Fight for Palestinian cause goes beyond race, religion

The Palestinian issue is not new, dating back to centuries and many civilisations. The region has always been a strategic location on the crossroads of the ancient world and has always been an area witnessing struggles for power.

Among the armies that clashed for territorial control came from Persia, Rome and Mongolia. Palestine was the centre of the Crusades where the Muslim armies battled against the Crusaders.

As it was discussed by all four panellists at the forum, 100 years ago in November 1917, the Balfour Declaration was issued in the form of a letter that stated the support of the British Empire for the creation of a Jewish State in Palestine, which later became what is now known as Israel.

As the declaration is only three months away from its centenary 'celebration', one of the panellists, Zahir Birawi, chairman of the European Palestinian Forum (EuroPal) in London, expressed concern that efforts for the Palestinian cause in some countries are not inclusive.

He said the efforts in some countries were not enough to help the Palestinians liberate their homeland from the occupation because the countries were only focusing on Muslims embarking on the cause, leaving the non-Muslims out of the fight.

"The Palestinian issue is not a humanitarian issue but rather a political issue. The Palestinian struggle must be extended to all races and religions and must not seclude any voice in society.

"It must not also be advocated as a religious issue as it will hinder understanding of the Palestinian issue and support from the larger segment of society," said the Palestinian activist.

Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia (PCOM) chairman, Muslim Imran told Bernama after the forum that the Palestinian issue and suffering went beyond race and religion.

According to him, who was also a panellist at the forum, Palestinians in Palestine are made up of Muslims, Christians and Baha'is, among others, making up a very diverse society that has been suffering for a long time.

"We want the whole international community to join hands to lift this pain from the Palestinians' lives. We will never succeed unless there is a critical mass of international supporters from all over the world, across the border of religion, culture and identity.

"This had happened before in the fight against apartheid in Africa during which, discrimination in Africa was challenged across the world by people of different races and religions. We now want or hope for a similar fight to happen for Palestine," he said.

He, however, believed that the momentum in support was growing where more people of different backgrounds had joined the struggle, including Jews who disagreed with the Israeli occupation and discrimination against the Palestinians.

The one-day forum, themed 'Advocacy and Activism in the Malaysian Context', was organised by PCOM as part of its Palestinian Advocacy Week from Aug 14 to 18.It discussed the solidarity movements among international society members and its impact on the international policy decisions towards Palestine, as well as highlighting the legitimate Palestinian struggle against occupation.