Posts
George Floyd and Eyad Hallak
The scene of an American policeman pinning down George Floyd, an African American was a very familiar scene for us in Palestine. The sight of our young men facing the brutality of the Israeli police is so common, that it hardly hits the news any more unless somebody by chance was there to document the incident by video. But this past week it was ironic that the shooting of an autistic young Palestinian Eyad Hallak which coincided with the murder of George Floyd was actually documented, and so was the yelling and pleading of his teacher to stop shooting but to no avail. Had the police thought that they were under threat, as they usually claim, why not shoot at his legs. But no, the policy these days is “shoot to kill”
I could not resist making an analogy as I watched the reaction to both murders. In the US “hell broke loose” and not only in Minnesota where the incident took place but in many other states as well. In Palestine the reaction was minor comparing to the US because the brutality of the Israeli policy to any protests can be just as brutal as the murder itself. I am not sure how many Americans realize that the American police have been getting a lot of training in Israel. They consider it a privilege to be trained under such an “efficient” system that guarantees “Security.” However, I doubt that they have learned the lesson.
Both the USA and Israel claim to be a model for democracy. While the USA continues to support Israel blindly, it takes pride in announcing on every occasion that they share common values. Indeed racism is one of those values. The photo of the American police man kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, and the scene of the Israeli policeman shooting an Ethiopian Jew mistaken for an Arab, certainly says a lot about those common values.
Tomorrow we commemorate 53 years of Israeli occupation. Is it not time for both the USA and Israel to stop and think what a difference peace would have made for the whole region? Will they ever learn that Justice is the only guarantee for Security, which will eventually bring peace, and prosperity to the whole region? Dare we hope that after all what the whole world went through during the “Corona” Pandemic, we would be humbled to set new priorities towards humanity and the planet we share?
