BDS: Discussing Difficult Issues in a Fast-Growing Movement
Beyond the headlines of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) challenge to Israel, there is continuous debate as the movement matures. What other strategies do Palestinians need? Are comparisons with South Africa appropriate? What about problems with international law? What of gray areas around normalization? Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor and BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti addresses these and more.
Which Jerusalem? Israel’s Little-Known Master Plans
Jerusalem 2050: A largely-Jewish high-tech tourist destination with a minimal Palestinian presence. This is Israel’s vision of the city, and it is being implemented through three master plans – two of which are relatively unknown. Al-Shabaka Policy Fellow Nur Arafeh provides a succinct analysis of all three plans and the ways in which Palestinians can rebut them.
How Palestinian Hunger Strikes Counter Israel’s Monopoly on Violence
Palestinian prisoners on hunger strikes exert violence against their bodies yet win back the capacity for independent action that Israel seeks to deny them. Al-Shabaka Policy Member Basil Farraj situates the current hunger strikes in Palestinian and world history, as well as Israel’s use of prison to control the population, having imprisoned nearly 40% of Palestinian males since 1967.
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.
Israel’s Dangerous New Transfer Tactic in Jerusalem
Israel exploits temporary crises to promote permanent measures that it uses to create new refugees and internally displaced Palestinians. Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Munir Nuseibah discusses the cases and events used as precedents since the 1990s, and zeroes in on the latest effort to dispossess Palestinians accused of a breach of allegiance to Israel.
Understanding ISIS’s Palestine Propaganda
How do Salafi-jihadi groups like ISIS exploit the question of Palestine in their rhetoric? Al- Shabaka Policy Member 24556 addresses this issue based on an analysis of ISIS statements on Gaza, Jerusalem, and other recurring themes in 2015 and calls on Palestinians to act so as to prevent the appropriation of their narrative.
Palestinian Political Disintegration, Culture, and National Identity
Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Jamil Hilal reflects on the vibrancy of Palestinian culture and its role in nurturing identity at a time of severe political disarray. He highlights the experience of the Palestinian citizens of Israel in sustaining culture and identity while under threat and identifies some of the principles needed to rebuild a national movement.
Why It’s Dangerous to Conflate Hamas and Daesh
Israel and some Arab states have been tarring Hamas and Daesh with the same brush despite key differences and, indeed, enmity. Al-Shabaka Policy Member Belal Shobaki shows how Hamas differs from Daesh in jurisprudence, the nature of the state, and relations with other religions. He cautions that excluding moderate Islamists could drive some to embrace extremism.
Reflections on Palestinian Strategy
The reason Palestinians face a bleak political situation is due in large part to the absence of strategic thinking, argues Al-Shabaka Policy Member Amal Ahmad. She reflects on the need for strategies that confront Israel’s ultimate vision and directly target the weak points in its armor to avoid ineffective efforts or unwanted results.
