Re: <nettime> nettime-l Digest, Vol 4, Issue 19

[Gebhard Sengmüller via nettime-l <nettime-l@lists.nettime.org>]

It would indeed be a gross misrepresentation to say that Palestinian refugees deliberately choose to stay in camps for reasons of propaganda, if that’s what you’re implying. And I’m aware of the terrible injustices inflicted on Palestinians by the state of Israel and its predecessors in 1948 and 1967, and their terrible situation now. But what  I don’t see is that (Trans)Jordan, Lebanon (ok, not an „Arab nation“), Syria, Fatah and Hamas have been acting in the best interest of Palestinian refugees in their respective camps for the last 70+ years. Especially not in the interest of the individual humans in the camps, as opposed to the interest of „the Palestinians“ as an ethnicity, nation or people. Thus the „pawn“ comment. I’m obviously not an expert on the subject, but how else would you explain the overall terrible treatment of Palestinians in those and other countries throughout the Middle East, low rates of Palestinians getting citizenships in those countries etc. How is it possible that after 70+ years all 68 of the camps established after '48 and ’67 still exist? Is that only Israel’s or the UNRWA’s fault?


> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2023 08:05:34 -0400
> From: Keith Sanborn <mrzero@panix.com>
> To: "<nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
> 	collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets"
> 	<nettime-l@lists.nettime.org>
> Subject: Re: <nettime> nettime-l Digest, Vol 4, Issue 18
> Message-ID: <9CCC1D46-E450-4467-B35B-364BD82B8FE6@panix.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
> 
> The notion that Palestinians remain in ?camps? to promote anti-imperialist rhetoric is a gross misrepresentation. 
> 
>> On Oct 12, 2023, at 7:16 AM, Gebhard Sengm?ller via nettime-l <nettime-l@lists.nettime.org> wrote:
>> 
>> ?I agree. The role of Palestinians as pawns in the hands of Arab nations seems to be largely excluded from the left?s ?imperialism? discourse on the topic. Doesn?t make a difference for suffering civilians now of course, but just try imagine other countries in similar predicaments acting like this.
>> 
>>> 
>>> 1. Re: silence on Palestine? (Rahul Goswami)
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> 
>>> Message: 1
>>> Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2023 11:31:29 +0530
>>> From: Rahul Goswami <makanaka@pobox.com>
>>> To: nettime-l@lists.nettime.org
>>> Subject: Re: <nettime> silence on Palestine?
>>> Message-ID: <a752f7a8-a77d-4e26-ad66-307086b92179@pobox.com>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I present a few points here to bring balance to the subject:
>>> 
>>> 1. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181, 
>>> known as the Partition Plan. Acceptance of the Partition Plan would have 
>>> meant the establishment of two states, but the surrounding Arab 
>>> countries and the local Arab population vehemently rejected the proposal.
>>> 
>>> 2. After the May 1948 war, Israel (other Western countries too) 
>>> immediately absorbed Jewish refugees. Palestinian refugees were placed 
>>> in camps and kept there generation after generation as a matter of Arab 
>>> policy. Israel withdrew entirely from Gaza in 2005, but there are still 
>>> eight UN-run refugee camps there. Why should there be? Gaza is 
>>> completely under Palestinian control. But dismantling the camps would 
>>> mean removing symbols of Palestinian ?resistance?.
>>> 
>>> 3. During the 1990-91 Gulf War, Kuwait expelled over 300,000 
>>> Palestinians working in the country when Yasser Arafat supported Saddam 
>>> Hussein. The Palestinians were seen as a likely fifth column. There was 
>>> scant objection from other Arab countries, or pro-Palestine voices in 
>>> the West, about the expulsion.
>>> 
>>> Rahul Goswami

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