#0202_A_View_From_West_Jerusalem

"A Victory for the Palestinian Jerusalemites:

Imbala is an Arabic word that has no direct equivalent in Hebrew. It means "in spite of that, yes" or "in spite of everything." A group of left-wing Jerusalemite activists are working to create a new cultural and social center in the city under the name Imbala. The founders asked me to lecture in this new place. After thinking about it, I chose to speak about the victories Palestinians have had against the Israeli occupation. Seemingly, a distinct oxymoron, since there is no arguing that Palestinians in general and specifically in Jerusalem have been defeated and occupied for 50 years. Their fate is not in their hands, they are without rights, they suffer from systemic deprivation, government violence, deep poverty, and a lack of leadership. And in spite of everything, I want to argue, in spite of that, yes. It is precisely the Jerusalemite Palestinians, out of all of the Palestinian groups, who have demonstrated streadfastness and honestly, they are the ones who have the power to influence the future of the two peoples.

[…]

Thus, of all the Palestinian groups, the only ones holding any keys to their future and our future are the Jerusalemite Palestinians. They hear the despair of Mahmoud Abbas' political process, and understand that the dream of Palestinian statehood with a capital in Jerusalem is fading. But as opposed to other groups, it is within their power to immediately move from a struggle for sovereignty to the struggle for equality and the demand for citizenship. In fact, this struggle is already happening on the ground, and more than Hamas' Qassam rockets or rocks being thrown in West Bank villages, this could be the place of struggle that will shape the future of Israel and Palestine."

– Ha'aretz

#Imbala #East_Jerusalemites #Struggle

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