It is only natural to be opposed to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. It is human to take action in support of Palestine and Palestinians: protests, letter-writing, boycotts, social media engagement, etc.
In all of that, it should be just as obvious that stalking people, shoving cameras into their faces - even after they have stated that they do not want to be filmed, and exposing their identities and thus putting their safety at risk, is entirely unacceptable.
Yet this is precisely how Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada, in conjunction with anonymous Jerusalemite blogger Zalameh, has been doing. I wash my hands of Mr Abunimah, whom I used to respect, and of any EI writings which are his.*
I condemn in the strongest possible terms what Mr Abunimah and Mr Zalameh are doing to my beloved siblings.
-Freedom to Be
END EDIT
Various folk are continuing the name and shame enterprise, threatening the safety of my Muslim siblings who are in the Holy Land to learn and participate in an information and experiential exchange.
Disclaimer Section
* I am pro-Palestinian.
* I have engaged in Pro-Palestinian rallies.
* I boycott.
* I have attended pro-Palestinian lectures.
End Disclaimer Section
It is sad that I would need a disclaimer section like that. What is even more sad are these efforts to publicly air the faces, voices, and names of people who need their privacy protected. These are not CEOs of multinational corporations. They are not multi-millionaires who donate lavishly to Israel's occupation of Palestine. In fact, they regularly condemn Israel's policies against Palestine.
Travelling to Palestine and Israel, meeting with Israelis and Palestinians, challenging and being challenged - these are not war crimes. This is not Netanyahu strutting at Aqsa. It is not Caterpillar dropping off another shipment of bulldozers. It is not Motorola selling surveillance technology to the Israeli military.
These are my siblings - and yours - striving to carve another path of peace. My love is with them. So is my unblinking support.
Image below for Facebook visibility purposes. Snagged from Wikipedia.
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