Malaysians shout slogans during the 'Save The Children of Gaza' rally in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. - Filepic
PETALING JAYA: Palestinian activists say Malaysia must continue to apply active and sustained pressure on Israel to end its occupation of Gaza, and not let their solidarity become a “seasonal” occurrence.
Palestinian author and journalist Laila El-Haddad, who was in Malaysia recently, said she was pleasantly surprised by the support shown by the locals, but believes the country can still do so much more to hold Israel accountable.
“It never dawned on me before how much solidarity there is in Malaysia. However, really active support tends to be seasonal, and this is the case with other countries around the world too.
“Only when there’s an active siege on Gaza do you see people doing things to help,” she said, referring to Israel’s most recent siege on Gaza, known as Operation Protective Edge, that lasted seven weeks and killed more than 2,000 Palestinians.
Malaysians have been very vocal against Israel’s inhumane treatment of the Palestinians, while various local NGOs regularly send volunteers and humanitarian aid in the form of cash and medicines to assist the victims in Gaza.
Viva Palestina Malaysia and Aqsa Syarif also organised a ‘Save Gaza’ peaceful rally in August to openly condemn the aggression.
Laila says the next step for Malaysia is to spearhead an active and lasting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.
However, there has to be a thorough understanding of BDS first in order for people to really make a difference, she said, highlighting the need for a proper education campaign via the media and public forums.
“BDS is so much more than just a consumer boycott, and even that is done wrong in Malaysia. It also involves freezing out their (Israel’s) academic and cultural influence, besides identifying companies in Malaysia that are somehow finding their way to Israel and funding the war there.
“It really is the only way Israel can be held accountable. It’s the people who need to step up and make a difference, let them know there’s a price to pay for what they’re doing,” said Laila, adding that insulting and humiliating the employees of boycotted companies was counter-productive to solidarity efforts.
Palestinian blogger and writer Sameeha Elwan, agrees with Laila, and believes a long-term solution will not come through humanitarian aid alone.
“The donations obtained are invested into the rebuilding of the Gaza strip which has been destroyed by Israel. To do that, we must go over to the Israeli side and purchase construction materials from them. At the end of the day, we are investing in their economy all over again.
“Therefore, I think it is more important for Malaysians to have political solidarity and play an active role in the international movement, such as BDS, that is currently flourishing in United States and Europe,” Sameeha said.
She reminded Malaysians to practice a targeted and collective way to boycott, or it would otherwise be seen as a wasted effort.
“BDS is a non-violent way of boycotting and demonstrating the people’s power. If it deviates from that, then you are only harming the BDS movement.”
Laila and Sameeha urged the international community to not back down from its pressure until the Israeli government agreed to end the occupation, saying anything less than that is “not enough”.
Commenting on the recent ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, both women remain sceptical as to its long-term effectiveness, stating that it was only a matter of time before Israel fell back on its promise.
“Any ceasefire cannot last without addressing the root cause of the problem, which is the overlying Israeli invasion and longstanding siege that threatens to resurface each time Palestinians feel the need to resist.
“What we need is and access and movement for Palestinian people and goods. If Israel disengages and doesn’t grant, as it is obliged to do by international law, then the economy will collapse. And that’s exactly what has happened,” said Laila.
“I do believe we are nearing an end to the occupation, sooner rather than later, simply because the people of the world will have to stand up to Israel's crimes,” added Sameeha.
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