p>Punishing, undermining and silencing others on the basis of our political beliefs gives rise to two potential ethical worries (both arise with respect to the modern phenomenon of “<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-cancel-culture-silencing-open-debate-there-are-risks-to-shutting-down-opinions-we-disagree-with-142377">cancel culture</a>”).</p>
<p>The first is <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/this-isn-t-advocacy-social-posts-on-distant-conflict-tear-at-close-community-20240208-p5f3h6.html">hypocrisy</a>. Each side declares: “<em>We</em> are a support group nobly taking a stand against harmful bigotry and hate. <em>You</em> are a lynch mob maliciously plotting to silence others, dox them, and destroy their careers.”</p>
<p>If we think it’s okay for people like us to get others sacked for speech we find shocking and awful, we have to accept that it’s okay for <em>others</em> to get us (and those who think like us) sacked for speech they find shocking and awful. </p>
<p>But few are willing to accept that. This seems a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24220050">clear failure</a> of moral consistency.</p>
<p>The other problem is tit-for-tat conflict escalation. If you punish me (with public shaming or getting me fired) for saying something you think is harmful, (that I don’t see as harmful), I will inevitably see your act as a wrongful violation of the principle of political tolerance. Now, I have reason to push back against you – to no longer tolerate <em>your</em> speech.</p>
<p>We can see this escalation playing out in this case. One of the initial concerns behind forming the group was the worry about <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/this-isn-t-advocacy-social-posts-on-distant-conflict-tear-at-close-community-20240208-p5f3h6.html">rising intolerance</a> towards Jewish people – including unfairly having their careers jeopardised. </p>
<p>But their letter-writing campaigns made pro-Palestinian creatives fear <em>their</em> careers were unfairly jeopardised.</p>
<p>This could make some of them feel justified in revealing details of members of the WhatsApp group (not just those who participated in these conversations or activities) and sharing the group’s private messages. Tragically, some isolated individuals – not necessarily connected to the pro-Palestinians – felt justified in going further, even to threats of violence. </p>
<p>Ultimately, tolerance is not easy — especially with respect to others with different political and moral worldviews. </p>
<p>But it’s hard to see a viable solution to conflicts like these, other than all sides accepting others must be broadly entitled to speak, write and create in ways that seem right to them – without threats of cancellation, firing, privacy-breaches, or doxing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223323/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hugh Breakey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A private group chat of Jewish creatives was leaked because some were organising against pro-Palestinians. Was it ethical to do so?Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law. President, Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics., Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2234282024-02-13T04:57:47Z2024-02-13T04:57:47ZWhat is doxing, and how can you protect yourself?<p>The Australian government has brought forward <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/12/albanese-government-to-propose-legislation-to-crack-down-on-doxing">plans to criminalise doxing</a>, bringing nationwide attention to the harms of releasing people’s private information to the wider public.</p>
<p>The government response comes after the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/hundreds-of-jewish-creatives-have-names-details-taken-in-leak-published-online-20240208-p5f3if.html">public release of almost 600 names</a> and private chat logs of a WhatsApp group of Australian Jewish creative artists discussing the Israel-Hamas war.</p>
<p>As a result, some of the people whose details were leaked claim they were harassed, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/09/josh-burns-jewish-whatsapp-group-channel-publication-israel-palestine-clementine-ford">received death threats</a> and even had to go into hiding. </p>
<p>While we wait for <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-news-live-federal-laws-on-doxxing-to-be-brought-forward-anniversary-of-stolen-generations-apology-20240213-p5f4eh.html?post=p55nen#p55nen">new penalties</a> for doxers under the federal Privacy Act review, understanding doxing and its harms can help. And there are also steps we can all take to minimise the risk. </p>
<h2>What is doxing?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/what-is-doxing">Doxing</a> (or doxxing) is releasing private information — or “docs”, short for documents — online to the wider public without the user’s consent. This includes information that may put users at risk of harm, especially names, addresses, employment details, medical or financial records, and names of family members.</p>
<p>The Australian government <a href="https://ministers.ag.gov.au/media-centre/transcripts/media-conference-parliament-house-13-02-2024">currently defines doxing</a> as the “malicious release” of people’s private information without their consent.</p>
<p>Doxing began as a form of unmasking anonymous users, trolls and those using hate speech while <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/04/doxxing-meaning-libs-of-tiktok/629643/">hiding behind a pseudonym</a>. Recently, it has become a weapon for online abuse, harassment, hate speech and adversarial politics. It is often the outcome of online arguments or polarised public views. </p>
<p>It is also becoming more common. Although there is no data for Australia yet, according to media company <a href="https://www.safehome.org/family-safety/doxxing-online-harassment-research/">SafeHome.org</a>, about 4% of Americans report having been doxed, with about half saying their private emails or home addresses have been made public. </p>
<p>Doxing is a crime in some countries such as the Netherlands and South Korea. In other places, including Australia, privacy laws haven’t yet caught up.</p>
<h2>Why is doxing harmful?</h2>
<p>In the context of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/israel-hamas-war-146714">Israel-Hamas war</a>, doxing has affected <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/asia-and-australia/2024-02-06/ty-article/death-threats-boycotts-target-jewish-creatives-in-australia/0000018d-7e43-d636-adef-7eefae580000">both Jewish</a> and <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/15/business/palestinian-americans-activists-doxxing/index.html">pro-Palestinian communities and activists</a> in Australia and abroad.</p>
<p>Doxing is harmful because it treats a user as an object and takes away their agency to decide what, and how much, personal information they want shared with the wider public. </p>
<p>This puts people at very real risk of physical threats and violence, particularly when public disagreement becomes heated. From a broader perspective, doxing also damages the digital ecology, reducing people’s ability to freely participate in public or even private debate through social media.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/online-safety-what-young-people-really-think-about-social-media-big-tech-regulation-and-adults-overreacting-196003">Online safety: what young people really think about social media, big tech regulation and adults 'overreacting'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Although doxing is sometimes just inconvenient, it is often used to publicly shame or humiliate someone for their private views. This can take a toll on a person’s mental health and wellbeing. </p>
<p>It can also affect a person’s employment, especially for people whose employers require them to keep their attitudes, politics, affiliations and views to themselves. </p>
<p>Studies have shown doxing particularly impacts <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306422015605714">women</a>, including those using dating apps or experiencing family violence. In some cases, children and family members have been threatened because a high-profile relative has been doxed. </p>
<p>Doxing is also harmful because it oversimplifies a person’s affiliations or attitudes. For example, releasing the names of people who have joined a private online community to navigate complex views can represent them as only like-minded stereotypes or as participants in a group conspiracy. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575225/original/file-20240213-24-b68guc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person using a laptop and smartphone simultaneously" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575225/original/file-20240213-24-b68guc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575225/original/file-20240213-24-b68guc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575225/original/file-20240213-24-b68guc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575225/original/file-20240213-24-b68guc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575225/original/file-20240213-24-b68guc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575225/original/file-20240213-24-b68guc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575225/original/file-20240213-24-b68guc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There are steps you can take online to protect yourself from doxing without having to complete withdraw.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-smartphone-3248292/">Engin Akyurt/Pexels</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What can you do to protect yourself from doxing?</h2>
<p>Stronger laws and better platform intervention are necessary to reduce doxing. Some experts believe that the fear of <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3476075">punishment</a> can help shape better online behaviours.</p>
<p>These punishments may include criminal <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/report/what-you-can-report-to-esafety">penalties</a> for perpetrators and <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/doxxing-attack-on-jewish-australians-prompts-call-for-legislative-change/news-story/9a2f3615dbf5594fb521a8959739e1f8#:%7E:text=Alongside%20legislative%20reform%2C%20the%20ECAJ,information%2C%E2%80%9D%20Mr%20Aghion%20said.">deactivating social media accounts</a> for repeat offenders. But better education about the risks and harms is often the best treatment.</p>
<p>And you can also protect yourself without needing to entirely withdraw from social media:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>never share a home or workplace address, phone number or location, including among a private online group or forum with trusted people</p></li>
<li><p>restrict your geo-location settings</p></li>
<li><p>avoid giving details of workplaces, roles or employment on public sites not related to your work </p></li>
<li><p>avoid adding friends or connections on social media services of people you do not know</p></li>
<li><p>if you suspect you risk being doxed due to a heated online argument, temporarily shut down or lock any public profiles</p></li>
<li><p>avoid becoming a target by pursuing haters when it reaches a certain point. Professional and courteous engagement can help avoid the anger of those who might disagree and try to harm you.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Additionally, hosts of private online groups must be very vigilant about who joins a group. They should avoid the trap of accepting members just to increase the group’s size, and appropriately check new members (for example, with a short survey or key questions that keep out people who may be there to gather information for malicious purposes).</p>
<p>Employers who require their staff to have online profiles or engage with the public should provide information and strategies for doing so safely. They should also provide immediate support for staff who have been doxed.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-use-of-digital-platforms-surges-well-need-stronger-global-efforts-to-protect-human-rights-online-135678">As use of digital platforms surges, we'll need stronger global efforts to protect human rights online</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223428/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Cover receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>With doxing suddenly on the national agenda, here’s what you need to know.Rob Cover, Professor of Digital Communication and Co-Director of the RMIT Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2233292024-02-13T03:06:14Z2024-02-13T03:06:14ZAs the war in Gaza continues, Germany’s unstinting defence of Israel has unleashed a culture war that has just reached Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574913/original/file-20240212-24-s96z2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C26%2C5982%2C3763&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ghassan Hage</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sweatshop Literary Movement</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Globally renowned Australian intellectual Ghassan Hage has devoted his career to unpicking the nature of racism in multicultural Australia and elsewhere – with the kind of bravura and theoretical flair that either attracts or repels readers, according to type. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/ghassan-hage-is-one-of-australias-most-significant-intellectuals-hes-still-on-a-quest-for-a-multicultural-society-that-hopes-and-cares-206753">His work</a> led him to being offered a stint at Germany’s prestigious <a href="https://www.mpg.de/153644/social-anthropology">Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology</a>. </p>
<p>On February 7 2024, however, after an article in the German newspaper <em>Welt am Sonntag</em> accused him of “<a href="https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/plus249881966/Max-Planck-Gesellschaft-Antisemitismus-Skandal-erschuettert-deutsche-Nobelpreis-Schmiede.html">hatred of Israel</a>”, the Max Planck Society issued a terse <a href="https://www.mpg.de/21510445/statement-ghassan-hage">statement</a> ending its “working relationship” with Hage. </p>
<p>This came less than two months after the Max Planck Foundation, with war in Gaza raging, had <a href="https://www.mpg.de/max-planck-israel-programme">announced</a> “additional funding for German-Israeli collaborations”.</p>
<p>The Melbourne-based academic was accused by the Institute of having “abused his civil liberties” and his “fundamental right to freedom of opinion”. The organisation insisted that “racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, discrimination, hatred and agitation have no place in the Max Planck Society”. </p>
<p>The implication was clear – Hage’s trenchant criticism of Israel’s war, particularly on <a href="https://twitter.com/anthroprofhage">social media</a>, had seen him fired. As he wrote in his <a href="https://hageba2a.blogspot.com/2024/02/statement-regarding-my-sacking-from-max.html">statement</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>What to me is a fair, intellectual critique of Israel, for them is “antisemitism according to the law in Germany”.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ghassan-hage-is-one-of-australias-most-significant-intellectuals-hes-still-on-a-quest-for-a-multicultural-society-that-hopes-and-cares-206753">Ghassan Hage is one of Australia's most significant intellectuals. He's still on a quest for a multicultural society that hopes and cares</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A political ideal</h2>
<p>So what is Hage’s position on Israel? As he succinctly writes: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have a political ideal that I have always struggled for regarding Israel/Palestine. It is the ideal of a multi-religious society made from
Christians, Muslims and Jews living together on that land.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>His criticism of current Israeli policy, he insists, stems from the Netanyahu government’s determination to “work against such a goal”. But it is also a critique he extends to Palestinian organisations that similarly rule out co-existence.</p>
<p>In this, Hage’s position is not unlike other anti-racist visions of a multicultural Israel/Palestine, either as a <a href="https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/shifting-the-paradigm-the-one-state-solution-as-a-path-to-peace/">single state</a> or as a <a href="https://www.analystnews.org/posts/genocide-scholar-omer-bartov-says-only-a-political-solution-can-bring-peace-to-israel-palestine-and-he-has-one-in-mind">confederation</a> of two states with freedom of movement between them. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-two-state-solution-to-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict-221872">Explainer: what is the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This is not the first time a prestigious German organisation has severed ties with a respected intellectual for asking serious questions about Israel’s conduct in the war or its broader track record of relations with the Palestinians. </p>
<p>Masha Gessen’s evocative New Yorker essay <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-weekend-essay/in-the-shadow-of-the-holocaust">In the Shadow of the Holocaust</a> caused a newspaper scandal in Germany for comparing the war in Gaza to the Nazi liquidation of a Jewish ghetto. The Russian-American (and Jewish) writer was to be honoured at an award ceremony that was subsequently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/14/award-ceremony-suspended-after-writer-masha-gessen-compares-gaza-to-nazi-era-jewish-ghettos">suspended</a>, after an initial withdrawal of support by the Green Party affiliated think tank that sponsors the prize.</p>
<p>The suspended award was, ironically, named after <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-book-that-changed-me-hannah-arendts-eichmann-in-jerusalem-and-the-problem-of-terrifying-moral-complacency-187600">Hannah Arendt</a>, whose caustic comments on Israel, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/18/hannah-arendt-prize-masha-gessen-israel-gaza-essay">many appreciated</a>, would probably have seen her deemed ineligible too. </p>
<p>Elsewhere in Germany, the musician and artist <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/feb/01/laurie-anderson-ends-german-professorship-pro-palestine-letter">Laurie Anderson</a> withdrew from a guest professorship in Essen after her signature on a 2021 “Letter Against Apartheid” targeting Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians was unearthed and the university “engaged in talks” with her as a result. </p>
<p>Before that, in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attacks on October 7, the Frankfurt Book Fair <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/frankfurt-book-fair-hit-by-furor-after-postponing-prize-for-palestinian-author/">postponed the ceremony for its literary award</a> for Palestinian writer Adania Shibli. If this had been an attempt to avoid controversy, it failed. Not only did it cause an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/20/germany-israel-palestinian-author-frankfurt-adania-shibli">international furore</a>, another of the book fair’s honoured guests, Slavoj Žižek, used the occasion to offer a <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/israel-hamas-war-impacts-frankfurt-book-fair/a-67126160">blistering assessment</a> of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-palestinian-authors-award-ceremony-has-been-cancelled-at-frankfurt-book-fair-this-sends-the-wrong-signals-at-the-wrong-time-215712">A Palestinian author's award ceremony has been cancelled at Frankfurt Book Fair. This sends the wrong signals at the wrong time</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Perhaps most famously, well before the October 7 attacks, Germany’s first Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Anti-Semitism (a position created in 2018) demanded the African thinker <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/why-achille-mbembe-was-accused-of-anti-semitism/a-53293797">Achille Mbembe</a> be barred from giving the opening speech at a major cultural festival in Bochum in 2020 (ultimately cancelled due to COVID). Mbembe was accused of antisemitism and relativising the Holocaust for comparing the state of Israel with the apartheid system in South Africa. </p>
<p>These are just the most prominent examples. Other smaller incidents have slipped past the notice of many. Anti-Zionist Jews in Germany, such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/13/germany-jewish-criticise-israel-tv-debate">Deborah Feldman</a>, have faced condemnation for their refusal to fall into line.</p>
<p>There have been a number of <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/5/german-court-rules-palestinian-ex-dw-journalist-sacking-unlawful">unlawful dismissals</a> of Arab journalists, such as Maram Salem and Farah Maraqa, on false charges of antisemitism. Dismissals for criticism of Israel are <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/germany-axel-springer-fires-employee-for-allegedly-questioning-pro-israel-stance-amid-concerns-of-alleged-intensified-german-suppression-of-palestinian-voices-incl-co-comment/">not isolated incidents</a>.</p>
<h2>Self-imposed red lines</h2>
<p>Why is this happening in Germany? </p>
<p>It is worth pointing out that it is not just happening in Germany. Versions of this are playing out elsewhere. Universities in the <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/department-education-investigates-6-schools-discrimination-amid-tensions/story?id=105494396">United States</a> are under siege from students and community groups variously accusing them of both antisemitism and Islamophobia. </p>
<p>Largely, however, what’s happening in Germany is a result of some self-imposed red lines the German press, the German courts and the German parliament have imposed on public debate. </p>
<p>Comparing Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians to South African <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-rejects-amnestys-apartheid-label-for-israel/a-60637149">apartheid</a> will not be tolerated. Calling for <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1SN1Z2/">sanctions</a> against Israel will not be tolerated. (The German parliament officially condemned the international Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, or BDS, movement as antisemitic in 2019.) Comparing Israel’s violence to <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-yorker-writer-masha-gessens-prize-in-jeopardy-after-comparing-palestinians-to-jews-under-nazi-occupation">Nazi violence</a> will not be tolerated. </p>
<p>Anti-Zionism will be <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/why-germany-gets-it-wrong-about-antisemitism-and-palestine/">interpreted as antisemitism</a>. Pro-Palestinian migrants may be <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/1/7/why-is-germany-so-viciously-anti-palestinian">rejected for citizenship</a>. (In the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/06/germany-israel-citizenship-requirement/">prospective citizens must commit in writing</a> to “the right of the State of Israel to exist”.)</p>
<p>Importantly, this is not necessarily an automatic result of Germany’s genocidal, antisemitic Nazi past. Rather, it is a result of Germany’s current belief that its genocidal, antisemitic Nazi past implies future unwavering support for Israel. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/israel-and-germanys-reason-of-state-its-complicated/a-67094861">Chancellor Olaf Scholz</a> told the Bundestag:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>At this moment, there is only one place for Germany. That is the side of Israel. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is not merely moral support. German arms shipments to Israel have <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-military-exports-israel-up-nearly-10-fold-berlin-fast-tracks-permits-2023-11-08/">increased tenfold</a> to support the current war.</p>
<p>It is worth noting, however, that a different understanding of the moral burden of the Holocaust is possible. It might equally be said that Germany has a special responsibility to stridently oppose ethnic cleansing, war crimes and genocide wherever they occur.</p>
<p>Relatedly, when Germany supported the NATO war against Serbia in the late 1990s, the German Green leader <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/04/11/pacifist-german-turns-hawkish-on-serbs/266dea1b-43fd-409d-ba09-d0aeab0ffe6b/">Joschka Fischer cited</a> his generation’s lessons from World War II to explain why it was important to stand against Milosevic’s willingness “to fight a war against the existence of a whole people”.</p>
<h2>Enough?</h2>
<p>If Germany continues to use the Gaza war as an opportunity for a domestic <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/22/germany-antisemitism-israel-gaza-arts-censorship/">culture war</a> against academics and artists who cross the self-imposed red lines of German debate, unwarranted sackings like that of Ghassan Hage will continue. </p>
<p>If, however, Germany takes the view it is obliged to denounce ethnic cleansing and genocidal violence without fear or favour, it might find cause to listen and learn from <a href="https://taz.de/Genozidforscher-ueber-Gaza/!5984116/">those who have warned</a> Israel’s war against the Palestinians of Gaza bears the hallmarks of previous crimes against humanity.</p>
<p>Sharp words from German government officials about the renewed Israeli campaign in Rafah suggest this might be possible. The German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock <a href="https://twitter.com/GermanyDiplo/status/1756283599785988470">warned</a> recently “the people of Gaza cannot vanish into thin air”.</p>
<p>After, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-death-toll-climbs-28064-palestinians-killed-67611-injured-since-oct-7-gaza-2024-02-10/">at last count</a>, “at least” 28,000 dead in the streets of Gaza, perhaps some in Germany might be starting to think enough is enough.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matt Fitzpatrick receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Ghassan Hage has been sacked by Germany’s prestigious Max Planck Foundation due to his trenchant criticism of Israel’s war. It’s just the latest in an ongoing culture war in Germany.Matt Fitzpatrick, Professor in International History, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2220552024-02-08T21:17:53Z2024-02-08T21:17:53ZThe war in Gaza is wiping out Palestine’s education and knowledge systems<p>Gaza’s education system has suffered significantly since Israel’s bombardment and assault on the strip began. Last month, Israel <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68023080">blew up</a> Gaza’s last standing university, Al-Israa University.</p>
<p>In the past four months, all or parts of Gaza’s <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/24/how-israel-has-destroyed-gazas-schools-and-universities#:%7E:text=Palestinian%20news%20agency%20Wafa%20reported,university%20in%20Gaza%20in%20stages.">12 universities</a> have been bombed and mostly destroyed. </p>
<p>Approximately <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-102-enarhe">378 schools</a> have been destroyed or damaged. The Palestinian Ministry of Education has reported the deaths of over <a href="https://www.unicef.org/media/151126/file/State-of-Palestine-Humanitarian-Situation-Report-No.15-(Escalation)-17-January-2024.pdf">4,327 students, 231 teachers</a> and <a href="https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6108/Israel-kills-dozens-of-academics,-destroys-every-university-in-the-Gaza-Strip">94 professors.</a></p>
<p>Numerous <a href="https://librarianswithpalestine.org/gaza-report-2024/?fbclid=IwAR1VqwE8t9HEb46IFQDPJhl8ZFReHyyzgCAXjPfMPIGoThfbSXBEsy-Trog">cultural heritage sites</a>, including libraries, archives and museums, have also been destroyed, damaged and plundered.</p>
<p>But the assault on Palestinian educational and cultural institutions did not begin in response to the Oct. 7 attack. Israel has a long record of <a href="https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/430540">targeted attacks</a> on Palestinian institutions that produce knowledge and culture. That history includes targeting and <a href="https://yam.ps/page-11801-en.html">assassinating</a> Palestinian intellectuals, <a href="https://www.aaiusa.org/library/i-knew-ghassan-kanafani">cultural producers</a> and political figures. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4cY6H8n0zf0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A video clip shared by ‘The New Arab,’ showing the destruction at Al-Israa University in the Gaza Strip.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is scholasticide?</h2>
<p>The destruction of education systems and buildings is known as “scholasticide,” a term first coined by Oxford professor Karma Nabulsi during the 2008-2009 Israeli assault on Gaza. Scholasticide describes <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/10/gaza-schools">the systemic destruction of Palestinian education</a> within the context of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0377919X.2021.1909376">Israel’s decades-long settler colonization and occupation of Palestine</a>.</p>
<p>Recently, a group of scholars working under the name <a href="https://scholarsagainstwar.org/toolkit/">Scholars Against the War on Palestine</a> broadened the definition to include a more comprehensive picture of what is happening during the current war. They outline the intimate relationship between <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/world/how-israels-scholasticide-denies-palestinians-their-past-present-and-future/article_8f52d77a-b648-11ee-863d-f3411121907b.html">scholasticide and genocide</a>.</p>
<p>They say scholasticide includes the intentional <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/14/a-cultural-genocide-which-of-gazas-heritage-sites-have-been-destroyed">destruction of cultural heritage</a>: archives, libraries and museums. Scholasticide includes killing, causing bodily or mental harm, incarcerating, or systematically harassing educators, students and administrators. It includes besieging, closing or obstructing access to educational institutions. It can also include using universities or schools as a military base (as was done with <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68023080">Al-Israa University</a>).</p>
<p>The magnitude of destruction has led them <a href="https://scholarsagainstwar.org/toolkit/">to conclude:</a> “Israeli colonial policy in Gaza has now shifted from a focus on systematic destruction to total annihilation of education.”</p>
<p>As genocide scholar Douglas Irvin-Erickson says: the original definition of genocide as first drafted by <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781351214100-2/rapha%C3%ABl-lemkin-douglas-irvin-erickson">Raphael Lemkin in 1943</a> included the idea that “attacking a culture was a way of committing genocide, and not a different type of genocide.” </p>
<h2>The International Court of Justice</h2>
<p>During the recent genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), South Africa argued that <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf">Palestinian academics were being intentionally assassinated</a>.</p>
<p>Legal representative for South Africa, Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f_yoal4gx8">told the court</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Almost 90,000 Palestinian university students cannot attend university in Gaza. Over 60 per cent of schools, almost all universities and countless bookshops and libraries have been damaged and destroyed. Hundreds of teachers and academics have been killed, including deans of universities and leading Palestinian scholars. Obliterating the very future prospects of the future education of Gaza’s children and young people.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-sum-01-00-en.pdf">On Jan. 26, in a landmark ruling, the ICJ</a> ordered Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza.</p>
<h2>Attempting to eliminate Palestinian futures</h2>
<p>Scholasticide is not an event. It’s part of a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0377919X.2021.1975478">colonial continuum</a> of attacking and destroying a people’s educational life, knowledge systems and plundering material culture and cultural heritage.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2017.46.4.75">targeted killing of the educated class</a> is intended to make it difficult for Palestinians to restore the political and socio-economic conditions needed to survive and rebuild Gaza.</p>
<p>This systematic destruction is at the core of the settler colonial “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14623520601056240">logic of elimination</a>.” It has also been applied to Indigenous Peoples in Canada, the United States and elsewhere. This <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/2201473X.2012.10648833">logic</a> drives a settler population to replace Indigenous peoples in their aim to establish a new society. </p>
<p>For example, this logic was exercised <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/palestine-nakba-9781848139718/">during the 1948 Nakba</a>. Thousands of <a href="https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/78440">Palestinian books</a>, manuscripts, libraries, archives, photographs, cultural artifacts and cultural property <a href="https://journal.radicallibrarianship.org/index.php/journal/article/view/54">were looted, destroyed or damaged</a> by Zionist militias. In 1948, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ethnic-Cleansing-of-Palestine/Ilan-Pappe/9781851685554">Palestinian schools were destroyed or damaged</a> or later appropriated for use by the new Israeli state. </p>
<h2>Resistance: Palestinian history and culture</h2>
<p>Despite the ongoing attempts to erase Palestinian history, culture and memory, Palestinians have found ways to resist their erasure. In the 1960s and ‘70s, <a href="https://palestinianstudies.org/workshops/2023/palestinian-revolutionary-tradition-and-global-anti-colonialism">an anti-colonial revolutionary tradition</a>, produced and influenced by intellectual and political thought, was strengthened. </p>
<p>It helped to create <a href="https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/1650753">infrastructures</a> for the survival, mobilization and development of the Palestinian people and their national movement. It cultivated transnational relationships of solidarity. It helped displaced Palestinians, separated across geographies, to preserve their identity and reorganize themselves politically.</p>
<p>The intellectual and political thought of this period was <a href="https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/view/28899">passed onto</a> the generations that followed. It influenced educational and political programs, cultural development and practices of resistance. Especially during the First Intifada from 1987-1993. This enabled Palestinians to stay steadfast in their struggle against colonial violence across time and space. Palestinian education and culture form <a href="https://www.newarab.com/analysis/israels-archaeological-war-palestinian-cultural-heritage">the backbone</a> of the right to self-determination. This is why Israel frequently targets Palestinian education and culture. </p>
<p>Palestinians have endured <a href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v32/n20/karma-nabulsi/diary">several periods of intense attacks</a> on their cultural and educational life. This includes the June 1967 war, Israel’s 1982 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jan/06/israel7">invasion of Lebanon during which a number of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s institutions were destroyed</a> and the First and Second Intifadas.</p>
<p>Following Israel’s destruction of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/44746845">the Palestine Research Center in Lebanon in 1982</a>, Palestinian poet <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/palestinian-identity/">Mahmoud Darwish said</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“He who steals land does not surprise us by stealing a library. He who kills thousands of innocent civilians does not surprise us by killing paintings.” </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A man in glasses wears a suit and tie" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574465/original/file-20240208-16-vtx98z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574465/original/file-20240208-16-vtx98z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574465/original/file-20240208-16-vtx98z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574465/original/file-20240208-16-vtx98z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574465/original/file-20240208-16-vtx98z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574465/original/file-20240208-16-vtx98z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574465/original/file-20240208-16-vtx98z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The poet Mahmoud Darwish wrote about everyday grief. (Photo is from 1980)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Syrian News Agency/Al Sabah)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.2022.2114778">colonial theft</a> continues unabashed. Cultural heritage has been <a href="https://librarianswithpalestine.org/gaza-report-2024/?fbclid=IwAR2QpiHfxSB6939yfyipOLY6zVYTED_rQN7JVxTq33UCinF_-3U1xNuQFzE">annihilated, damaged or plundered</a> in this war. During the bombing of Al-Israa University in January, Israel also targeted the National Museum. Licensed by the Ministry of Antiquities, the museum housed over <a href="https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-obliterates-gazas-last-university-amid-boycott-calls">3,000 rare artifacts, which were looted</a>. </p>
<p>Most academic institutions around the world remain silent about Israel’s scholasticide. But others are speaking out. Globally, this includes <a href="https://lithub.com/israel-has-damaged-or-destroyed-at-least-13-libraries-in-gaza/">Librarians and Archivists with Palestine</a> and some <a href="https://www.brismes.ac.uk/news/destruction-of-palestinian-education-system">academic associations</a> and faculty groups. The ICJ’s recent order to Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza may motivate other scholars and institutions to consider breaking their silence on scholasticide.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222055/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chandni Desai does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Scholars say Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s schools, universities and museums are part of an ongoing project to destroy Palestinian people, identity and ideas.Chandni Desai, Assistant professor, Education, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2231132024-02-08T17:38:34Z2024-02-08T17:38:34ZNetanyahu’s position becoming more uncertain as Israeli PM rejects Hamas deal to end war<p>The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected a ceasefire plan put forward by Hamas, calling the terms “<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/07/middleeast/hamas-counterproposal-israel-pullout-ceasefire-hostages-intl/index.html">delusional</a>”. Claiming that an Israeli victory in Gaza is “within reach”, Netanyahu has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/feb/07/middle-east-crisis-live-diplomatic-push-to-secure-gaza-ceasefire-as-hamas-responds-to-plan">vowed to fight on</a> until Hamas is completely destroyed. </p>
<p>But the US, which is involved in negotiation efforts along with Qatar and Egypt, has said that there could still be a path to a deal. </p>
<p>Hamas’s plan came as a counter offer to a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68138853">proposal</a> put forward a week ago by Israel, the US, Qatar and Egypt. That framework reportedly involved a six-week truce during which Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners would be exchanged. In response, Hamas proposed a sweeping <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/07/hamas-responds-to-israel-plan-with-three-stage-proposal-to-end-gaza-war">three-stage plan</a> aimed at ending the war completely. </p>
<p>Under the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68225663">terms of the plan</a>, phase one would see a pause in fighting to allow for the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails. They would be exchanged for Israeli women and males under 19 being held in Gaza, as well as the elderly and the sick. At the same time, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza’s built-up areas as the reconstruction of hospitals and refugee camps begins. </p>
<p>During the second phase, Israeli forces would leave Gaza completely as the remaining Israeli hostages are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners. In phase three, Israel and Hamas would exchange bodies and remains. Throughout the process, the pause in fighting would allow for essential aid supplies to be delivered to Gaza. </p>
<p>Hamas’ plan also envisages ongoing negotiations to end the war completely, with a view to these concluding by the end of phase three. </p>
<h2>Netanyahu’s calculations</h2>
<p>Both the content of the Hamas proposal and Netanyahu’s rejection of it are revealing about the current political state of play for both parties. Netanyahu, long a highly divisive figure in Israel and abroad, has seen his <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-11-14/ty-article/.premium/as-war-rages-israelis-trust-in-netanyahu-hits-rock-bottom-polls-find/0000018b-cd86-dd11-a19f-edf6f2b00000">approval ratings plummet</a> in Israel since the Hamas attacks of October 7 in which <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/haaretz-explains/2023-10-19/ty-article-magazine/israels-dead-the-names-of-those-killed-in-hamas-massacres-and-the-israel-hamas-war/0000018b-325c-d450-a3af-7b5cf0210000">1,200 Israelis were killed</a> and around 240 taken hostage. </p>
<p>A poll last month found that only <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/only-15-israelis-want-netanyahu-keep-job-after-gaza-war-poll-finds-2024-01-02/">15% of Israelis</a> think he should keep his job after the war ends. Such figures suggest an alternative reason why he may be keen to continue the war for as long as possible. </p>
<p>Netanyahu and his government have also been under increasing pressure from the hostages’ families, who recently <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-middle-east-68054982">stormed a meeting of the Knesset</a> to demand more action to release their loved ones. On February 6, five Israeli women who were released from Gaza during the November ceasefire <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/released-hostages-tell-pm-only-saving-remaining-captives-will-be-absolute-victory/">called on Netanyahu</a> to do whatever is necessary to secure the release of the remaining 136. </p>
<p>Similarly, Sharone Lifshitz, whose 85-year-old mother, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/24/freed-gaza-hostages-named-yocheved-lifshitz-nurit-cooper">Yocheved</a>, was freed during the November ceasefire and whose 83-year-old father, Oded, is still being held, has criticised Netanyahu’s rejection of the ceasefire proposal. In a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-hamas-palestine-war-hostages-b2492024.html">press conference</a> in the UK, Sharone Lifschitz said: “We need that deal to happen now … I don’t think Israel has another option.”</p>
<p>Yet Netanyahu is also facing pressure from hardliners within his own government. In particular, far-right national security minister, <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-10/ty-article/.premium/far-right-israeli-minister-ben-gvir-does-as-he-pleases-rattling-the-netanyahu-government/0000018c-f2b8-d2f9-a3ef-f6ff3a3f0000">Itamar Ben-Gvir</a>, has been <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d5693fc7-7c13-4509-a45d-db14423dfe77">threatening</a> to dissolve the coalition if Netanyahu makes any concessions to Hamas. </p>
<p>While Ben Gvir is not part of the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/eebddeb0-9745-45ae-a7fb-55f574bb45b1">Israeli war cabinet</a> – formed as an emergency response to the October 7 attacks – Netanyahu will be conscious of his potential to collapse the government.</p>
<h2>Hamas’ aims</h2>
<p>As for Hamas, there are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/06/optimism-fades-over-gaza-ceasefire-amid-rumoured-split-in-hamas-leadership">reports of a deepening rift</a> between the Gaza cadre, led by October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, and the exiled leadership in Doha, headed up by political bureau chair Ismail Haniyeh. </p>
<p>Sinwar, who has become <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/02/hamas-twin-power-structure-complicates-gaza-truce-talks">increasingly powerful in Gaza </a> in recent years, is said to back a temporary immediate truce while Haniyeh is pushing for a full ceasefire with major Israeli concessions. </p>
<p>All the while, the war in Gaza continues. With United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reporting <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/">a toll of</a> more than 26,000 Palestinians killed, more than 65,000 injured, and 1.7 million displaced, the UN is now warning that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/28/famine-in-gaza-is-being-made-inevitable-says-un-rapporteur">famine is inevitable</a> in the Strip. </p>
<p>As negotiations continue to go back and forth, time is running out for the most vulnerable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223113/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Irfan has received funding from the British Academy. </span></em></p>Netanyahu has rejected the latest peace deal and vowed to continue until Israel achieves ‘total victory’.Anne Irfan, Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Race, Gender and Postcolonial Studies, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2205242024-02-06T13:30:51Z2024-02-06T13:30:51ZA two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians might actually be closer than ever<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573592/original/file-20240205-29-qs6cet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A view of destroyed buildings and roads is shown in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on Feb. 2, 2024. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/view-of-destruction-with-destroyed-buildings-and-roads-news-photo/1973206078?adppopup=true">Abdulqader Sabbah/Anadolu via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the war in the Gaza Strip <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/03/fresh-strikes-southern-gaza-talks-two-month-pause-killed-injured-palestinians">enters its fourth month</a>, on the surface it might seem like possibilities for long-term, peaceful solutions are impossible. Even before the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel by Hamas-led forces from Gaza, many analysts were already declaring the idea of <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/9/19/it-is-time-to-acknowledge-the-death-of-the-two-state-solution">a two-state solution dead</a>. </p>
<p>There are real barriers to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a separate Israel. For example, the current Israeli government <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/21/israels-netanyahu-doubles-down-on-opposition-to-palestinian-statehood">rejects the creation</a> of a Palestinian state, and <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-12-14/ty-article/top-hamas-official-suggests-recognizing-israel-following-official-plo-stance/0000018c-67e4-d798-adac-e7ef81fd0000">Hamas refuses</a> to recognize Israel. After Oct. 7, <a href="https://theconversation.com/israel-palestinian-conflict-is-the-two-state-solution-now-dead-221967">some analysts</a> think the barriers are <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-02-13/two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-hopes-dashed-alternatives">even more</a> insurmountable.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://asu.academia.edu/BenjaminCase">scholar of political violence and conflict</a>, I think the unprecedented scale of violence in Israel and Gaza is creating equally unprecedented urgency to find a solution, not just to the current violence, but to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.</p>
<p>Few, if any, historical conflicts neatly compare to the one between Israelis and Palestinians. But there are similarities in the fall of apartheid in South Africa in the early 1990s, when growing international pressure and an intensifying war focused attention on an unsustainable system – and pushed people to find possibilities for peace that previously seemed impossible.</p>
<h2>The fall of South African apartheid</h2>
<p>In 1948, the white-nationalist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Party-political-party-South-Africa">Afrikaner National Party</a> was elected to run South Africa, a country that had already been controlled by a colonial white minority government. </p>
<p>The National Party formalized racial segregation policies in a system known as <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa">apartheid</a>, an Afrikaans word that means “apartness” or “separateness.” Apartheid ranked people by racial group, with white people at the top, Asian and people of mixed heritage lower, and Black people at the bottom with the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa">most restrictions and fewest rights</a> – for example, to live or work where they chose.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573574/original/file-20240205-15-wxrl8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Black man walks away from a limestone building, while a white man is seen entering on the other side. There are two signs above the entryways, one that shows a black man and the other shows a white man." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573574/original/file-20240205-15-wxrl8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573574/original/file-20240205-15-wxrl8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573574/original/file-20240205-15-wxrl8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573574/original/file-20240205-15-wxrl8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573574/original/file-20240205-15-wxrl8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573574/original/file-20240205-15-wxrl8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573574/original/file-20240205-15-wxrl8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Black man leaves a segregated public bathroom in Johannesburg, South Africa, while a white man enters the bathroom on a different side in 1985.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/black-man-leaving-and-white-man-entering-segregated-public-news-photo/72367774?adppopup=true">William F. Campbell/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Apartheid <a href="https://www.history.com/news/apartheid-policies-photos-nelson-mandela">resulted in deep poverty</a> and indignity for Black communities, quickly generating <a href="https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/anti-apartheid-struggle-south-africa-1912-1992/">anti-apartheid social movements</a> that South African police tried to violently suppress. </p>
<p>The collapse of apartheid policies in the early 1990s is often attributed to a combination of South African resistance and the economic pressure brought by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/23/israel-apartheid-boycotts-sanctions-south-africa">international anti-apartheid boycotts</a> of South Africa.</p>
<p>There was another <a href="https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/pcw/98678.htm">major factor</a>, though: South Africa’s “<a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/03/12/annals-of-wars-we-dont-know-about-the-south-african-border-war-of-1966-1989/">border war</a>” in Namibia and Angola.</p>
<p>Since 1948, South Africa had imposed its apartheid policies over a neighboring region it occupied after World War II, then called South-West Africa, which <a href="https://www.namibiahc.org.uk/history.php">is now Namibia</a>.</p>
<p>Like Black South Africans, people in South-West Africa resisted apartheid. Beginning in the 1960s, South Africa’s military began employing local militias in South-West Africa to combat a <a href="https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-namibian-war-of-independence-1966-1989/">Namibian independence</a> movement. Soon after, South Africa attempted to expand its control over neighboring Angola, which was in civil war after winning independence from Portugal.</p>
<p>The war in South-West Africa and Angola <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/proxy-war">became a proxy</a> for the ongoing Cold War and Western countries’ fear of communism spreading. The U.S. supported South Africa’s army and pro-Western militias, while the Soviet Union and Cuba supported pro-independence fighters. Cuba would eventually send <a href="https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB67/">30,000 troops</a> to fight on the ground on Angola’s side.</p>
<p>By the 1980s, the conflict was <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/south-african-border-war-vietnam/">escalating</a> into wider war, threatening to pull the United States and Soviet Union into direct conflict. </p>
<p>South Africa was forced to mobilize its reserve troops, and white South Africans began protesting at home. It was becoming clear that not just the war but <a href="https://iupress.org/9780253210623/comrades-against-apartheid/">the country’s brutal apartheid system</a> was not sustainable, lending credibility to those who wanted a democratic solution.</p>
<p>The mutually destructive war had no clear end <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1988/12/23/the-peace-process-in-southern-africa/487c4938-fc72-49d4-8ec7-74328ea3ea47/">or military solution</a>. South Africa and opposing armies were also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1988/12/23/the-peace-process-in-southern-africa/487c4938-fc72-49d4-8ec7-74328ea3ea47/">running out of money to keep fighting</a>. </p>
<p>This stalemate pushed <a href="https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/agreement-between-angola-cuba-and-south-africa-principles-peaceful-settlement-southwestern">Cuba, Angola and South Africa to a peace deal</a> in 1988, and South Africa withdrew its forces. </p>
<p>The war with Namibia continued, but not for long.</p>
<p>South African Prime Minister P.W. Botha <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/apartheid#:%7E:text=The%20effects%20of%20the%20internal%20unrest%20and%20international%20condemnation%20led,bring%20order%20to%20the%20country">resigned in 1989</a> after losing the support of his own far-right party for his failure in the war and inability to impose order. In 1990, <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/namibia-gains-independence">Namibia declared independence</a>.</p>
<p>That same year, the new South African government began rolling back apartheid policies, paving the way for <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-cbs-news-covered-nelson-mandelas-1994-presidential-victory/">historic elections</a> in 1994 that were won in a landslide by anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela.</p>
<p>South Africa’s involvement in its border war is different in many ways from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. But there are also similarities that may offer guidance.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573572/original/file-20240205-15-s8uf2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Nelson Mandela wears a dark suit and dances alongside women, in front of a sign that has the words 'a better life.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573572/original/file-20240205-15-s8uf2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573572/original/file-20240205-15-s8uf2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573572/original/file-20240205-15-s8uf2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573572/original/file-20240205-15-s8uf2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573572/original/file-20240205-15-s8uf2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573572/original/file-20240205-15-s8uf2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573572/original/file-20240205-15-s8uf2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nelson Mandela celebrates his win for president in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1994.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/former-south-african-president-nelson-mandela-dances-at-a-news-photo/88312698?adppopup=true">Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A way toward two states?</h2>
<p>For more than half a century, Israel has controlled the borders of the West Bank and Gaza. Home to 5 million Palestinians, these areas exist in a kind of netherworld between being part of Israel and being separate, sovereign entities. Israel controls their territory, but Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza cannot vote in Israel and do not have basic rights or freedom of movement.</p>
<p>It is a situation that many analysts have <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2013/06/27/no-horizon-in-perpetually-unsustainable-palestine-pub-52234">long understood</a> is unsustainable, as it has repeatedly given way to extreme fighting between Israelis and Palestinians. Yet with the U.S. and other powers <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/26/how-the-us-has-used-its-veto-power-at-the-un-in-support-of-israel">firmly backing</a> Israel as a strategic ally, few could see realistic possibilities for change.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/live-updates-death-toll-gaza-passes-27000-south-106861226">shocking scale</a> of <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna136308#">violence in</a> the war is changing that. About 1,200 people were killed and 240 were kidnapped in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. In <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-02-05-2024-dd005061f9925525c56ea460ab5c9e77">Gaza, Israel’s war has killed more than 27,000 residents</a>, mostly civilians.</p>
<p>I think that this violence, along with the threat of a wider war breaking out, is upending the once-remote idea of significant change in the region.</p>
<p>Nearly the entire population of 2 million people in Gaza have been displaced from their homes and <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/over-one-hundred-days-war-israel-destroying-gazas-food-system-and-weaponizing-food-say-un-human-rights-experts#:%7E:text=Since%209%20October%2C%20Israel%20declared,insecure%20and%20more%20than%2080">face dire</a> <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/01/over-one-hundred-days-war-israel-destroying-gazas-food-system-and">humanitarian emergencies</a> due to food, water and power shortages, foreign aid blockages and the destruction of Gaza’s hospitals. </p>
<p>With Houthi militants in Yemen <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/01/20/world/middleeast/houthi-red-sea-shipping.html">entering</a> the conflict and threats from Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, the U.S. <a href="https://inkstickmedia.com/the-stark-implications-of-the-israel-gaza-war-for-the-united-states/">is wary</a> of being <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-us-is-getting-embroiled-in-yet-another-middle-east-conflict-it-should-increase-pressure-on-israel-instead-221222">pulled into</a> another war in the Middle East.</p>
<p>Pressure is growing internationally for a cease-fire – and a two-state solution. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/us/politics/biden-israel-palestinians-peace.html">U.S.</a>, the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/four-day-truce-israel-hamas-conflict-is-important-first-step-eus-borrell-2023-11-27/">European Union</a> and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/china-calls-concrete-roadmap-two-state-solution-solve-gaza-conflict-2023-11-30/">China</a> all voice support for a two-state solution, and <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/4443055-gaza-war-gives-new-urgency-to-us-push-for-israel-saudi-ties/">Saudi Arabia</a> has made the possibility of a historic accord with Israel contingent on it.</p>
<p>United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that a two-state solution is the “<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1146097">only path</a>” to peace.</p>
<p>Pressure is mounting in Israel as well, as people continue to protest for the Israeli government to make a deal and bring 130 <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hostage-hamas-gaza-captive-02b11a8ec897970589e580dee732d484">hostages still captive</a> home alive. </p>
<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval ratings <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/only-15-israelis-want-netanyahu-keep-job-after-gaza-war-poll-finds-2024-01-02/">are tanking</a>. Israel’s economy is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/25/world/middleeast/israel-economy-gaza-war.html">shrinking</a>. And the Israeli government is <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/israeli-leaders-increasingly-divided-over-hamas-war-and-prospect-of-two-state-solution">increasingly divided</a> over the war effort, with Netanyahu <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-782778">losing support</a> in his own far-right party.</p>
<p>There remain large <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/what-is-two-state-solution-israel-palestinian-conflict-2024-01-25/">obstacles</a> to realizing a two-state solution. There is also growing international consensus that a two-state solution is the only acceptable outcome of the current violence. </p>
<p>In my view, the conditions unfolding in Israel and Gaza are beginning to reach a breaking point, similar to the conditions in South Africa that formed prior to apartheid’s defeat.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220524/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Case does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While the conflict between Hamas and Israel is unique, the case of South Africa’s border war – and subsequent fall of apartheid – might offer lessons that apply to the Middle East.Benjamin Case, Postdoctoral research scholar at the Center for Work and Democracy, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2225862024-02-05T22:32:00Z2024-02-05T22:32:00ZCutting UNRWA’s funding will have dire humanitarian consequences<p>Shortly after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) <a href="https://theconversation.com/ruling-by-uns-top-court-means-canada-and-the-u-s-could-be-complicit-in-gaza-genocide-222110">issued its ruling</a> in the case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/document-spells-allegations-12-employees-israel-participated-hamas-106757218">Israel accused</a> 12 members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) of being involved in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. In response, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/26/middleeast/unrwa-fires-staff-members-october-7-attacks-intl/index.html">UNRWA said it fired staff</a> accused of involvement.</p>
<p>Israel demanded that donor countries cease all funding to UNRWA and claimed the organization is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-un-aid-refugees-29932f8d12c4fa748daa03e3689dc536">supporting Hamas</a>. Additionally, Israel called for the <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-to-seek-to-end-unrwa-gaza-activities-after-staffers-fired-for-oct-7-involvement/">cessation of UNRWA activities in Gaza after the war</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/news-releases/gaza-strip-humanitarian-crisis-deepens-time-funding-suspensions-put-unrwa-aid">Sixteen mostly western countries,</a> including Canada, the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, announced they were suspending their funding to UNRWA. </p>
<p>Western government officials <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/28/world/middleeast/gaza-unrwa-hamas-israel.html">said they have not been able to verify the allegations</a>. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/blinken-says-evidence-of-unrwa-staffers-oct-7-involvement-highly-highly-credible/">recently said</a>, “we haven’t had the ability to investigate [the allegations] ourselves. But they are highly, highly credible.” </p>
<p>While Canada <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-aid-gaza">pledged $40 million</a> for Palestinians in Gaza through alternative humanitarian channels, others like the U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany, Japan, Italy and Switzerland have completely suspended their aid, collectively representing over 60 per cent of UNRWA’s budget.</p>
<p>UNRWA has warned that unless funding is restored it may need to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/unrwa-could-shut-down-by-end-february-if-funding-does-not-resume-2024-02-01/">shut down by the end of February</a>. This decision may have serious consequences, not only for Palestine, but also Israel and the broader region.</p>
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<h2>What is UNRWA?</h2>
<p>UNRWA was established in 1949, and has been pivotal in providing humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees since its inception. Following the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nakba-at-75-palestinians-struggle-to-get-recognition-for-their-catastrophe-204782/">Nakba (Catastrophe)</a> in 1948, the agency was formed to respond to the urgent needs of the displaced Palestinian population. </p>
<p>It currently supports over <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/1/what-is-unrwa-and-why-it-is-important-for-palestinians">six million Palestinians</a>, employing more than 30,000 staff members, with a significant portion dedicated to operations in Gaza. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.unrwa.org/what-mandate-unrwa-0">Operating under a mandate from the UN General Assembly</a>, UNRWA offers essential assistance and protection to Palestinian refugees across the Levant, including Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza. </p>
<p>UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently said “<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1146067">UNRWA is the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza</a>,” while UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said providing humanitarian assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is “completely dependent on UNRWA being adequately funded and operational.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/funding-for-refugees-has-long-been-politicized-punitive-action-against-unrwa-and-palestinians-fits-that-pattern-222263">Funding for refugees has long been politicized − punitive action against UNRWA and Palestinians fits that pattern</a>
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<h2>Israel’s accusations</h2>
<p>A recent article in the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-halts-funding-for-u-n-agency-amid-claims-staff-took-part-in-oct-7-attacks-3247918b"><em>Wall Street Journal</em></a> cited an Israeli “intelligence dossier” claiming 10 per cent of the <a href="https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/news/2024/02/89970/gaza-aid-operations-peril-amid-funding-crisis">13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza</a> have ties to armed groups. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has said <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2024/db240129.doc.htm">Israel has not yet shared the dossier with the United Nations</a>.</p>
<p>While these accusations are serious, maintaining an objective approach and refraining from drawing hasty conclusions about the <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/who-we-are/organizational-structure">UNRWA’s 30,000 employees</a> is crucial. The 12 employees accused of taking part in the Oct. 7 attack represent 0.04 per cent of the agency’s staff.</p>
<p>There are questions to be answered about the functioning of the UN agency, particularly regarding its recruitment and staff supervision processes. However, it would be misguided to generalize the conduct of one member or 12 to the entire organization. Particularly as the evidence Israel cites has not been made public.</p>
<h2>Funding cuts aren’t new</h2>
<p>Israel has long sought to <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/1/31/israels-allegations-unrwa-effort-eliminate-agency">dismantle UNRWA</a> and the agency has faced the threat of funding cuts in the past. In 2018, former U.S. President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/31/trump-to-cut-all-us-funding-for-uns-main-palestinian-refugee-programme">cut funding</a> claiming it was an “irredeemably flawed operation.”</p>
<p>Trump’s proposed “<a href="https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/deal-of-the-century-what-is-it-and-why-now/">deal of the century</a>” was based on sidelining the Palestinians in a bid to push for normalization between Israel and Arab governments. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-so-called-mideast-peace-plan-dispossesses-palestinians-132182">Trump’s so-called Mideast 'peace plan' dispossesses Palestinians</a>
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<p>Normalization has sparked controversy in Palestine and the broader region, particularly when it comes to the question of Palestinian refugees. Under Trump’s proposals, UNRWA would be dissolved and Palestinian refugees would lose their international legal status, a measure that would be challenging the historical right of return of Palestinian refugees.</p>
<p>UN General Assembly <a href="https://fmep.org/resource/un-general-assembly-resolution-194/">Resolution 194</a>, passed in 1948, enshrines the right of Palestinian refugees to return home and receive compensation for losses suffered. UNRWA is an organization that recognizes the status of Palestinian refugees and, by extension, their right to return at some point.</p>
<p>Palestinians, determined not to compromise their historical rights, rejected Trump’s agreement in the face of <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/948322497602220032">political</a> and financial pressures.</p>
<p>It is also important to contextualize the allegations against UNRWA within Israel’s — and the United States’s — broader relationship with the UN. In 2019, both countries announced they were pulling out of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/u-s-and-israel-officially-withdraw-from-unesco">claiming it has an anti-Israel bias</a>.</p>
<p>In the months since Oct. 7, Israeli officials have <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/antonio-guterres-must-go-israel-want-un-chief-out/">called for the resignation</a> of the UN Secretary-General, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-says-israel-will-not-renew-visa-top-aid-official-2023-12-01/">denied UN staff visas</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/icj-decision-south-africa-israel-genocide-1.7095027">rejected the ICJ’s ruling</a>. </p>
<p>The humanitarian crisis in Gaza grows more dire by the day. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2024/jan/30/how-war-destroyed-gazas-neighbourhoods-visual-investigation">Vital infrastructure</a>, such as schools and hospitals, has been destroyed or severely damaged. </p>
<p>If UNRWA is unable to function, it could heighten political and social tensions in the region, especially in the countries hosting Palestinians, which will directly feel the repercussions of funding cuts. </p>
<p>It is imperative that foreign countries do not worsen the situation, but instead take steps to mitigate these negative repercussions and work towards finding humane, respectful and sustainable long-term solutions for the region.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222586/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emilie El Khoury receives funding for her postdoctoral research at Queen's University from Queen’s Research Opportunities Postdoctoral Fund.</span></em></p>Recent moves to cut UNRWA’s funding are not the first time the UN agency has come under threat.Emilie El Khoury, Postdoctoral fellow at Queen's University's Centre for International Policy and Defence (CIDP), Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2225382024-02-05T16:09:12Z2024-02-05T16:09:12ZUK and US may recognise state of Palestine after Gaza war – what this important step would mean<p>The US and UK governments have indicated they are considering recognising Palestine as a state after the current conflict ends. On a visit to Lebanon on February 1, the UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, said this would be impossible while Hamas remained in control in Gaza, but that <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-could-recognize-palestinian-state-before-any-deal-with-israel-says-david-cameron/#">giving Palestinians the prospect of statehood</a> would be “absolutely vital for the long-term peace and security of the region”.</p>
<p>US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, meanwhile <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/01/31/palestine-statehood-biden-israel-gaza-war">told US media site Axios</a> that he had commissioned the State Department to review potential options for US and international recognition of a Palestinian state. Previously, US policy towards Palestinian statehood had been that this was a matter for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. </p>
<p>International recognition would usher in a new phase for the realisation of Palestinian statehood. The legal framework for addressing the situation would expand to include more international bodies dealing with international human rights and accountability.</p>
<p>The first thing to stress is that recognition and statehood are two separate issues. Under international law, states conduct foreign relations on the basis of bilateral and multilateral recognition of each other’s statehood as sovereign countries. This recognition also forms the basis for how states behave and imposes various legally binding obligations and duties under international conventions.</p>
<p>Palestine has been recognised as an independent state by <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2022-0039/">139 of 193 UN members</a>. But, crucially, the US, UK and other G7 countries including Germany, Italy and France, have not. </p>
<p>Since 2012, Palestine has been a <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2012/ga11317.doc.htm">“non-member observer state”</a> in the UN. It acceded to a number of <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-196396/#">human rights treaties in 2014</a>. These include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). </p>
<p>Palestine’s membership of these treaties is a reflection of its status as a sovereign state in international law, with all the obligations and duties this entails. </p>
<p>Palestine is also a member of a range of other international organisations, including the <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document-source/non-aligned-movement-namsee-also-committee-on-palestine/">Non-Aligned Movement</a>, the <a href="https://www.oic-oci.org/home/?lan=en">Organisation of Islamic Cooperation</a> and the <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/victims/state-palestine">International Criminal Court</a> (ICC).</p>
<h2>Getting recognised</h2>
<p>There is a detailed and complex process by which new states are recognised under international law, established in 1933 by the <a href="https://www.ilsa.org/Jessup/Jessup15/Montevideo%20Convention.pdf">Montevideo convention on the rights and duties of states</a>. Article 1 contains the four criteria required as follows:</p>
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<p>The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states. </p>
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<p>The question remains whether Palestine actually possesses a “defined territory” and “effective government”. </p>
<p>The UK has maintained a firm position of non-recognition of Palestinian statehood. It abstained in the UN general assembly vote in 2012 that granted the non-member observer status at the UN. So recognition would be a significant move. </p>
<p>But recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state goes beyond a mere political gesture. It has the potential to unlock a broader range of legal avenues towards accountability for atrocities and human rights violations, grounded in the obligations of states under the laws governing international armed conflicts. </p>
<p>At present, the continuing hostilities in Gaza are perceived as a conflict between a state (Israel) and a non-state group (Hamas). Recognising Palestine as an independent state could significantly alter this dynamic. It would change the situation to an <a href="https://casebook.icrc.org/a_to_z/glossary/international-armed-conflict">international armed conflict</a> which involves one or more states taking up arms against another. </p>
<h2>Establishing accountability</h2>
<p>Palestine has been a member of the ICC since it <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/state-palestine-accedes-rome-statute">acceded to the Rome statute</a> in 2015. In 2021, the ICC prosecutor initiated investigations into the “<a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-prosecutor-fatou-bensouda-respecting-investigation-situation-palestine">situation in the state of Palestine</a>”. </p>
<p>This followed a pre-trial chamber decision that the court could exercise criminal jurisdiction in the situation (the term “situation” is used by the ICC to mean the jurisdictional confines within which an investigation is done). In respect to the territorial scope of this jurisdiction and investigation, it extends to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.</p>
<p>On November 17 2023, the ICC chief prosecutor <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-prosecutor-international-criminal-court-karim-aa-khan-kc-situation-state-palestine">received a state party referral</a> for Palestine from South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, and Djibouti, meaning they requested the ICC prosecutor investigate crimes in Palestine under the Rome statute.</p>
<h2>Palestine’s obligations</h2>
<p>Recognition as a state would involve certain obligations on the part of Palestine, both in terms of international law and human rights. States have concrete obligations and duties under international law in relation to how they deal with armed conflicts. They are also obliged to act according to international law in recognising and protecting human rights in the territory under their jurisdiction.</p>
<p>One example of this idea in action was the <a href="https://www.ejiltalk.org/contested-statehood-and-jurisdiction-palestine-and-the-mangisto-and-al-sayed-case/">2023 decision</a> in the matter of Mangisto and al-Sayed v the State of Palestine, which involved the disappearance of two Israeli nationals in Gaza. The ruling was made by the UN’s Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, because the two Israelis who had disappeared were both ruled to have psychosocial disabilities which had influenced their decision to cross into Gaza – despite the dangers that involved – where they disappeared. </p>
<p>Even though there was no Palestinian government with effective control over Gaza and West Bank, the legal entity of the state of Palestine had a legal obligation to respect and protect the rights of the people as enshrined under the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-persons-disabilities">Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities</a>. </p>
<p>So, recognising Palestine as a state is more than just a political gesture. It has legal implications which will also be important when it comes to negotiating peace, the future of the Palestinian people and accountability for war crimes by both sides.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222538/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tonny Raymond Kirabira does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Much of the world already recognises Palestinian statehood. But recognition by the US and UK would be a hugely important decision.Tonny Raymond Kirabira, Lecturer in Law, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2220102024-01-31T18:29:00Z2024-01-31T18:29:00ZPalestinian Islamic Jihad: what you need to know about the militant group<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572434/original/file-20240131-19-lglhmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1931&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Members of Saraya al-Quds, the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, on a parade and declare that they are ready for an on January 5, 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/members-saraya-alquds-military-wing-palestinian-2101603105">Anas-Mohammed/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A missile struck <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/18/al-ahli-arab-hospital-piecing-together-what-happened-as-israel-insists-militant-rocket-to-blame">Al-Ahli Arab hospital</a> in Gaza City on October 17 2023, killing 471 Palestinians – according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Palestinians blamed an Israeli airstrike, while Israel blamed the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Palestinian-Islamic-Jihad">Palestinian Islamic Jihad</a> (PIJ) militant group.</p>
<p>Since 1984, PIJ has been carrying out armed attacks against Israel. The group also participated in the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of a further 240.</p>
<p>But, despite being the third-largest Palestinian organisation, PIJ remains less known than Hamas. The popular image of PIJ is often that of a terrorist group operating in the shadow of Hamas and bent on destroying Israel with the support of Iran. </p>
<p>In this article, I dispel three misconceptions about PIJ: its dependency on Hamas, its radicalism and its ties with Iran. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-did-hamas-attack-and-why-now-what-does-it-hope-to-gain-215248">Why did Hamas attack, and why now? What does it hope to gain?</a>
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<h2>In the shadow of Hamas?</h2>
<p>PIJ does occasionally coordinate its military actions with Hamas. But the group does not operate in the shadow of Hamas and often acts independently.</p>
<p>Both groups emerged as an offshoot of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Muslim-Brotherhood">Muslim Brotherhood</a>, an organisation founded in Egypt in 1928 that advocated for the application of Islamic law in all aspects of society. However, their identities and strategies diverge. </p>
<p>Hamas was born as a social movement with political and military aspirations, while PIJ emerged primarily as an armed group. As a result, PIJ has never been interested in providing social welfare programmes or participating in elections (though an election has not been held in the Gaza Strip since 2006). Its role is limited to armed resistance. </p>
<p>This doesn’t imply that PIJ has no interest in politics. Rather, it believes it is <a href="https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/162562">premature</a> to focus on political power until a full Palestinian national sovereignty, free of “foreign” occupation, is established.</p>
<p>PIJ and Hamas are united in the war against Israel. But tensions between the two often simmer beneath the surface, reflecting a delicate balance between cooperation and competition. </p>
<p>A few days before the October 7 attacks, PIJ organised a <a href="https://www.newarab.com/news/palestinian-islamic-jihad-holds-military-manoeuvre-gaza">military parade</a> to celebrate the 36th anniversary of the organisation’s founding. During the event, it showcased new models of self-manufactured weapons, reflecting the recent growth of its military capabilities in Gaza and its independence from Hamas.</p>
<h2>The most radical faction?</h2>
<p>PIJ rejects political compromises and sees violence as the only possible means of defeating Israel. The group <a href="https://pt.icct.nl/article/interview-ramadan-shallah-secretary-general-palestinian-islamic-jihad">rejected</a> Hama’s proposal in 2006 for a long-term truce with Israel. But PIJ is less dogmatically radical than one might assume.</p>
<p>Unlike Hamas, PIJ has never patrolled the streets of Gaza to persecute “deviant” behaviour or impose strict Islamic morals on the local population. And, while PIJ vehemently opposes the Palestinian Authority (the self-governing body that has limited rule over parts of the occupied West Bank), the group refrains from violent clashes with its dominant political party, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fatah">Fatah</a>. </p>
<p>PIJ maintains cordial relations with all Palestinian political forces and often positions itself as a mediator between Fatah and Hamas.</p>
<p>Throughout the repeated cycles of violence with Israel, there have even been instances when PIJ has temporarily softened its stance. In the past, the group has discussed the possibility of limiting its armed struggle to the goal of liberating the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/summary/Six-Day-War#">six-day war</a> of 1967, rather than to the total destruction of Israel.</p>
<p>This stance may not align with the official manifesto, but it reflects strategic efforts to maintain a unified national programme that would be supported by more moderate factions. According to PIJ, internal disagreements would only benefit the enemy.</p>
<p>PIJ has adopted an official position of neutrality over various regional conflicts to avoid upsetting anyone and to keep Palestinian issues outside the dangers of regional sectarianism. For example, during the war in Syria, which began in 2011, Hamas has gradually severed its ties with the Syrian regime and supported the popular revolts. PIJ, on the other hand, has refused to take a side.</p>
<h2>An Iranian proxy?</h2>
<p>The Islamic Republic of Iran has long articulated support for the Palestinian cause. It has cultivated relations with groups across the region who position themselves against Israel and the US. </p>
<p>PIJ does receive significant financial and military support from Iran. However, there is a distinction in religious ideologies – the Sunni PIJ does not share religious affinities with Shia Iran. So, PIJ’s role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict should not be reduced to a puppet under Iran’s control.</p>
<p>When delving into PIJ’s writings, one may be surprised by the geopolitical analysis offered by its leaders. Rather than relying solely on religious rhetoric, they consistently frame the conflict as an asymmetrical power struggle against an occupier state considered an outpost of western colonial powers. </p>
<p>From this perspective, PIJ regards Iran as a source of inspiration. In 1979, the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2014/2/11/iran-1979-the-islamic-revolution-that-shook-the-world">Iranian revolution</a> successfully overthrew the country’s west-friendly regime and subsequently severed ties with Israel.</p>
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<img alt="People driving their motorcycles down a city road holding Iranian flags and banners commemorating the Iranian Revolution." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572439/original/file-20240131-21-8zo1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572439/original/file-20240131-21-8zo1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572439/original/file-20240131-21-8zo1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572439/original/file-20240131-21-8zo1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572439/original/file-20240131-21-8zo1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572439/original/file-20240131-21-8zo1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572439/original/file-20240131-21-8zo1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">People commemorating the anniversary of the Iranian Revolution of 1979 in Tehran, Iran.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tehran-theran-iran-february-10-2021-1913879353">Amin Monfared/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>But, despite oaths of loyalty to the Iranian regime, there have been times when the honeymoon between PIJ and Iran has suffered setbacks. PIJ refused to support the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-houthis-four-things-you-will-want-to-know-about-the-yemeni-militia-targeted-by-uk-and-us-military-strikes-221040">Houthi rebels</a> in the ongoing Yemen civil war, causing Iran to <a href="https://studies.aljazeera.net/en/reports/2015/09/201592084340199169.html">temporarily cut off</a> its funding.</p>
<p>PIJ today finds itself <a href="https://ecfr.eu/article/iran-hamas-and-islamic-jihad-a-marriage-of-convenience/">financially dependent on Iran</a>. But the Iranian regime does not control its military actions. </p>
<p>PIJ has emphasised that its armed struggle is specifically directed at Israel and not the west. As a result, it has refrained from engaging in terrorist attacks outside Palestinian territories and Israel.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222010/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Antonella Acinapura does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>PIJ is perceived as a terrorist group operating in the shadow of Hamas, aiming to dismantle Israel with the backing of Iran – but that’s not true.Antonella Acinapura, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Middle East Centre, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2214112024-01-19T00:37:04Z2024-01-19T00:37:04ZIsrael now ranks among the world’s leading jailers of journalists. We don’t know why they’re behind bars<p>Israel has emerged as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, according to a <a href="https://cpj.org/reports/2024/01/2023-prison-census-jailed-journalist-numbers-near-record-high-israel-imprisonments-spike/">newly released census</a> compiled by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.</p>
<p>Each year, the committee releases a snapshot of the number of journalists behind bars as of December 1 2023 was the second highest on record with 320 in detention around the world. </p>
<p>In a small way, that is encouraging news. The figure is down from a high of 363 the previous year.</p>
<p>But a troublingly large number remain locked up, undermining press freedom and often, human rights.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-one-journalist-per-day-is-dying-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict-this-has-to-stop-217272">More than one journalist per day is dying in the Israel-Gaza conflict. This has to stop</a>
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<h2>China takes out unenviable top spot</h2>
<p>At the top of the list sits China with 44 in detention, followed by Myanmar (43), Belarus (28), Russia (22), and Vietnam (19). Israel and Iran share sixth place with 17 each. </p>
<p>While the dip in numbers is positive, the statistics expose a few troubling trends. </p>
<p>As well as a straight count, the Committee to Protect Journalists examines the charges the journalists are facing. The advocacy group found that globally, almost two-thirds are behind bars on what they broadly describe as “anti-state charges” – things such as espionage, terrorism, false news and so on. </p>
<p>In other words, governments have come to regard journalism as some sort of existential threat that has to be dealt with using national security legislation. </p>
<p>In some cases, that may be justified. It is impossible to independently assess the legitimacy of each case, but it does point to the way governments increasingly regard information and the media as a part of the battlefield. That places journalists in the dangerous position of sometimes being unwitting combatants in often brutally violent struggles.</p>
<p>China’s top spot is hardly surprising. It has been there – or close to it – for some years. Censorship makes it extremely difficult to make an accurate assessment of the numbers behind bars, but since the crackdown on pro-democracy activists in 2021, journalists from Hong Kong have, for the first time, found themselves locked up. And almost half of China’s total are Uyghurs from Xinjiang, where Beijing has been accused of <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/2022-08-31/22-08-31-final-assesment.pdf">human rights abuses</a> in its ongoing repression of the region’s mostly Muslim ethnic minorities.</p>
<p>The rest of the top four are also familiar, but the two biggest movements are unexpected. </p>
<p>Iran had been the <a href="https://cpj.org/reports/2022/12/number-of-jailed-journalists-spikes-to-new-global-record/#:%7E:text=The%20Committee%20to%20Protect%20Journalists,in%20a%20deteriorating%20media%20landscape.">2022 gold medallist</a> with 62 journalists imprisoned. In the latest census, it dropped to sixth place with just 17. And Israel, which previously had only one behind bars, has climbed to share that place. </p>
<p>That is positive news for Iranian journalists, but awkward for Israel, which repeatedly argues it is the only democracy in the Middle East and the only one that <a href="https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-709045#google_vignette">respects media freedom</a>. It also routinely points to Iran for its long-running assault on critics of the regime. </p>
<p>The journalists Israel had detained were all from the occupied West Bank, all Palestinian, and all arrested after Hamas’s horrific attacks from Gaza on October 7. But we know very little about why they were detained. The journalists’ relatives told the committee that most are under what Israel describes as “administrative detention”. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-war-israeli-government-has-haaretz-newspaper-in-its-sights-as-it-tightens-screws-on-media-freedom-218730">Gaza war: Israeli government has Haaretz newspaper in its sights as it tightens screws on media freedom</a>
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<h2>17 arrests in Israel in less than 2 months</h2>
<p>The benign term “administrative detention” in fact means the journalists have been incarcerated <a href="https://www.btselem.org/topic/administrative_detention">indefinitely, without trial or charge</a>. </p>
<p>It is possible that they were somehow planning attacks or involved with extremism (Israel uses administrative detention to stop people they accuse of planning to commit a future offence) but the evidence used to justify the detention is not disclosed. We don’t even know why they were arrested. </p>
<p>Israel’s place near the top of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ list exposes a difficult paradox. Media freedom is an intrinsic part of a free democracy. A vibrant, awkward and sometimes snarly media is a proven way to keep public debate alive and the political system healthy. </p>
<p>It is often uncomfortable, but you can’t have a strong democratic system without journalists freely and vigorously fulfilling their watchdog role. In fact, a good way to tell if a democracy is sliding is the extent of a government’s crackdown on the media.</p>
<p>This is not to suggest equivalence between Israel and Iran. Israel remains a democracy, and Israeli media is often savagely <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/public-trust-in-government-scrapes-bottom-amid-criticism-for-inadequate-war-response/">critical</a> of its government in ways that would be unthinkable in Tehran. </p>
<p>But if Israel wants to restore confidence in its commitment to democratic norms, at the very least it will need to be transparent about the reasons for arresting 17 journalists in less than two months, and the evidence against them. And if there is no evidence they pose a genuine threat to Israeli security, they must be released immediately. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/at-a-time-when-journalism-needs-to-be-at-its-strongest-an-open-letter-on-the-israel-hamas-war-has-left-the-profession-diminished-218596">At a time when journalism needs to be at its strongest, an open letter on the Israel/Hamas war has left the profession diminished</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221411/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Greste is Professor of Journalism at Macquarie University, and the Executive Director of the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom. He was also a signatory of an open letter calling for balanced coverage in the Gaza/Israel conflict and in 2006, covered Gaza for the BBC. </span></em></p>New statistics show a spike in the amount of journalists jailed in the country. To protect its democracy, Israel needs to be transparent about why members of the media are arrested.Peter Greste, Professor of Journalism and Communications, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2211252024-01-16T14:13:41Z2024-01-16T14:13:41ZSouth Africa’s ANC marks its 112th year with an eye on national elections, but its record is patchy and future uncertain<p>The speech President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered at the <a href="https://www.anc1912.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ANC-January-8th-Statement-2024.pdf">112th birthday celebration</a> of South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), on 13 January can be seen as the party’s opening election gambit: a stadium packed to capacity, the display of a united leadership, and an invocation of three decades of success, delivered by a leader firmly in control of his party.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.anc1912.org.za/anc-january-8th-statement/">annual January 8</a> statement, unsurprisingly, was a 30 year self-assessment and is self-congratulatory. It was silent on the many failings under ANC rule: <a href="https://www.resbank.co.za/content/dam/sarb/publications/statements/monetary-policy-statements/2023/november-/Statement%20of%20the%20Monetary%20Policy%20Committee%20November%202023.pdf">sluggish economic growth</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-police-are-losing-the-war-on-crime-heres-how-they-need-to-rethink-their-approach-218048">crime and lack of security</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/local-government-in-south-africa-is-broken-but-giving-the-job-to-residents-carries-risks-155970">failure to deliver essential services</a> and <a href="https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/opinion/2023-01-31-south-africa-must-maintain-and-build-new-infrastructure/">maintain public infrastructure</a>. </p>
<p>Ramaphosa said the anniversary <a href="https://www.anc1912.org.za/anc-january-8th-statement/">occasion</a> was an opportunity to focus members of the party on the tasks ahead of the <a href="https://www.eisa.org/election-calendar/">2024 general elections</a> – expected between May and August. He pointed out that the ANC had, over its 30 years in power, put in place the building blocks of a social democratic state. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>a <a href="https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/saconstitution-web-eng.pdf">constitution</a> that guarantees human rights to all South Africans and is much admired around the world</p></li>
<li><p>protecting workers’ rights, promoting investment and economic development and providing a legal framework for black economic empowerment </p></li>
<li><p>an active role for South Africa on the international stage, and solidarity with people struggling for their rights and striving for a just world order.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Assuming the moral high ground by <a href="https://www.politicsweb.co.za/politics/anc-in-full-support-of-sas-case-against-israel-in-">supporting the cause of Palestine</a> was a reminder of the ANC that once won the hearts of many South Africans and international supporters: principled and standing up for justice, as it had done in the struggle against apartheid.</p>
<p>Ramaphosa highlighted the oft-repeated statistics reflecting “delivery” by the ANC-led government since 1994: </p>
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<li><p><a href="https://www.dhs.gov.za/content/media-statements/human-settlements-delivers-47-million-houses-1994">4.7 million houses</a> have been built and provided “mahala” (for free) to South Africans, including houses allocated to nearly 2 million women </p></li>
<li><p>89% of households now have access to water and 85% have <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=12211">access to electricity</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2024-01-15-listen-28-million-people-rely-on-social-grants-ramaphosa-boasts-about-ancs-efforts-to-prevent-poverty/">more than 28 million people</a> are beneficiaries of social grants aimed at alleviating poverty.</p></li>
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<p>Along the way, mistakes had been made, Ramaphosa said. But the ANC stood resolute in addressing the stubborn legacy of colonialism, apartheid and patriarchy.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factionalism-and-corruption-could-kill-the-anc-unless-it-kills-both-first-116924">Factionalism and corruption could kill the ANC -- unless it kills both first</a>
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<p>Not much was said about these mistakes. The ANC is nursing its fragile unity ahead of a general election later this year. Tactically, it might have been wiser for the party to own up to some of its shortcomings, as this could have denied its opponents and critics the chance to <a href="https://dailyinvestor.com/south-africa/41313/cyril-ramaphosa-celebrates-28-million-grant-recipients-four-times-the-number-of-taxpayers/">ridicule some of its claims</a>. </p>
<p>As a political scientist, I am interested in the ingredients of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sandy-Africa">durable democracies in post-conflict societies</a>, including South Africa, Mauritania and Libya. Thirty years after its first democratic elections, the stakes are high for the ANC as the party that took the lead in ushering in a new era.</p>
<h2>Despair and frustration</h2>
<p>It is an open secret that the party has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/factionalism-and-corruption-could-kill-the-anc-unless-it-kills-both-first-116924">riven by factions</a>. And the state it runs has been <a href="https://www.statecapture.org.za/">racked by corruption</a> for which few have been held accountable.</p>
<p>The perception that South Africa has been unsuccessful in the fight against corruption has dented the country’s image, and lessened its international leverage and stature. </p>
<p>This, in spite of the ANC government having <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202105/national-anti-corruption-strategy-2020-2030.pdf">an anti-corruption strategy</a>. And, to the chagrin of some members, the party has insisted that those facing allegations of corruption must <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-01-06-anc-resolves-to-keep-step-aside-rule-with-case-reviews-every-six-months/">relinquish state and party positions</a>.</p>
<p>There is disappointment that the reversal of the perception of a party mired in corruption has been <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/opinions/columnists/sipho-masondo/sipho-masondo-instead-of-our-greatest-moment-ramaphosa-has-been-our-greatest-disappointment-20230502">slow in the making</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/book-predicts-ancs-last-decade-of-political-dominance-in-south-africa-166592">Book predicts ANC’s last decade of political dominance in South Africa</a>
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<p>There is a mood of despair over <a href="https://www.gov.za/news/speeches/minister-bheki-cele-second-quarter-crime-statistics-20232024-17-nov-2023">high levels of crime and violence</a>. There is also widespread frustration over <a href="https://wandilesihlobo.com/2023/01/14/crumbling-basic-infrastructure-limits-south-africas-agriculture-and-tourism-growth-potential/">crumbling infrastructure</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africans-are-revolting-against-inept-local-government-why-it-matters-155483">poor service delivery</a>.</p>
<p>Lashing out at detractors, a confident Ramaphosa said that South Africa was markedly different to that of 30 years ago – and that this was an achievement of the ANC.</p>
<p>He urged members and supporters to campaign for a decisive victory and avoid a coalition with other political parties. Coalitions, he argued, did not benefit the people but the deal-makers who came from the smaller parties. This argument is not without merit – the coalitions have <a href="https://www.nelsonmandela.org/news/entry/coalitions-the-new-normal-in-south-africa">rendered some municipalities dysfunctional</a>.</p>
<p>Yet, in spite of the public pronouncements, the ANC may be bracing itself for a coalition government. Several surveys say the party will garner <a href="https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/anc-polling-under-50-for-2024--brenthurst-foundati">less than 50% of the vote</a> needed to form a government. </p>
<p>The largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has struck a deal with like-minded parties in the hope of <a href="https://mg.co.za/politics/2023-08-17-opposition-parties-agree-on-moonshot-coalition-vision-principles-and-priorities/">unseating the ANC</a>.</p>
<h2>Wooing young voters</h2>
<p>Ramaphosa’s speech reflected the party’s comfort zone, one in which it does not have to appease multiple factions. But this may be a short-lived luxury.</p>
<p>In addition to having to contend with a record number of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67741527">splinter formations</a> in the <a href="https://www.eisa.org/election-calendar/">upcoming general elections</a>, the ANC is also facing a generational change. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.eisa.org/election-calendar/">2024 general election</a> may become the battle for the soul of the young voter. If that is the case, then the ANC needs a fresh image, one less reliant on its history as a liberation movement. It must reflect the interests and aspirations of potential supporters more: <a href="https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/statistics-south-africa-quarterly-labour-force-survey-quarter-three-2023-14">unemployed youth</a>, women under constant threat of <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad738-south-africans-see-gender-based-violence-as-most-important-womens-rights-issue-to-address/">gender-based violence</a>; the <a href="https://debtline.co.za/south-africas-middle-class-is-r10k-poorer-than-in-2016/#:%7E:text=The%20financial%20landscape%20for%20South,compared%20to%20their%202016%20earnings.">financially squeezed middle class</a>, and those living in crowded, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-022-10808-z">uninhabitable circumstances</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/africas-oldest-surviving-party-the-anc-has-an-achilles-heel-its-broken-branch-structure-150210">Africa's oldest surviving party – the ANC – has an Achilles heel: its broken branch structure</a>
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<p>Ramaphosa called on supporters to stand up against gender-based violence, and to resist the exclusion of marginalised people, such as the LGBTQI community and disabled persons. He acknowledged the positive role of the youth in society, and commended the ANC Youth League <a href="https://www.enca.com/top-stories/anc-youth-league-wants-more-young-people-parliament">for their inputs</a> in shaping the statement. He promised that the party would attend to their concerns and recommendations: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>beneficiation of raw materials </p></li>
<li><p>reindustrialisation of the economy </p></li>
<li><p>the energy crisis</p></li>
<li><p>the climate crisis</p></li>
<li><p>the quality of public services. </p></li>
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<p>These items are already on the ANC’s policy programme being implemented in government. So if the party had been more astute, the January 8 statement could have indicated, especially to its younger constituency, what would be done differently this time round. As it is, these items also feature high on the list of priorities of other political parties, including those formed in recent months.</p>
<h2>Bravado amid disillusionment</h2>
<p>The ANC, through its January 8 statement, put on a show of bravado. However, it would be foolhardy of it to ignore the fact that the political terrain has shifted.</p>
<p>Even long-serving members within its ranks have become disillusioned with the party, as evidenced by the recent <a href="https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/why-i-am-resigning-from-the-anc--mavuso-msimang">resignation of ANC veteran Mavuso Msimang</a>, who later retracted his decision. Not all of these can be labelled rogue ex-members. In any case it is just posturing for the ANC to claim that it is and has been the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-anc-insists-its-still-a-political-vanguard-this-is-what-ails-democracy-in-south-africa-141938">only vehicle</a> through which citizens can express their political agency. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-anc-insists-its-still-a-political-vanguard-this-is-what-ails-democracy-in-south-africa-141938">The ANC insists it's still a political vanguard: this is what ails democracy in South Africa</a>
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<p>The ANC leans heavily on its liberation movement brand. But this will not necessarily be a determining factor in who will sway voters later this year. Many see the ANC as having brought the country <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2023-03-01-the-anc-has-mastered-the-art-of-demolition-not-building/">to the brink of failure</a>. Others see its policies as centrist and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-anc-isnt-ready-to-radically-transform-the-south-african-economy-75004">not radical enough</a>.</p>
<p>The governing party has only a few months in which to persuade voters to give it yet another chance to govern South Africa. It won’t be easy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221125/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandy Africa does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The ANC leans heavily on its liberation movement brand. But this will not necessarily be a determining factor in who will sway voters later this year.Sandy Africa, Associate Professor, Political Sciences, and Deputy Dean Teaching and Learning (Humanities), University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2211042024-01-15T21:47:58Z2024-01-15T21:47:58ZThe scene in the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta: Palestinians face escalating Israeli efforts to displace them<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-scene-in-the-west-banks-masafer-yatta-palestinians-face-escalating-israeli-efforts-to-displace-them" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Our ride pulls over on the side of the highway to let us out and we begin our 20-minute hike into the village of Wadi Tiran in the occupied West Bank. Before Oct. 7, 2023, there was a road that went all the way to the village, but Jewish settlers have since blocked it. </p>
<p>Considering that in November, <a href="https://palsolidarity.org/2023/11/call-to-action-save-wadi-tiran-occupied-west-bank/">settlers threatened to kill anyone who didn’t leave the Palestinian village within 24 hours</a>, the hike seems like a small price to pay for Palestinians to remain on their land. But this is <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/facing-violence-and-harassment-hundreds-of-palestinians-flee-west-bank-villages/">not the only community that has been threatened with death</a> if villagers don’t leave the land they have lived on for thousands of years.</p>
<p>The region of Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank is comprised of many small villages that rely on farming and shepherding to support their families. With illegal Israeli settlements encroaching these villages, often completely surrounding them, villagers find it difficult to grow crops and feed livestock. </p>
<p>Since Oct. 7, it has been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/30/no-work-and-no-olives-harvest-rots-as-west-bank-farmers-cut-off-from-trees">nearly impossible for villagers to safely reach their pastures.</a> The Israeli government has emboldened settlers by <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-11-02/ty-article/.premium/israels-army-to-recruit-settlers-with-no-army-experience-to-guard-west-bank-settlements/0000018b-8f63-d7a8-afcf-afe3a9b00000?lts=1701200679918">providing them with arms and recruiting them into the army.</a></p>
<p>Even when Palestinians successfully resist settler-backed threats of evacuation, their inability to harvest crops or feed their flocks sometimes results in a <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2017/06/israel-occupation-50-years-of-dispossession/">need to move to urban regions in search of work</a>. </p>
<p>This is a slower version of displacement that often escapes the media. Since Oct. 7, the Israeli human rights organization, B'Tselem, reports that <a href="https://www.alquds.com/en/posts/107078">16 villages in the region have been displaced</a> due to settler violence. </p>
<h2>Documenting, preventing violence</h2>
<p>I am part of a group of activists from organizations like <a href="https://twitter.com/mesarvot_?lang=en">Mesarvot</a> and <a href="https://cjnv.org/">The Centre for Jewish Nonviolence</a> who assist in documenting and preventing settler and army aggression. </p>
<p>Often, just the <a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/amid-a-settler-onslaught-protective-presence-activism-falters">presence of cameras and non-Palestinians is enough to ward off the most extreme forms of violence</a>. However, with an <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/other-mass-displacement-while-eyes-are-gaza-settlers-advance-west-bank-herders">average of seven incidents of settler violence a day since Oct. 7</a>, the protective presence only goes so far. Sometimes, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/activist-assaulted-protecting-palestinian-herders-says-he-feared-for-his-life/">activists themselves are targeted</a>.</p>
<p>We were in Wadi Tiran in early January 2024 not only to protect against settler violence, but also to ensure the <a href="https://www.alquds.com/en/posts/101762">sheep and goats can graze freely</a>. </p>
<p>We pass over a stream so polluted, the water is an opaque milky white. Our Israeli companion explains this water passes through so many cities in the West Bank and becomes so polluted by the time it reaches both Wadi Tiran and the nearby settlements that the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority almost worked together to clean it up. </p>
<p>I am told the plan fell through and feel thankful for the two litres of bottled water I have in my backpack.</p>
<p>We finally descend upon the village and are instantly recruited into a game of soccer happening outside our tent on the uneven hillside. The soccer ball is under-inflated and the material is falling apart, but this does not stop any of the children from scoring goal upon goal on me. </p>
<p>Eventually, I am rescued from the game by Bassam, who lives in the village with his brother and their two families. We are ushered into a tent and drink tea together as an audience of giggling children form around us. </p>
<p>I ask what the loud sound I keep hearing is. Bassam explains it’s the sound of fighter jets heading to Gaza. The Israeli activist with us, who acts as translator between our English and Bassam’s Arabic, explains we are about 40 kilometres from Gaza and the sounds of fighter jets overhead and faint bombs in the distance have been audible since October.</p>
<h2>No construction allowed</h2>
<p>Because there are no bathrooms, I wait until nighttime to find a distant rock. With lights from settlements around us shining into the village, and settlers with flashlights walking around the village boundaries, I’m nervous about engaging in even the most basic bodily functions. </p>
<p>I’m told an international human rights group came a few weeks ago to build washrooms, but because <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/masafer-yatta-communities-risk-forcible-transfer-june-2022">Israel does not allow Palestinians in Masafer Yatta to build anything</a>, the project could not happen. </p>
<p>Though this order has stood for several years, the current levels of surveillance and violence make any attempt at building almost impossible. Bassam dreams of building a house for his family, rather than living in tents during the cold winter nights. It’s not a lack of will or money that prevents this dream, but rather Israeli government policy.</p>
<p>I return to the tent in time to join the latest game that the kids are attempting to teach us through our language barrier. We teach them how to play musical chairs before several rounds of hot potato. </p>
<p>With the sounds of war in the background and the sights of settlers all around, I was struck at the laughter and joy that filled our tent as we played. Mere weeks ago, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/west-bank-settlers-violence-israel-palestinians-1.7019263">settlers had threatened to kill these children and their families</a> if they did not leave their home. </p>
<p>Instead, these children — who have endured so much simply for being born Palestinian — exemplify the struggle and <em>sumud</em> (steadfastness) of existence as resistance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221104/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Lippman is affiliated with Independent Jewish Voices and Labour for Palestine. </span></em></p>Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank is comprised of villages that rely on farming and shepherding to support Palestinian families. Illegal Jewish settlements are making it difficult to live there.Anna Lippman, Sociology Instructor, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2210172024-01-15T19:05:30Z2024-01-15T19:05:30ZSouth Africa has made its genocide case against Israel in court. Here’s what both sides said and what happens next<p>Following the October 7 attack by Hamas, Israeli forces have carried out sustained attacks on the Palestinian controlled territory, dividing the international community.</p>
<p>Last week, the South African government presented a case to the International Court of Justice. They argued the Israeli government’s attack on Gaza, and especially the actions of its forces within Gaza since early October, could amount to genocide. </p>
<p>Few cases that have gone before the court are as explosive and potentially significant as this one.</p>
<p>Here’s how the hearings unfolded and what happens now.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-enforcement-power-does-the-international-court-of-justice-have-in-south-africas-genocide-case-against-israel-220523">What enforcement power does the International Court of Justice have in South Africa's genocide case against Israel?</a>
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<h2>Defining genocide</h2>
<p>The crime of genocide is covered in the 1948 United Nations <a href="https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.1_Convention%20on%20the%20Prevention%20and%20Punishment%20of%20the%20Crime%20of%20Genocide.pdf">Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide</a>. </p>
<p>It is defined as acts committed with intent to destroy, either in part or in whole, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, including:</p>
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<li><p>killing members of the group</p></li>
<li><p>causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group</p></li>
<li><p>deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about a groups physical destruction, in whole or in part</p></li>
<li><p>imposing measures to prevent births</p></li>
<li><p>forcibly transferring children.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The Genocide Convention is designed to not only prosecute individuals and governments who committed genocide, but to prevent it from occurring.</p>
<p>Therefore, the Convention states that while genocidal acts are punishable, so too are attempts and incitement to commit genocide, regardless of whether they are successful or not.</p>
<h2>The South African case</h2>
<p>The South African government argued that Israeli forces had killed <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/14/israel-vows-not-to-stop-as-gaza-death-toll-nears-24000-on-day-100-of-war#:%7E:text=At%20least%2023%2C968%20people%20in,people%20were%20also%20taken%20captive.">23,210</a> Palestinians. Approximately 70% were believed to be women and children. </p>
<p>Crucially for the court, South Africa <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240111-ora-01-00-bi.pdf">argued</a> Israeli forces were often aware that the bombings would cause significant civilian casualties. It said many of the Palestinians were killed in Israeli declared safe zones, mosques, hospitals, schools and refugee camps. </p>
<p>Beyond the death toll, South Africa argued that there were 60,000 wounded and maimed Palestinians. The separation of families through arrest and displacement has caused large scale and likely enduring harm to civilians. South Africa highlighted the displacement of 85% of Palestinians, particularly the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-war-c8b4fc20e4fd2ef381d5edb7e9e8308c">October 13 evacuation</a> order which displaced over one million people in 24 hours.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-is-taking-israel-to-court-for-genocide-in-palestine-what-does-it-mean-for-the-war-in-gaza-220660">South Africa is taking Israel to court for genocide in Palestine. What does it mean for the war in Gaza?</a>
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<p>The South African government also alleged the Israeli attacks and the actions of its forces were preventing the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people being met. It particularly emphasised the Israeli decision to <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/16/israeli-authorities-cutting-water-leading-public-health-crisis-gaza">cut off water supply</a> to Gaza. The distribution of food, medicine and fuel were also hampered. Israeli <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/14/gaza-unlawful-israeli-hospital-strikes-worsen-health-crisis">attacks on hospitals</a> were also highlighted.</p>
<p>South Africa alleged the denial of adequate humanitarian assistance, especially medical supplies and care, amounts to the imposing of measures to prevent births. </p>
<p>Finally, South Africa focused on speeches by Israeli political leaders and soldiers advocating for the erasure of Gaza. This included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reference to the <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/oldtime-religion-netanyahu-invokes-scripture-as-hamas-fight-becomes-israels-holy-war/news-story/be3a19446c5e151e087e77b20ebdf145">biblical destruction</a> of enemies of ancient Israel and military commanders’ reference to Palestinians <a href="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/10/358170/israel-defense-minister-calls-palestinians-human-animals-amid-israeli-aggression">as “human animals”</a> that need to be eliminated. These were used as evidence of incitement to genocide.</p>
<p>If the International Court of Justice doesn’t find that Israel is committing genocidal acts, South Africa has argued the Israeli forces have demonstrated an <em>intent</em> to commit genocide, and that there should be an interim order made to stop it.</p>
<h2>The Israeli response</h2>
<p>The Israeli government rejects all of the allegations by South Africa. Israel presented its <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240112-ora-01-00-bi.pdf">arguments</a> on January 12. </p>
<p>Israel’s overall argument is that the attacks on Gaza have been directed at Hamas soldiers. It says the civilian casualties have been an unfortunate consequence of carrying out military operations in an urban environment. Accordingly, the deaths, injuries and damage are not genocidal in nature, but instead, are incidental to military action. </p>
<p>Israel has presented evidence that it is delivering food, water, medical supplies and fuel to Gaza, demonstrating the opposite of genocidal intent. The Israeli Defence Force also runs a Civilian Harm Mitigation Unit. </p>
<p>These actions, according to Israel, are “concrete measures aimed specifically at recognising the rights of the Palestinian civilians in Gaza to exist”. </p>
<p>Finally, Israel has argued that the quotes South Africa have argued display incitement to commit genocide have been taken out of context. According to Israel, the court has no grounds to find that there are acts of genocide taking place, or that there is genocidal intent. </p>
<p>At this point, the court will not decide whether Israel has committed genocide or not. Determining that will likely take several years. Instead, the court will decide whether the allegations are at the least plausible, and if so, likely order that Israel and Palestine reach an interim ceasefire, and for Israeli forces to take all necessary steps to prevent genocide. </p>
<h2>How significant is it?</h2>
<p>If the court rules in favour of South Africa, a major world power – supported by the US and much of the Western world – will have been found to have committed what has, historically, been the most notorious of crimes. </p>
<p>That said, the prospect of any ruling by the International Court of Justice having a meaningful impact on the conflict in Gaza is remote. </p>
<p>The UN and its legal institutions are powered solely by a belief the international community is respectful of international institutions and international law. The problem is when a powerful country does not believe a ruling by a United Nations body applies to them, little can be done to enforce it. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-3-months-of-devastation-in-the-israel-hamas-war-is-anyone-winning-220644">After 3 months of devastation in the Israel-Hamas war, is anyone 'winning'?</a>
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<p>The case of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/1986/jun/28/usa.marktran">Nicaragua vs the United States</a> in 1986 shows this in stark detail. The US initially indicated it would respect the decision of the court, but when the court found against the US, the US simply ignored the decision. For Israel and for its most powerful supporters, a finding against it by the court would likely be something they dispute and ultimately ignore. </p>
<h2>Where does this leave Australia?</h2>
<p>There is, however, a possibility the ruling could influence smaller powers. </p>
<p>Small to middle powers that rely on international rules to further their interests may be moved to support the cause for a ceasefire more vocally. </p>
<p>The Australian government would find itself in a particularly awkward position. </p>
<p>After all, the Australian government <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/230764-australia-backs-icj-action-against-russia-for-ukraine-invasion/">supported Ukraine’s case </a> against Russia, also about genocide. </p>
<p>It has already made a public statement <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/04/penny-wong-israel-must-listen-to-calls-for-restraint-from-its-friends-or-it-risks-gaza-conflict-spreading">calling for restraint</a> from Israel. </p>
<p>Australia would face a decision between unequivocal support for a country it sees as a partner, or support for a court it would otherwise see as a key arbiter in the international order.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221017/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dean Aszkielowicz has received funding from the Army Research Scheme. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Taucher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The International Court of Justice has heard arguments from each side of an extraordinary genocide case. What was said, and what happens now?Paul Taucher, Lecturer in History, Murdoch UniversityDean Aszkielowicz, Senior Lecturer in History and Politics, Murdoch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.