Twelve years ago, Mohammed Dajani took thirty Palestinian students to Auschwitz and was called a Zionist collaborator. This week, it was Alkhatib's turn.
AlKhatib is a hero. I pray that he will prevail. We all need his voice and leadership.
There is a silver lining in the all too expected condemnation he received, it will make him more known. The legacy media mostly ignores him (and everyone who does not fot the narrative).
And to Ahmed, I am sorry for your personal lose. May you succeed in your heroic endeavors.
What is the “Palestinian cause”, Eli? It’s not an independent state, because that’s been offered to them for 89 years multiple times and always rejected by them in favor of terrorism and genocidal wars against Israelis. That also isn’t the cause of the Free Palestine cult. The Palestinian cause is and has been for 106 years the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Israeli Jews. Of course Al-Khatib is detrimental to that cause - he doesn’t want to fight to the last Palestinian, while Mehdi Hasan and other ‘progressives’ do.
And if you think of the numbers, the Palestinians and so-called “pro Palestinian activists” are warmongers. Accept reality or be doomed to endless hand wringing like this. You’re not going to be convincing these genocidal racists.
Sadly I am not surprised by this. And yes, I think of Ahmed often. I do follow a Palestinian channel in Gaza, that is much harsher with Hamas and Iran than Ahmed has been. I often wonder when they will be killed as others have, by Hamas.
There is something especially bleak about the word “collaborator” in both of these stories. It turns the willingness to see the other side—or to acknowledge responsibility within one’s own—into an act of betrayal.
Dajani did not ask Palestinians to become Zionists. Alkhatib is not asking them to stop grieving what has happened in Gaza. Both simply insist that another truth must be allowed into the room.
And perhaps that is why these voices matter so much. Any eventual coexistence will require people capable of holding more than one truth at a time. If those are precisely the people each community drives out, we should not be surprised when all that remains are the absolutists.
I follow hundreds of Gazans with large followings in Arabic on FB, and nowadays, his oped is very much representative of their views on Hamas. They are desperate for Hamas to disarm and get out. Unfortunately their voices don’t reach the Western discourse and it is very dangerous for them to attempt it, and so diaspora activists and media continue to speak over and for them. Tragic
I was actually amazed that the NYTimes chose to run this. It might be the first genuinely honest thing I’ve seen in the Times in many years. If they can keep it up, I might renew my subscription after cancelling it 26 years ago.
Was also very surprised. Alkhatib is amazing but was my understanding that he is perceived the way Zionist Jews perceive JVP or Peter Beinart - if not worse, so they wouldn’t see him as “representative”
You will be disappointed. I renewed our subscription one year ago at the suggestion of my wife, and cancelled it six months later with no argument from my wife.
This is the Palestinian cause, full stop.
Nazi tier propaganda coupled with gleeful threats, and when possible, violence/murder towards anyone who dares speak against it.
he still besmirched Israel here. Don’t get too excited.
AlKhatib is a hero. I pray that he will prevail. We all need his voice and leadership.
There is a silver lining in the all too expected condemnation he received, it will make him more known. The legacy media mostly ignores him (and everyone who does not fot the narrative).
And to Ahmed, I am sorry for your personal lose. May you succeed in your heroic endeavors.
Not surprising Ahmed would sell his family for a few dollars
only been published digitally. still waiting for print.
He should be applauded.
Excellent essay. Thank you for posting this
What is the “Palestinian cause”, Eli? It’s not an independent state, because that’s been offered to them for 89 years multiple times and always rejected by them in favor of terrorism and genocidal wars against Israelis. That also isn’t the cause of the Free Palestine cult. The Palestinian cause is and has been for 106 years the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Israeli Jews. Of course Al-Khatib is detrimental to that cause - he doesn’t want to fight to the last Palestinian, while Mehdi Hasan and other ‘progressives’ do.
And if you think of the numbers, the Palestinians and so-called “pro Palestinian activists” are warmongers. Accept reality or be doomed to endless hand wringing like this. You’re not going to be convincing these genocidal racists.
He’s incredibly brave and thoughtful. I hope the future sees it even if not everyone in the present does.
Sadly I am not surprised by this. And yes, I think of Ahmed often. I do follow a Palestinian channel in Gaza, that is much harsher with Hamas and Iran than Ahmed has been. I often wonder when they will be killed as others have, by Hamas.
There is something especially bleak about the word “collaborator” in both of these stories. It turns the willingness to see the other side—or to acknowledge responsibility within one’s own—into an act of betrayal.
Dajani did not ask Palestinians to become Zionists. Alkhatib is not asking them to stop grieving what has happened in Gaza. Both simply insist that another truth must be allowed into the room.
And perhaps that is why these voices matter so much. Any eventual coexistence will require people capable of holding more than one truth at a time. If those are precisely the people each community drives out, we should not be surprised when all that remains are the absolutists.
What "each community"? You seem to suggest a moral equivalence that does not exist.
Why print it now though?
Thank you
I follow hundreds of Gazans with large followings in Arabic on FB, and nowadays, his oped is very much representative of their views on Hamas. They are desperate for Hamas to disarm and get out. Unfortunately their voices don’t reach the Western discourse and it is very dangerous for them to attempt it, and so diaspora activists and media continue to speak over and for them. Tragic
I was actually amazed that the NYTimes chose to run this. It might be the first genuinely honest thing I’ve seen in the Times in many years. If they can keep it up, I might renew my subscription after cancelling it 26 years ago.
Was also very surprised. Alkhatib is amazing but was my understanding that he is perceived the way Zionist Jews perceive JVP or Peter Beinart - if not worse, so they wouldn’t see him as “representative”
Given how absolutely dreadful the Times has been since AM Rosenthal and William Safire departed, I'll take what I can get.
You will be disappointed. I renewed our subscription one year ago at the suggestion of my wife, and cancelled it six months later with no argument from my wife.
That bad? Got it