Indigenous Solidarity with Palestine

by Ellen Gabriel

Credit: Malia Osorio

For the past year we have witnessed the cyclical wheel of history repeating itself. The atrocities of WWII have been repeated as we witness the horrors of the first ever live streamed genocide of Palestinians.  

The people of the world protesting in the streets have been the only responsible ones in protecting human rights, peace and the struggle against imperialism that has fostered the genocide in Gaza.  

While UN member states have a legal obligation to uphold and protect human rights, what we have witnessed in the past year is instead the application of a double standard with respect to human rights between those whose lives are grievable and those un-grievable. As Judith Butler  states “we cannot grieve for those lost lives that we never saw as lives to begin.”  Israeli leaders’ reference to Palestinians as ‘human animals’ reflect this dehumanization of life, emphasizing the viciousness behind the minds committing this genocide.

The political rhetoric of ‘the right to self-defense” is false and unjustified. An occupier cannot use force against the people they occupy.  And human rights are not up for negotiation.  Yet, IOF soldiers and their political leaders have provided enough evidence in their public statements and videos which demonstrate their intent to commit genocide against the Palestinians. Their actions —-: unrestrained killing of innocents, 70% of whom are women and children, and the destruction of lives with impunity. As the Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, stated in one of her UN press conferences, there are no more laws to violate for they have all been broken.  There are no more words to condemn these crimes against humanity.

As the UN Charter states in its first preambular paragraph:

“…to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women …”

This is not what western states practice. Instead, we see the double standards of settler colonialists who justify their brutality based upon racist doctrines, like Terra Nullius and the Doctrine of Discovery. This is in spite of the United Nations’ condemnation of racist doctrines as being“…scientifically false, legally invalid, morally condemnable and socially unjust.”Western states are complicit in furthering settler colonialism and the genocide in Palestine through their non-stop supply of weapons and bombs and adopting the political rhetoric of “Israel’s right to self-defence” in defiance of international human rights law. Thankfully, South Africa has shown leadership in upholding their international human rights obligations by bringing Israel to the International Court of Justice. But Western states seek to undermine South Africa’s stance, and the UN has shown its flaws with the US having veto power at the UN Security Council.  

Imperialism is solidly set in place. Western leaders must control the public narrative and this includes demonizing and criminalizing anyone who opposes their economic agenda. It is a fact that weapons and war  create a wealthy portfolio, and international human rights law is the casualty of this imperialistic greed. Gaza-tested weapons have war profiteers frothing at the bit to sell to other despots and fascists. For this reason alone, we should all be afraid as these genocidal weapons will be used on others aside from Palestinians and the people of Lebanon. In order to protect the imperialist status quo and their investments, political leaders and western media normalize the violence and continue to spew propaganda (such as the beheading of babies), as the slaughter of the innocent continues unabated. This extends to police brutality against students, who are threatened with suspension from their universities and threats and intimidation against other protesters. Accusations of anti-semitism are widespread, forcing many to remain silent, afraid, or unable to see clearly the evilness of this genocide. Vitriolic censorship is the order of the day and aggressors are cast as victims. As Noam Chomsky stated, when western powers disapprove of a certain group for standing up to them threatening their economic agenda, then they are labeled “terrorists”, just as Indigenous land defenders have been criminalized for centuries for standing up for their inherent rights.  

As has been said, October 7th did not happen in a vacuum.  It is decades of dehumanization, brutality and occupation that has justified and normalized this genocide.  A colonial settler state The long-standing crimes of the colonial settler state have been knowingly ignored, and in fact, encouraged by some UN member states. 

The people of the world must remain vigilant in the protection of our human rights. The students across the world who are resisting repression and censorship are modeling the way and call for a path to lasting justice. If international human rights law is to be salvaged, it is due time that the arrest warrants for crimes against humanity be issued by the International Criminal Court and the ongoing apartheid system must end.

Genocide and censorship must be vigilantly opposed, otherwise silence will be our undoing and we will all lose.  Courage must be maintained and the resistance to the insidiousness of settler colonialism must be relentless and cast wide, as the fight against oppression is central to our collective liberation.

As we have seen in Gaza, there is no safe place.  We cannot stop until there is. 

Skén:nen 

Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel was well-known to the public when she was chosen by the People of the Longhouse and her community of Kanehsatà:ke to be their spokesperson during the 1990 “Oka” Crisis or the 1990 Kanehsatà:ke/Kahnawake Siege; to protect the Pines from the expansion of a 9-hole golf course in Kanehsatà:ke, known more popularly by the colonial imposed name of “Oka”.