Like many popular struggles for liberation throughout history, the Palestinian fight against Israeli apartheid is defined by a confrontation between two distinct sides: oppressor and oppressed. Yet, like in almost every other instance — from the South African anti-apartheid movement to Algerian resistance to French colonialism — some individuals from within the ruling side have blurred this divide, choosing to oppose the mechanisms of domination and disassociate themselves from the actions of their own society.
This recurring phenomenon has consistently forced liberation movements to address difficult questions: Should they embrace dissenting voices from the oppressor’s camp or regard them with suspicion? Does active solidarity from the other side strengthen their movement or risk undermining it?
Today, the approximately 7 million Jews and 7 million Palestinians who live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea are effectively under total Israeli control. While all of Israel’s Jewish residents, including settlers in the West Bank, enjoy full rights as citizens, Palestinians are divided into several categories — all inferior in status to Israeli Jews by varying degrees. …..more
