Don’t lose hope: Many Palestinians do want peace - The Jewish Chronicle

Since the October 7 attack and the horrendous discourse that the massacre has unleashed, it has been difficult for many in the Jewish and pro-Israel communities to remain hopeful about the prospect of peace and coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. An avalanche of hateful rhetoric, coupled with intense protests, has seemingly ignored the plight of hostages still in Hamas’s captivity, and a host of academic and media-based justifications for violence as a form of “resistance” have caused many to give up hope.

Worse, the endless statements, actions, social media posts and activities by some in the “pro-Palestine” community have caused many to dismiss any support for the Palestinian cause as a vehicle for facilitating “Jew-hatred.”

Such schools of thought are ubiquitous among Jewish authors and writers, academics and activists who have grown disillusioned with the possibility that a free and independent Palestinian state could ever live next to a safe and secure Jewish Israel. We saw this, I think, in Melanie Phillips’ column last week. But such thoughts create a vicious cycle of self-fulfilling prophecies that ignore rays of hope and empathetic opportunities for common ground.

Since the October 7 massacre and the war of annihilation against Gaza, I have been sustained by different threads of hope from Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim voices and activists who are not party to the divisive and hateful “pro-Palestine” discourse. I am in regular contact with many Palestinians, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank, who vehemently oppose Hamas and the armed resistance narrative. I have spoken to Palestinian groups and Muslim mosques and associations who acknowledge the criminality of what took place on October 7. I speak to activists and academics who want to see a prosperous Palestinian cause that leads to the emancipation from Israel’s occupation and domination while also refusing Islamist ideology and political nihilism.

For 15 months, despite losing dozens of my immediate and extended family members to Israeli bombardment that killed tiny children and destroyed both of my childhood homes in the Gaza Strip, where I grew up, I have been inspired by Palestinian voices in Gaza and the diaspora who acknowledge the toxicity of the current discourse and the need for radical empathy and pragmatism when it comes to engaging Jewish and Israeli audiences.

I am acknowledging those who support the Palestinian cause and reject all forms of antisemitism and hate. I am referencing those who acknowledge that Israel is here to stay and will never be erased, necessitating a realistic path forward based on the two-nation solution to guarantee the mutually inclusive rights of both peoples in the holy land. I am talking about Arab and Muslim officials in the Middle East and beyond who describe their sincere desire for the war in Gaza to end, Hamas’s rule over Palestinians to be terminated, and the prospects for a Palestinian state rejuvenated to solve this conflict once and for all.

Many of these voices, which are plentiful and exist all over, are smothered, intimidated and forced into silence by the loudmouths who promulgate unhelpful entrenched narratives and demand obedience to a singular anti-Israel worldview, lest one be called “a Zionist sell-out” or traitor. The number of people who privately and regularly share with me how much they appreciate my voice and thank me for saying what they know is true but can’t say so publicly has been one of the few causes of hope to sustain my advocacy and public engagement efforts since October 7.

Jewish and pro-Israel advocates need to acknowledge that the Palestinians are not monolithic: the cause has been hijacked by extremists.

Jewish, Zionist, Israeli and pro-Israel allies have a significant role to play in creating space for moderate and pragmatic Palestinian, Arab and Muslim voices to promulgate a new third narrative to promote meaningful prospects for peace and coexistence. This requires acknowledging the legitimacy of Palestinian suffering, entirely independent of Hamas’s criminality and the vileness of some of the “pro-Palestine” activists who have dehumanised the Jewish community and promoted marratives that help no one.

It also necessitates avoiding gross generalisations and the dismissal of all Palestinians and their cause as being inherently antisemitic or at odds with Israeli’s existence. It is important to acknowledge that what has been taking place in Gaza at the hands of the current Israeli government and military has been horrendous on every conceivable level, even if one holds Hamas responsible for initiating this war and continuing to hold Israeli hostages. Multiple things can be true, and the only pathway out of polarisation needs multi-dimensional thinking that rejects black-and-white approaches which have harmed Jews and Israelis just as they have harmed Palestinians and Muslims.

I urge the Jewish diaspora to guard against overly simplistic views that demonise all Palestinians or dismiss the entirety of the Palestinian cause as a vehicle for hatred. The Palestinian people, like any other, deserve to live in freedom and independence, just as Jewish-Israelis deserve to live in safety and security, and just as the Jewish community in the diaspora deserve to live free of hatred and intimidation from hatred.

Pragmatic and pro-peace Palestinian, Arab and Muslim voices are ubiquitous, even though many are suppressed. I have been on a mission to normalise a new discourse among the pro-Palestine community that acknowledges multiple truths, rejects violence, promotes peace and coexistence and celebrates engagement and dialogue over divisiveness and boycotts.

There must be hope for a new and rejuvenated Palestinian cause: Jewish and pro-Israel allies will be vital in making this a reality.

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib is a Palestinian commentator, analyst, and advocate who grew up in Gaza City and is a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC

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Palestine