Remembering Palestine on the first anniversary of the Ukraine War
Today marks the first anniversary of the start of the Ukraine War. This occasion will, no doubt, be used by Western politicians and media outlets to bombard the global public with messages expressing solidarity with Ukraine or commentary outlining reasons why freedom and peace-loving people everywhere ought to support Ukraine’s struggle against Russia.
Amidst this outpouring of support for the heroic Ukrainians, there will probably be little scope in global news headlines for reports of the murders of Palestinians, mainly innocent civilians, at the hands of the Israeli Defence Force in the West Bank to attract public attention. This oversight will be all the more glaring given the admiration which reports of Ukrainian resistance seem to elicit in the West. I guess there is space for only one story of a people that nobly resists a brutal occupying army in spite of overwhelming odds or demonstrates dogged resilience in the face of an invasion and relentless onslaught on their society by a powerful adversary in the media landscape.
And if this story is covered, reporters will be careful to highlight that Israeli actions are a response to some or other alleged Palestinian atrocity or transgression. They will justify doing so, of course, by appealing to their need to be balanced and impartial. Curiously though, this duty to be balanced seems to have been conveniently set aside when it comes to giving Russia the opportunity to tell its side of the story in the Ukraine Conflict. Or I suppose they feel they do not need to in this case; it is sufficient to trust their depictions of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a power-hungry megalomaniac and believe sanctimonious Western politicians’ condemnation of his country.
In a bid to balance the scales that are so heavily skewed against the Palestinians and used to tacitly condone their continued oppression under Israel’s boot, let us recall today the plight of the Palestinian people, a people who endure the worst of the suffering and humiliation which Western politicians accuse Russia of trying to inflict on Ukraine. Let us do so even as we solemnly observe the first anniversary of the Ukraine War and demand an end to this war that has devastated so much of that country. A genuine desire for justice for the Palestinians would not permit anything less, notwithstanding the hypocrisy on display when it comes to biased media coverage of this conflict that tries to convince all true peace and freedom-loving people otherwise.
Gerard Boyce is an economist and Senior Lecturer in the School of Built Environment and Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Howard College) in Durban, South Africa. He writes in his personal capacity.
