Gaza plays its part in Europe’s political earthquakes
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Much has been written about this month’s political earthquakes in the UK and France, the former resulting in the crushing defeat of the Conservative Party and the latter in the overpowering of the far right by a leftist coalition. But these were not the only important outcomes of the general elections in two of Europe’s most influential countries.
One other important, if not unprecedented, outcome was the centrality of the Palestinian cause to the political discourses in London and Paris. This is a reflection of the great changes that are underway on the entire European continent and its body politic.
For a long time, we have been told that outward advocacy of Palestinian rights is a lost political cause in Europe, where Israel holds a special status due to the West's historical role in creating, sustaining and defending Israel. This affinity was cemented by more than mere political traditions. In countries like the US — but also the UK and France — the pro-Israel lobby has played the role of a powerful constituency. Using money, media influence and alliances with influential political and religious circles, it has often determined the future of politicians.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is an illustration of the power of the lobby. Each US election cycle is associated with stories that demonstrate the disproportionate political power wielded by AIPAC. The latest example was last month’s Democratic primary defeat of progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a New York congressman who was unseated by a pro-Israel candidate. It is believed that AIPAC spent a whopping $15 million in its campaign to have Bowman replaced.
However, the support of the lobby no longer offers a guarantee of political success. This is due to the growing awareness among ordinary Americans of the Palestinian struggle for freedom, the successful counterstrategies of some progressives and the changing political demographics of the Democratic Party.
The Israeli war of “extermination” in Gaza, as per the words of International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, has made the cause of Palestinian freedom a global one. No amount of media disinformation or lobby money can help Israel redeem its tarnished image. Many Israelis have also reached that conclusion.
The horrific war, the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and the global solidarity efforts have all pushed governments around the world to adopt stronger stances in support of Palestine. The recent volley of recognitions of a Palestinian state attests to this claim.
Moreover, the rising power of the Palestinian political brand has recently allowed countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway and Slovenia to defy the US position, which discourages the recognition of Palestine outside the realm of the so-called peace process.
The political discourses associated with the recent decisions are as important as the recognitions themselves. Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez linked Madrid’s decision to the “legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.” The country’s deputy prime minister, Yolanda Diaz, went further on May 23, when she said that Madrid “will continue pressuring … to defend human rights and put an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people,” before signing off her statement by declaring: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
For the left in France, supporting the Palestinian cause during the election was one of the secrets to its success.
Dr. Ramzy Baroud
If such an attitude were confined to a single country, that state would be seen as the “radical” exception. But Spain is only one example.
Even before the official results of the French election were declared, the president of the France Unbowed parliamentary bloc, Mathilde Panot, had stated that the winning alliance would seek to recognize the state of Palestine within two weeks. What was particularly interesting about Panot’s declaration was that she did not consider the recognition of Palestine to be a symbolic gesture, but rather “one of the available means for us to exert pressure (on Israel).”
For the left in France, supporting the Palestinian cause was not a liability during the hotly contested election. It was one of the secrets to its success. Despite the right and far-right parties’ relentless attempts to stain the left over its stance on the Gaza war, they failed miserably.
A somewhat similar scenario was repeated in Britain. The Conservatives’ hardcore support for Israel proved worthless, if not a disadvantage. Even some pro-Israel members of the victorious Labour Party were beaten by independent candidates, mainly because of their positions on the war on Gaza. One of the victorious independents, Adnan Hussain, who defeated Labour’s Kate Hollern in Blackburn, promised voters he would “make your concerns against the injustice being inflicted against the people of Gaza be heard in the places where our so-called representatives failed.”
The political shift in Europe to a pro-Palestine position, or at least a less emphatically pro-Israel position, is happening at a much faster rate than anyone had hoped for or anticipated. Though the Gaza war has played a big part in this, the shift is expected to grow in the coming years because European voters are clearly fed up with their governments’ blind support of Israel.
The people are using their democratic systems to effect real changes in government, thus their policies, with the aim of ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Responsible governments, like those in Spain, Norway and Ireland, are responding to the wishes of their people accordingly. Others, including the US, should follow suit.
• Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and author. He is editor of The Palestine Chronicle and nonresident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappe, is “Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out.”
X: @RamzyBaroud
