SAO PAULO: Last week’s Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp has sparked a fierce social media battle in Latin America.
The largest Israeli attack in the occupied West Bank in two decades, which involved at least 1,000 soldiers with air support, resulted in 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier killed, dozens of people injured and 3,000 Palestinian civilians displaced.
A pro-Israel propaganda campaign on Latin American social media has been met with fierce resistance, said historian Sayid Marcos Tenorio, vice president of the Brazil-Palestine Institute.
“Israel usually invests in promoting social media publications during such military aggressions. The somewhat surprising part is that now numerous Latin Americans showed their indignation and criticized on social media the Israeli allegations,” he told Arab News.
Direct communication between victims in Jenin and activists in Latin America via social media amplified the dissemination of reports and photos of the attack in the region, “bypassing the control established by the big press groups over information,” activist Yasser Fayad told Arab News.
“The pictures and videos that continuously arrived from Jenin were pretty impressive. Nobody can control such an influx of information,” he added.
“Zionists try to manipulate the situation and associate all Palestinians with terrorism, but people don’t believe them anymore. Their aggressions unmask to the whole world their colonialist violence.”
Great media conglomerates in Latin America have historically sided with Israel, and were able to influence vast social segments.
But during the operation in Jenin, many in the audience repudiated TV analysts who were propagating Israel’s views, Tenorio said.
“I received many comments from people tired of seeing Palestinians being called terrorists and angry about the unbalanced media coverage of the operation,” he added. Such criticism was also visible on social media.
Radio show host Fernando Isas, an Argentinian-born son of Palestinian immigrants who live near Buenos Aires, told Arab News that pro-Palestine cultural centers have been playing an important role in educating Latin Americans about the situation.
“Such cultural initiatives draw people who aren’t necessarily involved in political activism. Through the arts, they end up learning about Palestine and developing a personal identification with it despite their non-Palestinian ancestry,” he said.
The fact that many young Palestinian militants gathered in Jenin and were able to present tactical challenges to the Israeli forces also galvanized support among people outside the Middle East, Isas added.
“The videos of the concrete resistance organized by those young combatants in Jenin went viral in Latin America,” he said.
Eduardo Rivas, general coordinator of the University Committee of Solidarity with the Palestinian People at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, told Arab News that although Mexicans are preoccupied with their country’s domestic problems, “now most people know that the Palestinians are victims of injustice.”
He added: “Information comes without TV control now. Most Mexicans know that Israel is the aggressor and that many lies are told to them regarding the Palestinians.”
On July 8, groups of activists promoted a cultural event in Mexico City and denounced the Jenin assault, Rivas said.
In-person activities also took place in Chile and Brazil. During an event in Sao Paulo, a student committee to show solidarity with the Palestinian people was relaunched at the University of Sao Paulo after a period of inactivity.
In the Chilean city of Valparaiso, pro-Palestinian organizations gathered in La Victoria Square on July 6 and demonstrated against the Israeli assault.
One of the protest organizers, theater artist Alejandra Saez, told Arab News that information was transmitted in real time to her and her colleagues by their acquaintances in Jenin, allowing them to intensify online condemnation and raise awareness among Chileans.
Saez took part in an art residency at the Freedom Theatre in Jenin in 2022, and learned about the plight of the Palestinians. When she returned to Chile, she presented a theatrical play about life in Jenin.
In January 2023, the Freedom Theatre’s artistic director, Ahmed Tobasi, traveled to Chile and offered theater workshops in different cities alongside Saez.
“Many people had the opportunity to learn about Jenin and Palestine during the workshops,” said Saez. “Those people were now following events in the West Bank with great concern.”
The theater’s social media accounts included footage of Israeli attacks on civilians and even on the building where the theater is located.
The protest in Valparaiso included people who were drawn to support the Palestinian cause after taking part in cultural activities promoted by Saez’s group, she said.
Tenorio said the involvement of more people with the Palestinian cause in Latin America is also a consequence of the current geopolitical context in the region.
“With President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s election in Brazil, our struggle was greatly strengthened,” Tenorio said.
“He has been mentioning the Palestinian problem in every international forum in which he took part.”
Lula’s stance is shared by other regional leaders such as Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Chilean President Gabriel Boric.
“Latin America, like Palestine, has suffered under colonial rulers for many years. It’s only natural for us to identify with the Palestinians’ plight,” Tenorio said.
