What are we Palestinians still doing in the Knesset?
'When I was young, my father used to take us on weekend trips to Palestinian villages that had been ethnically cleansed.
Since we were not allowed to learn about our history in schools, where the curriculum is controlled by the Israeli education ministry, these trips were the most profound way to learn about my people’s history and to begin to form a political identity.
These are the memories that Israel fears and aims to conceal. Like pine trees planted to hide the remnants of destroyed Palestinian villages, the new nation-state law tries to hide the fact that Israel is sitting on stolen land. It is the thief's need to assert - to himself first and foremost - that what he steals is his own.
Fighting back
When it comes to the new law, the question is not about Israel’s intentions, which are clear. The question is what we should do as Palestinians who happen to hold Israeli citizenship, who take part in Israel’s "democracy" and who obey the state's laws, even when these laws and the state are against us.
What is our strategy? How do we fight back? Such issues have long been a subject of debate within the Palestinian community, but this debate has become more urgent in light of the new law.
Pragmatism and wisdom are not necessarily synonymous. It is time for a dramatic political change, before it is too late
One of the most common questions today is: What are we still doing in the Knesset? Some Palestinians have been calling on members of the Arab Joint List, a political alliance representing Palestinians in Israel, to resign from parliament.
Many prominent figures have criticised the insufficient response of Palestinian MKs, who tore up copies of the nation-state bill in protest after it was passed, and the lack of any clear strategy on how to deal with it beyond traditional speeches and a street protest.'
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