The words used to portray the Palestinian-Israeli conflict deeply influences how one sees it. I review a number of contentious words today in an article titled "Palestinian Word Games" and wish to give special attention to the insidious term pro-Palestinian that routinely gets hauled out for anti-Israel statements, anti-Israel organizations, and anti-Israel rallies.
Obviously, anyone who encourages Palestinians in their rejectionism has not their best interests in mind but hopes to use them as pawns in the effort to damage Israel. Doing harm to Israelis does not translate into helping Palestinians.
For example, consider the Palestine refugees from the war of 1948-49. Unlike all the other 100 million or so refugees of the 1940s (including both my parents), they have resisted settling in their places of refuge and instead, generation after generation, insist on returning to their familial place of origin. Maintaining Palestinians in a stagnant refugee status through six decades and several generations serves the anti-Israel cause by keeping them in amber, posed as a dagger at Israel's throat. Exploiting Palestinians as a weapon against Israel counts far more than their own welfare.
With rare exceptions, then, the term anti-Israel should replaced pro-Palestinian. (January 4, 2005)
Jan. 8, 2023 update: Eric Rozenman makes this point at "'Pro-Palestinian' Means No Such Thing." An excerpt:
Ever attend a rally or lecture advocating improved standards of living or civil rights for Palestinian Arabs under jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank? On behalf of those repressed by the Hamas Islamic theocracy in Gaza? Or those subject to the authoritarian governments of neighboring Arab countries? Me neither.
Such pro-Palestinian events don't happen. Instead, events ballyhooed as pro-Palestinian can be described accurately as anti-Israel. ... A genuine pro-Palestinian rally or U.N. resolution would call for liberation of Palestinian Arabs from their Palestinian tyrants. Until then, it's the old anti-Israel vaudeville.
Mar. 27, 2023 update: Bassam Tawil echoes this argument at "The Real Meaning Of 'Pro-Palestinian'." An excerpt:
The "pro-Palestinian" activists on campuses have again proven that all they have to offer is hatred toward Israel. The real "pro-Palestinian" advocates are those who want to see a good life for the Palestinians, not those who encourage them to embrace terror groups.
Oct. 31, 2023 update: "Stop Calling Them 'Pro-Palestine' Rallies" writes A.J. Caschetta. An excerpt:
It's impossible to examine the photo and video evidence taken at the "pro-Palestine" rallies and conclude that they are anything other than pro-Hamas, anti-Israel rallies, brimming with a carnival atmosphere not unlike the Nürnberg rallies of the 1930s.
Apr. 16, 2024 update: "No, the people disrupting traffic Monday are not 'pro-Palestine'" argues Elder of Ziyon. An excerpt:
If they were "pro-Palestinian," they would protest how terribly Lebanon treats its Palestinian "guests."
If they were "pro-Palestinian," they would protest how Egypt doesn't let any Gazans desperate to leave to enter Egypt without paying hefty bribes.
If they were "pro-Palestinian," they would have protested how Syria besieged and starved Palestinians at Yarmouk camp.
If they were "pro-Palestinian," they would protest Palestinian laws that are officially anti-women and anti-gay.
Apr. 17, 2024 update: Hugh Fitzgerald endorses the Elder of Ziyon argument at "The Protestors are Not 'Pro-Palestinian'."
July 31, 2024 update: Justin Amler writes in the Jerusalem Post that "'Pro-Palestinian protests' are actually the opposite." An excerpt:
When protestors fill the streets of major cities, wearing their keffiyehs, waving Palestinian flags and chanting the genocidal slogan, "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free," you can be certain they are not actually motivated by their compassion for Palestinians. We know this because they've shown none unless Israel is blamed. Such selective outrage demonstrates they are actually motivated by burning hatred of the State of Israel - and, by extension, the values of Western countries.
Oct. 7, 2024 update: Daniel Greenfield writes scathingly how "Media rebrands Oct. 7 terror celebrations 'pro-Palestinian rallies'."
Comment: It's good to see the emerging consensus on this issue. Now, will the mainstream media wake up to it?
Jan. 2, 2025 update: Twenty years after my initial analysis here, Khaled Abu Toameh adds his eloquent voice to make the case for "How 'Pro-Palestinian' Protestors Actually Harm Palestinians." An excerpt:
Foreign journalists covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict tend to look the other way when Palestinians complain about the oppression at the hands of the PA and Hamas. These journalists appear to be busy searching exclusively for any story that will reflect negatively on Israel. They are only interested in stories if they have an anti-Israeli angle. One has to ask, are the protesters really pro-Palestinian or are they just looking for a "respectable," politically correct, way to vent a loathing for Jews?
