“One day you will wake up and ask, ‘What the fuck am I doing?’”
Ramallah, West Bank, 24th August 1995- security agents with order from Yasir Arafat ban the sale of his books under the pretext of a lengthy list of human right abuses by the Palestine Authority (PA).
Such an event was only one of many instances when Said found himself censored, threatened, and misinterpreted which would continue throughout the rest of his life. Edward Said, the author of The Question of Palestine (1979) was also a Palestinian American academic, political activist and literary critic who played a crucial and unique role in the contemporary national movement of Palestine.
With the current mass genocide and massacre being carried out by Israel on Palestine with indiscriminate airstrikes that has killed over 25,000 civilians and children, and programmed ethnic cleansing of Gaza, Said’s The Question of Palestine cannot be truer in its irony-
“vastly, vastly greater amount of violence wreaked upon us by Israel” which has been justified as “self-defense”.
“For the Israelis, there’s always this tendency to think of us as aliens and therefore the fewer of us around the better, and the best are those you don’t see at all… What’s so extraordinary is what the Israelis are now doing on the West Bank and Gaza is really repeating the experience of apartheid and what the United States did to the Native Americans. Put them in reservations or just exterminate them…”
Said was unlike any of his contemporaries who were spurred into the life of activism by the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) in 1948. He was born in Jerusalem to a family of entrepreneurs with strong ties with Egypt and Lebanon which later helped them evade some of the worst depredations to be ever inflicted on the Palestinian people.
His relationship with Palestinian politics and leadership was complex and dynamic- it went through various phases of change throughout his life. Although he never joined any political movement, he was a member of the Palestine National Council between 1977 and 1991.
Said’s The Question of Palestine originally intended to acquaint a Western audience with the realities of Palestinian history and the legitimacy of Palestinian national aspirations, remains the most impactful declaration in favor of a two-state settlement to date. Not only did it result in the author facing criticism from Palestinian radicals, but it also triggered a coordinated and increasingly crude campaign against his scholarship and character by pro-Israel intellectuals and activists, a campaign that persists even after his passing. Moreover, for Arab intellectuals seeking approval in Washington’s corridors of power, vehement condemnations of Said’s “pernicious influence” became a customary practice. Threats against his life, originating from both Arab and primarily Zionist circles, became routine occurrences that were casually disregarded."
Israel's recent actions against Palestine following Hamas' attack indicate that Said's forecast of peaceful coexistence between the two peoples being unattainable holds true in the current circumstances. And the fact that Said recognized this crux of the situation while sending a message of reconciliation makes this book a must read despite constant censorship faced by the author.
The importance and relevance of Said’s The Question remains in his exposition of the orientalist “mentality” and its devastating application on Palestine by Zionists and imperialists alike. Said is very clear in his argument in The Question being “the contest between an affirmation and a denial. It delves into the realms of the effect of Zionism on its victims, and the constant struggle of Palestinians to survive and develop a collective, national, and detailed consciousness of themselves as well as the victimizer.
In the age of misinformation and propaganda, it is becoming increasingly difficult to gather authentic information and knowledge about events and incidents to build a solid knowledge base on the Palestine and its struggle to self-determination. To add to it, the compliancy of the Arab world that allows Israel to continue its manslaughter- Edward Said’s The Question of Palestine emerges as insightful and provides through knowledge of imperialism and Zionism. Said also explores the triangular relationship that exists between the U.S., Israel, and Palestine; the role of public opinion of the Western countries; the liberal-Zionist paradox; and the class dimension of the Palestinians. He states that fractioned armed rebellion in groups will not bring any form of solution for Palestine. He cites examples of apartheid in South Africa and the national freedom movement of India where the mass participated in an organized and strategic manner to bring freedom to their land.
To sum-up, when the question is about rising against censorship, freedom and fundamentality of human rights and its constant and deliberate violation, Said stands in the history of time as a torch bearer for Palestinians and for every individual worldwide to educate themselves and become a collective voice that will lead to the long-conceived dream of a free Palestine.
The Question of Palestine by Edward Said is a must-read to understand the long and troubled history of Palestine and Israel and why it is important to take sides as mankind is witnessing another genocide unfolding in front of our eyes. It is a dire necessity for every individual to resist all forms of censorship and preserve the fundamental human rights which begins at the stopping Palestinians as “others”.