Here on Facebook, in e-mails, phone and private conversations, Ive expressed my conviction that theres a shift in public opinion regarding Israel that may be - just may be - irreversible. Many people whom I respect have pointed out that weve said this every time Israel goes on the rampage and people come out in droves. And yet I stand by my conviction - the speed of mobilisation, the extent of it, the degree to which it has caught fire in the USA (where one experienced activist tells me shes not seen the likes since Vietnam), the unprecedented spontaneous initiatives here in Ireland (Kinvara, shops and enterprises openly declaring themselves free of Israeli goods), the inflow of signatures to our Artists Pledge to Boycott Israel (including many, unsolicited, from people who had previously refused to sign, sometimes quite indignantly), all of this convinces me that theres been a paradigm shift. Other people say, well and good, but public opinion is one thing - governments are another, in particular the US government - its an illusion that we live in democracies that can be substantively affected by public opinion. But I only partly agree: our societies arent real democracies, but theyre not dictatorships either, and a sustained growth of public opinion and public insistence that Israel must no longer be appeased cant ultimately be completely ignored by power, and by the media embedded in power. But if Im right and this shift is taking place, it will only become meaningful if we maintain the pressure - we must exert ourselves by every means at our disposal to ensure that the status quo, the miserable, unjust, indeed criminal status quo, is destroyed for once and for all. We neednt kid ourselves that Zionism will crumble all at once - it will still take time - the paradigm shift is only in its infancy. Theres hard work ahead, folks!
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 23:17:17 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015