By Fadi Zanayed, November 3, 2008

What are we Palestinians doing? On Facebook, we are creating one Palestinian cause after another. So what? So what if you joined a cause but then we did nothing afterwards. On the Facebook Free Palestine cause there are over 170,000 members. When I joined just two weeks ago, there were 55,000 members. In two weeks, 120,000 members joined. That is significant. I am sure that over a million will join this cause, if not more.

But the question is so we all joined a cause. So What?

The real question is what are we going to do to harness the energy of all these obvious supports of Palestine. (We may have some of our cousins in these numbers watching our moves--but let them watch.) If we can get only 10% per week email a letter to a politician or newspaper editor that the organizers prepare--how powerful is that. People could copy, paste and send in 30 seconds. Imagine on November 5, 170,000 members sending a congratulatory email to the winner of the Presidential election with a message of hope for peace in the Middle East. That is power.

But we can do so much more.

We can organize boycotts of Israeli products, just like the anti-apartheid movement did to South Africa in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. We can get the world to disinvest in Israel and Israeli made products. We can be a movement for change.

We have many capable leaders. We have excellent writers and organizers on the internet. Many Palestinians espouse many significant oponions and blog articles and statements all over the internet. But we are all doing all theses things on an individual basis. One hand is not clapping with the other. We are only appeasing our individual selves. Yes, I contributed by writing an article. I vented my frustration about the injustice against my... [Read More]

By: Fadi Zanayed, October 28, 2008

Previously, I wrote that the Palestinians state of affairs as we near the end of 2008 is very sad and concluded by stating that Palestinians need a dramatic change of events; that they need to take matters in their own hands and change the status quo. I want to expound upon the need for change.

But first, let me state what I perceive as the status quo.

• The occupation of Palestine by the Israeli military lingers into its fifth decade with no end in sight.
• Negotiations for a lasting peace, although prodded along by President George W. Bush in the waning months of his presidency, is not foreseeable.
• The agreements signed thus far have brought about an endless maze of checkpoints and an apartheid wall (as former President Jimmy Carter has described it) that have
  • limited Palestinian movement;
  • isolated relatives and towns from each other;
  • destroyed the Palestinian economy; and
  • frustrated the collective lifestyle of Palestinians, visitors to the region and tourists.
• Palestinian political prisoners linger in Israeli torture chambers.
• The Israeli settlements in the West Bank are increasing daily and the halting of settlement construction is not imminent, especially around Jerusalem.

This is the status quo. A sad state of affairs for the Palestinians. Yet for the Israelis it is life as normal, for they have been in this state of affairs since its birth date of May 15, 1948.

This state of affairs cannot stay the same. Palestinians need a drastic change in how they handle the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

I am convinced that there is a Palestinian and Israeli majority on both sides that desire peace. The Palestinian majority who want peace (I am including Palestinians who live outside of Palest... [Read More]