Opinion: Thoughts on Germany and Palestine

Human Rights Web - Mazin Qumsiyeh - The conference in Stuttgart about Palestine was themed "Separated in the past, together in the future", was sold-out, and had some high powered speakers and lots of energy. We listened, spoke, networked, bought each others books, ate, hugged, cried, and laughed.

...Not in my name is the message that a brilliant Jewish German woman (Evelyn Hecht-Galinski) gave in her speech. Her clarion voice echoed those of prophets speaking to decadent kings of the past articulating in passionate moral clarity what horror awaits if they stay their destructive course. As human beings, we cannot choose to stand on the side line while a grave injustice is being committed. We cannot stand by and watch as Western governments succumb to lobbies and send weapons and money that are used to commit horrific crimes. As citizens of those countries we cannot be silent. I listen to Evelyn's words (translated from German to English) and to the tone of her strong voice and determined looks that penetrate to the hearts of a mesmerized audience. I think this is what decency and courage look like.

...I listen to my friend Dr. Haidar Eid describe life in Gaza and could only think about the absurdity that he is less than two-hour drive from where I am but that I could only get to meet him face to face for the first time thousands of kilometers away in Stuttgart, Germany of all places. It is not fair that he is imprisoned in the concentration camp with 1.5 million prisoners whose only crime is that they are not Jewish and as such were ethnically cleansed and occupied. Haidar's years in South Africa gave him the ability to really understand similarities and differences of our "hafrada" (Hebrew for segregation) with "Apartheid" (Afrikaaner for segregation). Ali Abunimah's articulate description of where we are with the BDS movement and the media struggle in the US complements nicely our talks about life and struggle in Palestine. Read more