The Arab American Studies Association condemns Israel’s violence against Palestinians, most recently in Sheikh Jarrah, the al-Aqsa Mosque, and Gaza. In the face of such violence, there are no words — only outrage and action. The urgency of events in Sheikh Jarrah demonstrates the long legacy of ethnic cleansing and settler colonialism in Palestine, carried out by Israel with impunity for decades through violent strategies of dispossession, including illegally demolishing homes while seizing land and property, that result in forcible removal of people from their homes. We call for an end to unconditional US aid to Israel and to the financial and political support for these illegal and genocidal actions.
Israel’s violent repression happening in Palestine now is not a new development: rather, it is a continuation of a longer settler colonialist Zionist movement that began in the late 1800s and crescendoed in the Nakba of 1948. The catastrophe and displacement of Palestinians continues now in Israel’s attempts to forcibly remove Sheikh Jarrah residents, which reflects long-term and ongoing policies of forcibly dispossessing Palestinians of their land. In its endeavors to justify the illegal and violent displacement of Palestinians, Israel hides behind the guise of security. Meanwhile, Israeli police use weapons of war against worshippers in al-Aqsa mosque and deploy skunk water, tear gas, and stun grenades in Sheikh Jarrah and inside al-Aqsa mosque. This disproportionate use of military force in Jerusalem also extends to Gaza, where Israel is reviving a deadly campaign of indiscriminately bombing civilians confined to Gaza.
This week’s violence can be understood in the larger context of apartheid, as recognized by Human Rights Watch, and though the “threshold” was “crossed” long ago, that context permeates all aspects of life for Palestinians. The current violence is playing out within the context of a global pandemic and the rampant spread of COVID-19 in occupied Palestine. According to the World Health Organization, only 6% of 5 million Palestinians living under Israeli occupation have been vaccinated. While Israel controls occupied Palestine, it practices vaccine apartheid by ignoring the Fourth Geneva Convention and refusing to ensure swift and equitable access to Palestinians living under occupation.
There are no words. And yet, as scholars of Arab American studies — a field that is aligned with critical ethnic studies and critical SWANA studies — we intimately know how words are linked to action, how words used to justify or obfuscate imperialist military action outside the US similarly fuel anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism in the US. This is no time for words like “balance” and “conflict,” which imply a dispute between equivalent parties. There are no words to adequately represent the violent injustices under a brutal military occupation that continue to unfold while the US remains silent and complicit. And though there are no words, we are not speechless. Despite rampant censorship on social media, we will not be silent. In place of violent repression on the one hand and silence on the other, we call on the United States government to end its support for apartheid policies in Israel and everywhere.
May 12, 2021
