"Most US politicians and media may support injustice in Palestine, but the majority of the people likely don't"

Ibtisam Barakat, a poet, prose writer, educator, and peace activist, was born in Beit Hanina, Palestine. She was just three years old when she fled her home with her family during the Six-Day War in 1967.  

Growing up under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, she pursued an English literature degree at Birzeit University before migrating to the United States in 1986.  

Barakat first settled in New York City, where she interned for The Nation. Subsequently, she pursued a dual master's degree at the University of Missouri, Columbia, specialising in journalism as well as human development and family studies.

Despite commencing her professional journey as a journalist in the US, she later became disillusioned with the profession by how heavily policed her words were when writing or speaking about Palestinians. Ultimately she turned to books, publishing three in English and four in Arabic. Now she lives in Columbia, Missouri. 

Among her books is the memoir "Tasting The Sky: A Palestinian Childhood." Written from the perspective of herself as a child, she details the traumatic experience of war, including the day bombs struck her home and forced her family to flee.

The book, apart from winning numerous awards, has also been included in school curriculums across the US, exposing children of all backgrounds to the Palestinian experience.

Her second memoir, "Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine" also received high praise from the critics and won many accolades. 

Barakat has taught language ethics courses – Language Uses and Abuses – at Stephens College, and was a delegate to the United Nations conference on the elimination of racism.

On Monday (30 October), The Business Standard caught up with Barakat for an exclusive interview. She insisted that the Israel-Hamas conflict should be called "an attempt at ethnic cleansing," and outlined how it is influenced by the US politicians and media. 

She also discussed the historical origins of the Gaza war, pointing to unjust European actions towards Jews and Arabs, and expressed gratitude for Bangladesh's unwavering support for Palestine.

How does it feel to live in a country where the majority of the population as well as the government and media oppose Palestine?

I am a Palestinian-American author, and I live in the US as a citizen. One of my neighbours told me the other day that her church members wanted to pray for Israel. But she intervened and told them that they must pray for both sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, because she knows that Palestinians are good neighbours. I was moved that she sees all Palestinians in me.

Another neighbour said that she has begun to research for herself, and this is the first time she is learning the origins of the war in Gaza, which is the siege imposed on Gazans for 16 years, and a military occupation imposed on Palestinians for decades. 

Perhaps, the majority of the US politicians, and the majority of the US media, are on the side of injustice regarding Palestine. But the majority of the people are probably not, especially when they know the other side of the story and history begins to make sense for them.

What do you predict will be the potential outcome of the current Israel-Hamas conflict?

I hope that this extremely unjust and imbalanced war will result in two countries, Palestine and Israel, in the best of outcomes. But from all evidence, a huge polarisation of the world is happening and there are attempts at a new world order that disregards human rights and international laws and adopts the motto that 'might is right' with open disregard for ethics.

And please know that this is not an Israel-Hamas conflict. This is an attempt at ethnic cleansing of an unwanted civilian population. 

After 23 days and nights of US-backed Israel's non-stop bombing, what amounts to the equivalent of one quarter of an atomic bomb has been dropped on Gaza, according to European estimates. 

Instead of reaching Hamas, Israel has damaged one third of all Gaza homes, many hospitals, schools, bakeries, shops, and all life-sustaining facilities for two million people, more than one million of whom are children. 

So far 29 children have been killed in Israel, and more than 3,000 Palestinian children were killed in Gaza in the last three weeks. That is the average of 1,000 Palestinian children killed per week.

The Israeli army committed in Gaza an estimate of more than 60 massacres against civilians. 

All of this destruction is unnecessary. The Israel-Palestine problem can be solved promptly by forming two countries based on UN resolutions established decades ago which await being respected and realised.  

What underlying psychology might exist among Westerners who support Israel and denounce Palestine?

I think the isolation of peoples and cultures from one another and the destructive misinformation between one another's cultures create fear and violence. Religions, languages, and diversity of expression, all have become reasons for isolation from others, and causes for wars and fears, rather than causes for excitement to learn from others and with others.

Regarding Palestine, the Western governments have created Israel on Palestinian lands and displaced Palestinians in order to deal with the aftermath of the Holocaust that killed millions of Jews and others. 

So, basically many governments in the West are still unable to deal with the fact that the troubles between Israel and Palestine are a new chapter in the Holocaust that started in Europe against the Jews and others seen then as less-than-human. This war in Gaza originated from European unjust actions against both Jews and Arabs.

Do you personally know any Jews or Israelis who support Palestine? 

I know many Jewish people who support Palestine to be free and they go to demonstrations to express that. I got many calls of support during the last three weeks from Jewish people who are concerned about Palestinians. 

"Israeli" is different from "Jewish" though. But I am sure there are Israelis who refuse the colonialist occupation and wish to see Palestine free from injustice and Israel free from the terrible role it plays in depriving Palestinians of freedom and a homeland. Injustice hurts both sides – the one doing it and the one facing it.

Have you encountered any unforeseen situations yourself in the US since the recent Israel-Palestine conflict began?

The most unforeseen situation is that I have voted for Biden and then to see him make awful decisions that are devoid of any sense of respect for human life, if it's Palestinian.

To what extent is the false media narrative impacting the mindset of the general public during the ongoing war? 

The false media narratives are essential parts of any war anywhere, but civilians generally don't know that until later. The actual military war is in service of the competing narratives and falsehoods. 

Generally, a propaganda campaign is launched before a war or with it, and many falsehoods accompany wars and are used as strategy. So the first casualty of war generally is humanity, translated into the image of the "other" as non-human.  

Many journalists are also being targeted in order to prevent accurate news from reaching the world. 

35 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza in the last 23 days, and this week Palestinian journalist Wael al-Dahdouh from Gaza lost 12 members from his family. 

Other members of his family are lost under rubble. His family was targeted to silence his voice and occupy him with personal grief. But he continues to report live from Gaza with astonishing resilience.

Westerners seem to hold double standards when it comes to Palestine. What do you propose should be done to address this?

The double standard is the essence of injustice, anywhere it happens. I think the Palestinians need to be seen as fully human as everyone else. As an author, I wrote books about growing up in Palestine. 

I wrote them in English to allow global readers to experience the humanity of Palestinians through story, the most necessary human communication bridge. A story, a narrative, a feeling, are all the best medicines for treating human disconnect that leads to huge injustices. We must show and tell an honest story about the humanity of everyone.

What other roles can creative individuals like authors, singers, and artists play at this moment to advocate for Palestine?

All artists, authors, poets, speakers – I mean the caring and creative people can take up Palestine as an important major theme of freedom for all of humanity – that none of us is free until Palestine and Palestinians are free.

We Bangladeshis are closely observing the situation in Gaza and rooting for Palestine. Do you have any message for the people of Bangladesh? 

With all my heart, I want to thank the people of Bangladesh for seeing the humanity of the people of Palestine and the Palestinian need for genuine freedom. 

I thank you for speaking up, standing up, holding the Palestinian flag, praying for our freedom from slavery from Israeli occupation, and for Israelis' freedom from wanting to have slaves in us. 

Dear people of Bangladesh, please be kind to one another and love your homeland and invest in education and in your children, so that you may always be free and help the freedom of others. Humanity needs all peoples, each and everyone of us to be free, creative, and helpful.

Are you planning to write anything new about the ongoing war? Where would you focus, and how do you think it could help improve the collective psyche of people and benefit Palestine?

I am writing about Islam from a new perspective as an Arab-American woman. The Western world dislikes Islam this century as much as it disliked Judaism the last century. Such dislike leads to genocides, as history tells us. In the war on Gaza, 47 mosques were destroyed in 23 days, in addition to three churches. 

So, I think it's important to write about Islam and to create a more healing understanding between East and West, because when the spiritual realm inspires people to include others, wars end, and healing begins.