US Palestine Solidarity: Reviving Original Patterns of Political Engagement
The US Palestine solidarity movement is returning to a joint struggle approach, a strategy that faded after the Oslo Accords when dominant solidarity activists focused on Palestine as a single issue. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Loubna Qutami traces this development, assesses its benefits and challenges, and recommends ways to strengthen organizing for Palestinians in the US.
Imposing Peace: Trump and the Palestinians
What does Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital mean for Palestine and the Palestinians? In a new commentary, Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Osamah Khalil traces seven decades of US policy that laid the ground for this move.
China’s New Plan for Israel-Palestine
China recently proposed a new four-point plan to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Is this a major departure along a new track that challenges US hegemony and European passivity? Or is China simply pursuing its own economic interests in the guise of peacemaker? Al-Shabaka policy analyst Zaid Shuaibi weighs in.
One Hundred Years and Counting: Britain, Balfour, and the Cultural Repression of Palestinians
The government and corporations of the United Kingdom have recently intensified efforts to censor Palestinian creative expression. Al-Shabaka Policy Member Aimee Shalan traces the roots of these attacks on Palestinian history and culture to the 1917 Balfour Declaration and offers recommendations for how civil society can bring the UK to change its approach.
The US Elections, Attacks on Activists, and a Changing Discourse
The ongoing shift in discourse in the United States has as yet had little effect on politics and none on policy, argues Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Rashid Khalidi. He discusses Israel’s attempts to close the floodgates of debate and activism that boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) tactics have forced open, as well as the dangerous Israel-Gulf alliance.
Pope Francis, American Churches, and Palestinian Rights
Pope Francis has attracted attention for his support of causes the establishment ignores, including the rights of the Palestinian people. And yet the US Catholic Church lags behind other American churches. Al-Shabaka’s Grace Said and 24445 take advantage of the Pope’s US trip to challenge his church to go further.
EU Alarmed by Israel, Frustrated by Palestine
European Union actions to put a cost to Israel’s occupation are modest, but they are putting the EU on an unstoppable collision course with Israel, writes Al-Shabaka Executive Director Nadia Hijab. But will Palestine put its house in order in a coherent strategy to fulfill Palestinian rights to freedom and justice?
Donor Complicity in Israel’s Violations of Palestinian Rights
International aid must not, legally, cause harm to those it aims to assist, but as Al-Shabaka policy member Nora Lester Murad points out, a number of donor practices may be leading to the violation of human rights. Murad outlines eight questions that must be asked about aid complicity and suggests important mechanisms for oversight of an industry that has just pledged another $5.4 billion for Gaza.
Beyond Sterile Negotiations: Looking for a Leadership with a Strategy
Given the abject failure of the Palestine Liberation Organization to secure Palestinian rights since it was established, and especially since it adopted an exclusive peace process track, Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Noura Erakat argues that it is past time to explore how a national liberation strategy can be elaborated — and who can lead it. She discusses the transnational Palestinian networks that are being formed as well as the Boycott National Committee. The former have aspirations to build political programs and authoritative leadership but are still in their early stages, while the latter has become a leading body but has deliberately opted against a political program and leadership. She explores the South Africa model, and argues for a dual approach of working for rights while at the same time actively seeking answers to the pressing need for a unified political program and leadership.
