obama and the palestinian dream...

Last Sunday afternoon, I sat at home watching the 'We Are One' Obama Inaugural Celebration concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Irish rock band U2 took the stage and suddenly, in the midst of a tribute to Martin Luther King, lead singer Bono departed from script to suggest that Dr. King’s dream was not only an American dream but also an Irish, European, African and Israeli dream. He paused briefly, before adding, with certain emphasis, “It is also a Palestinian dream!” With the sound of Israeli gunfire and Palestinian screams still ringing in the air, and the President-Elect sitting attentively in the audience, Bono’s words were both poignant and powerful.

Shortly before noon on December 27, as children returned home from school and crowds milled around the busy streets, the massacre of innocent and defenseless Palestinians began. After 22 days of pounding Gaza with bombs and missiles, tanks and mortars, ground troops and sniper fire; after 22 days of horror for the people of Gaza who saw their schools destroyed and their children murdered and maimed; after 22 days which took the lives of at least 1,200 Palestinians, including 350 children and wounded another 5,200; after 22 days that left 26,000 Gazans homeless, damaged 20,000 residential buildings and destroyed much of Gaza's already-battered infrastructure, Israel declared a "unilateral ceasefire." The next day, Hamas also agreed to end its rocket attacks into Israel.

The current cessation of violence followed an earlier ceasefire that broke down on November 4 when Israeli soldiers launched a raid on Gaza, leading to the death of six Palestinians and a retaliatory barrage of rockets. Soon after that ceasefire expired, Israel began its brutal siege on the occupied territory. Despite the official pretext given by the Israeli government, namely that Israel reserved the right to defend itself from ongoing rocket attacks, it is clear that by violating the ceasefire and provoking Hamas, Israel intended to deter diplomacy in order to wage its war. To be sure, the objective of the invasion was not simply to reduce rocket attacks. Israel knew that it could not destroy most of the rockets or rocket-capabilities without seriously weakening and destabilizing the territory’s democratically elected government. (Reports that Israel began planning six months prior to the invasion further confirm the extent of the operation.) The meticulous planning also presumably included the timing of the latest ceasefire, approved only days before the transfer of power in the White House, so as to minimize the threat that President Obama might have a harsh word to say concerning these vicious US-supported crimes. Which brings us back to events in Washington.

The concerts and celebrations culminated with the President’s much-anticipated inaugural address, in which Obama set out his vision for remaking America. In his speech, he referred to many of the great principles that Americans eagerly embrace: peace, equality and, of course, freedom. He then turned to the world and proclaimed that the US is “a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity.” And yet, throughout the entire massacre in Gaza, Obama remained noticeably silent. What, then, of the Palestinian man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace from an aggressive and illegal occupying force, and the dignity to determine the course of his or her life? What of the equal treatment, value and consideration of Palestinians? What of their freedom to move freely, to health care, to receive an education or to feed their families? These are questions raised by the collective punishment imposed upon a population living under occupation. As its closest ally, the US government has willingly provided Israel with the considerable political, economic and military means required to carry out its sustained assault against the Palestinian people for over four decades. For nearly as long, the US has joined Israel—almost exclusively—in rejecting an international consensus for a two-state settlement. As the ultimate authority in American foreign policy, Obama could honour his pledge to defeat “those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents,” if only he would stop supporting them. // op-ed written for MIT 3901G, 01.22.09