I meet Huwaida Arraf at the Palestinian Struggle and Human Spirit Film Festival held in the working class district of Athlone in Cape Town. It’s a chilly evening but I request we move our conversation outside. The fake Israeli soldiers harassing patrons at a replica check-point inside the foyer of the Joseph Stone Auditorium are far too successful in re-creating a chaotic, hostile ambience for us to have a decent conversation.
Arraf is dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and she pushes her hair back as she casually sits herself on the plastic chair beside me.
With her beautiful skin and long, slender presence, I feel as if I am about to interview a film star.
I immediately imagine her saucily tempting 007 to steer away from the Old Russian foes, as she goes on to coax him into challenging Mossad and the Israeli army into freeing Gaza from a forty-year-old blockade: the first Arab Bond girl.
“Shall we begin?” she bursts my bubble.
I know too well that Arraf, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), as well as chair of the Free Gaza Movement, wasn’t born to play make believe.
Since its formation in 2001, the Palestine-based ISM has managed to attract an assortment of respected writers, politicians and activists in championing international solidarity efforts against Israel’s illegal occupation in the region.
Arraf has been in the middle of it all; raising funds, delivering lectures across the globe, challenging mainstream representation of the conflict and searching for Israeli pressure points in advancing a solution.
Forget audacious flirting with a British agent … in 2008, the striking lady actually led an international coalition of forty-four activists on converted fishing boats across the Mediterranean Sea, faced up to the Israeli navy and managed to get into Gaza without Bond, Bourne or even a pink Martini making an appearance.
In so doing, they had broken the forty-year blockade of Gaza.
“So, what’s a girl like you doing running around trying to save the world?” I ask her with the smugness of a misogynist pig.
“You want me to re-evaluate my life choices?” she asks humoured by my quirky departure point.
But I am half-serious.
Activists are ordinarily social rejects who dress like hippies, don’t own underwear, hug trees, eat organic sea-weed and walk around with broken guitars, right?
The flattery hardly disarms her and she gets to the point.
Arraf tells me that as an American with Palestinian roots, she often witnessed how her family was treated when she visited Palestine as a kid.
“Even as a child, I soon began to question things when I saw how the Israelis treated my parents; how they separated and strip-searched us,” explained Arraf.
But she says that her activism for Palestine crystallised when she went to live in Jerusalem after finishing her bachelor’s degree in political science. It was this stay, she explains, that awarded her two vital awarenesses; firstly, the sham of the Oslo Peace Accord signed in 1993, and second, the vehemently efficient propaganda machine operating in Israel.
Her hands gesticulate and her eyebrows curl, as she goes on to emphasise how a one-year visit to the Middle East quickly became four, and how she simply couldn’t help but return compulsively.
“Solving the conflict became an obsession,” she says.
Arraf tells me that she kept on thinking about ways to pimp up the strategic element of the Palestinian cause; ways in which they could challenge Israel in non-military ways.
“We cannot match the Israeli army militarily and so I started thinking of ways in which we could inject a strategic advantage into our struggle.”
She says that she felt her unique position as an American with Palestinian roots could give her an advantage in championing the cause, to break through the misunderstandings and the propaganda.
“I was there working with kids around the time the second Intifada broke, and I felt that my privileged position as an American citizen with a Palestinian background gave me the chance to bring the outside world closer to the inside,” she says.
“I thought that since I understood the American mentality and the media, having been brought up in the United States and (yet) being Palestinian, I felt I would also be able to connect with the Palestinians on the ground,” adds Arraf.
“But you’re Christian, married to a Jewish man?” I quiz her
“Yes. But this is not a religious issue,” she replies.
“Sure, but it is often made out to be one, is it not?” I retort
“Yes,” she smiles, “but we both know that this is about Israel contravening international law; it’s not a religious war.”
I ask her then about the utility value of Muslims across the globe sympathising with Palestinians.
Her honesty is remarkable. It is both poignant and inspiring.
Arraf says that while she is not against people using religion to mobilise others into standing up for justice, she says that religious slogans and the over-usage of religious symbols in such a conflict can alienate potential sympathisers.
“When you have kids running around with toy machine guns (at the film festival) screaming Allah-hu-Akbar (God is Great) — mimicking Islamic militant responses to Israeli brutality — it can be counter-productive in recruiting others to the cause.”
“This is of course not the right representation of the conflict. Palestinians are non-violent every day of their lives, when they are dealing with brutality, check-points and the like,” argues Arraf.
She is right, the film festival attracted mostly Muslim patron. The so-called converted-to-the-cause folk: people already sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.
Bridging the divide was the real challenge, and Arraf is under no illusions that this is why her involvement remains crucial.
Arraf is not a career activist; she did not select Palestine as an “interesting subject”.
Her zeal for the Palestinian cause is admirable; if only her enthusiasm for peace and justice was contagious enough to inspire a media jaundiced in coverage and lazy in their stereotyping.
One can feel her sincerity; there isn’t an element of pretence in her body language, nor is there an air of ownership that activists often exhibit over their cause.
It almost feels like Arraf simply fell into a rabbit hole and had the courage to follow the signs.
Nine years on and the ISM has grown even bigger than she had ever imagined.
But she is the first to admit that her activism has come at a hefty price.
“I did go back to school, did go back and get my law degree, I did get married, but it’s hard to concentrate on anything else, when I feel there is something I could be doing for Palestine,” says Arraf.
She says that the rest of her life has been put on perpetual hold; she rarely sees her husband, has seemingly abandoned her legal career and lives almost entirely on the road.
“Where I live depends on where I think I can make something happen, because I do believe that we can make something happen,” she adds emphasising the ambivalence with her arched eyebrows.
And she has new plans to break the siege on Gaza.
“We are currently planning a new attempt to get into Gaza. Israel’s attacks on us will not stop or deter us. We just need a new strategy and we’re building it. This time, instead of sending one small boat, we will send a flotilla. More boats, including a cargo ship carrying the reconstruction materials that Israel has banned from entering Gaza, more high-profile personalities, more media and more costly for Israel, should it interfere with our mission.”
“Can I come with?” I salivate.
“Maybe … but we need … ”
“I know. You need important journalists; people who can’t be killed so easily. I-am-sort-of-important-I’ll-have you-know,” I put on a ridiculous smiley face.
She laughs.
That settled it.
Did I really say Huwaida could have made a Bond girl?
What an insult.
While I cannot help but be moved by the story of such brave activists, I also can’t help but feel pessimistic. I cannot help but see the Palestinians as refugees of a lost war (or series thereof) forced to live in the shadow of their victors, always hoping and dreaming that what was lost can be returned to them. But is seems to me that there is no hope. The dream of “Palestine Restored” will never come to pass. The Israeli are too strong, too ruthless, too ready to subject the Palestinians to the hammer and the sword. What has resistance against the Israeli War Machine brought the Palestinians? Nothing but death, demolitions, oppression, suppression, poverty, blockades and despair. Israeli is stronger and more conservative than it has ever been, the Palestinian weaker and more divided. So what can be done? Endless negotiations that deliver nothing but ash and air? The provocations of militants that deliver nothing but the momentarily satisfaction of the revengeful? In my view, the refugee camp that is Palestine cannot fight one of world’s best equipped armies with violent or non-violent methods. No the Palestinians have to admit that resisting Israelis in their pursuit of achieving what can be termed “Greater Israel” will achieve nothing but more war, more poverty, more dead Palestinian children, women and men. So what can be done? I have no answer.
remarkable woman
Salut Azad!Brilliant piece.
What stands out for me in this post is the fact that the struggle in Palestine is not a ‘religious war’, and something I have tried to convey on numerous Muslim platforms and spaces back home. The liberation of Palestine rests in Muslims starting to engage with non-Muslims who are like-minded and share the same sentiments where the Israeli regime is concerned. It is always the converted being preached to, thus the numbers of support remain stagnant or often dwindle. There is a shared humanity – Justice for All – not just for and between Muslims – but to be fought for ALL oppressed and suppressed people/s of the world. Until this shift in mindset happens, Palestine et al will continue to be stuck in their incubated lifestyles with little hope of even a sneak peek of the outside world or a sheer taste of freedom of movement, expression and existence.
This struggle has been Islamicized to DEATH literally.
My prayers with the sister et al who work effortlessly, campaign tirelessly and sacrifice what we more than often take for granted, to ensure that the world never forgets about the injustices,atrocities and pillaging that is perpetrated in the name of ‘safety and security’.
Aluta Continua!
Oh and Azad I would get the BIG GUNS to make sure you are a part of the flotilla initiave, just say when and where.
Kind Thoughts
Peace
Mymoena
may we all be as selfless as she is… for a moment i thought you were going all soft on us and doing a Mills & Boon Azad… brilliant…yes, it’s not a religious war… firstly, we need to disect the word “Jihad” properly and make it super-understandable for those who don’t understand it and feed it to the masses in the wrong context
Excellent article as usual!!Huwaida is an amazing woman and we need more woman like her out there advocating for people who have no voice!
The real practical way to break the Gaza blockade is first to force/shame Egypt to stop its blockage of Gaza. Then when Gaza gets everything it wants/needs via Egypt Israel will be forced to conceed its blockade is not working and do something real in return.
But guess this is too practical/dull/non revolutionly for a wonderful Bond girl to waste her time with. Better to fight the might of the IDF and be every Western liberals darling
Brent
Has it ever occurred to anyone there, Palestinians and Israeli alike, that it is possible to co-habit? Perhaps activist efforts, on both sides, should be focused to this end, much like what some of us are trying to achieve in this country, in spite of resistance from those only loyal to and tolerant of their own “kind”. I find the image of children running around with toy guns shouting religious slogans as battle cries horrific. What are those parents indoctrinating their children with? Is this not child abuse? Mock Israeli soldiers harassing attendees? Is this a rational approach to looking for aid, or emotional blackmail to force a positive response? With that kind of mentality I cannot help but wonder what kind of treatment Jewish, Cristian or Atheist Palestinians receive at the hands of their Muslim Palestinian brothers. Perhaps, since we do not live there, we should get a more balanced viewpoint from the other’s involved before being asked to choose sides. Emotional debates very seldom lead to equitable or just results.
Keep up your good work Huwaida. I would also like to join your flotilla. Hope Azad is not the jealous type? And Steve – you are wrong. As Bob Dylan said: The times they are a-changin’…
excellent article!
I stopped reading at:
“Arraf tells me that as an American with Palestinian roots…”
thanks for reading!
@steve i understand your pessimism. Things take time to change, and everything needs to work in sync…so being pessimistic is not helpful
@Mymoena haha thanks lady! but seriously, this point regarding the use of religion – i was hoping more people would pick up on this. people complain about the stereotype but there is no attempt to break away…and present it as something else…or is there?
@Saberah Mills and Boons is what Harry Potter reads at night
@Brent How are you Sir? Yes, There is a shortage of stuff regarding Egypt’s role in this debacle. Needs a proper look-in..
@X-Cepting there is a place for re-enacting what is going on there for people to “understand”. but there is a fine-line with this method. It can become exclusionary or just a cause picked up by the left/academic elite – who might not be muslim. as a result, it perhaps fails to capture the popular imagination of those who aren’t muslim. I don’t believe that Palestinians Muslims treat other religions badly.
@Carl I am jealous
No, she is inspiring.
@Me did you get bored cos she is American?
Brent makes a very good point that Palestinian activists should work at convincing Egypt to open its borders to Gaza.
May I further suggest that Egypt do the right thing and take back Gaza as part of Egyptian soveriegn territory and allow the Gaza people to assimilate themselves as was the case prior to British occupation (or Israeli independence, not sure which). This will change the Gaza peoples status from refugees to free citizens of a proud country and enjoy peace with Israel as per the current peace agreement between the two neighbors.
On the other side of Israel, the country of Jordan who are purely Palestinian as much as those of the West Bank, can annex the stateless portions of the West bank people and make an expanded Jordan, and live in peace with Israel as they currently do.
The question of Jewish settlements can be negotiated by transaction so that newly emmigrated Jordanian Jews (those currently living in the West Bank) pay properly for the land that they live on and live in peace, much like the Arab Israelis do in Israel.
The fact that refugees exist sixty years after war and conflict, is entirely the product of Arab intransigence to Israel’s existence and right to exist, which can no longer be denied.
Palestinian activists do not do the Palestinians any favours by just targeting Israel to provide a solution as if it is only Israels problem to fix.
Larry Goodefella as u name suggest you have just solved the problem in the middle east. what you have mentione dis exactly what should happen . Egypyt take Gaze and Jordan take the west bank. Then people can stop playing the poor victim and get on with their lives. But having reugees for over 60 years serves a purpose to someone….the question is whom??
While I do not often agree with Larry Goodfella on the subject of Israel/Palestine I concede that his suggestion of a Egypt/Jordan takeover of the West Bank and Gaza is more at least a more preferable alternative than the “Two States Solution” that is currently on the negotiating table (or would be on the negotiating table if Israel & Palestine were negotiating). Despite the sympathetic tone employed in Arab World towards Palestine, the actions of Egypt (and to a lesser extent Jordan) often seem contrary to the interests of the Palestinian people.
The REAL Steve
Haha, goodfella&frosty, what a thinking duo….set to solve world problems. You guys make the problem seem so non-exictent and the solution so obvious that i wonder why no one ever thought of it. Anyway, while at this solution-ville, how would you suggest we obliterate the Iraq state…perharps the turks, the iranians and the saudi’s can have their slices and hey, the western saharis should just disolve into morocco and the east timorese should be reabsorbed into indonesia. Yes the tibetians and tiwanese should also quit resisting the big chinese swallow. Haa, what a peceful world we might have if u guys rule the earth.Guys, the Palestinians have a right to national sovereignty and identity whether zionist apologists think so or not.It is so good that you guys didnt sugest that Palestinians be rettled into South Africa and Nigeria…how generous.
Unless and until the world address itself to the inhumanity of isreali suppression and masacre of the palestinians,and the usa truly find the guts to get isreal to respect international laws for once in their blood-soaked history, then am afraid peace in the middle east remains a mirage that casts shdowover worldpeace. I believe that 2 states living sidebyside in mutual respect is possible only if isreal allow it by stopping its land grabbing kleptomania. @X-pting So, how else do you think mothers can raise their kids under perpetual siege and violence where life is short and brutish? Am Afraid