Arab youth have been persistent in advocating for the rights
of the Palestinians. They have shown the capacity to draw on nuanced, rational,
and logical narratives to support their messages, especially on social media
platforms.
اضافة اعلان
This is not the first time Arab youth took to social media
as a form of political expression. In fact, they had used such platforms to
demand better living conditions during the Arab Spring, to dissociate Islam
from terrorist organizations such as ISIS, and to condemn the forced evictions
of Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
This current wave stands out in terms of reach and
engagement. Between October 7 and 20, over 311 million posts were published on
social media platforms, attracting over 1.5 billion reactions, according to a
recent report by Makana360.
The report highlights that while pro-Israeli content
featured phrases such as “Israeli September 11”; “the New Holocaust”;
“terrorism”; and “Israel’s right to defend itself”, English speaking Arab
content dissociated from a traditionally sentimental narrative and opted
instead for reason. In fact, English content disseminated by Arab users doubled
in the second week of the crisis, 80 percent of which originated by youth and
featured “Western” tenets and doctrines pertaining to international
humanitarian laws.
This current wave stands out in terms of reach and engagement. Between October 7 and 20, over 311 million posts were published on social media platforms, attracting over 1.5 billion reactions, according to a recent report by Makana360.
Such content managed to achieve a 20 percent conversion
among American and western European audiences in the second week. This
conversion be seen in the increase of mass demonstrations across major cities,
demanding ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and ending the blockade on Gaza.
Arab youth’s content did not shy away from using Israel’s
own statements to demonstrate its contradictions. They highlighted the case of
the Ahli Hospital along with Israel’s aversion to engaging in targeted
assassinations of Hamas leaders – the proclaimed intent of the current war –
and its unwillingness to announce the exact number of Hamas leaders neutralized
thus far.
Arab youth are now speaking in numbers, highlighting the
size of death toll, including children, and questioning the grounds on which
that could ever be justified by self-defense. They are drawing comparisons with
previous examples of similar transgressions that saw stronger and stricter
global reactions.
Despite these nuanced and rational narratives, not only does
Israel’s targeting of civilians persist without accountability, but the
international community has been unable to announce a ceasefire, or even a
humanitarian pause.
Scholars of Middle Eastern history often highlight that when
intellectuals led rational and culturally-aware discussions, Arab-West
relations were at their best. They cite the nineteenth century as a
particularly relevant example, when Arab scholars were able to leverage Western
notions to counter racism and Islamophobia.
No time in history has the Arab world boasted more educated,
cultured, and global citizens than today, most of whom also happen to young.
Yet, even their rational and nuanced messages advocating for a ceasefire,
humanitarian aid, and ending the blockade on Gaza are being met with disregard
and indifference, effectively brushing off the demands, regardless of the
nuances.
The amount of humanitarian supplies that entered Gaza since
the start of the crisis leaves a lot to be desired, while a ceasefire and
ending the blockade look unattainable. These outcomes are telling Arab youth
two inherently dangerous messages.
Arab youth’s content did not shy away from using Israel’s own statements to demonstrate its contradictions. They highlighted the case of the Ahli Hospital along with Israel’s aversion to engaging in targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders – the proclaimed intent of the current war – and its unwillingness to announce the exact number of Hamas leaders neutralized thus far.
The first message is that nuanced narratives are irrelevant
and ineffective. Arab youth are essentially being told to forget about human
rights, to forget about equality, and to forget about advocacy, because it is
not only about who is being harmed, but it is also about who is inflecting the
harm.
The second message is that the ends do, in fact, justify the
means. When the international community stands idly by while over nine thousand
innocent civilians are killed, 22 thousand others are severely injured, and 1.4
million people are displaced, the message heard is these atrocities are
justified in the name of self-defense.
It becomes more crushing when the international community
disregards advocates’ calls to condemn these transgressions and to use terms
such as genocide, ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, and war crimes.
Young Arab voices are working tirelessly to keep their sight
set on their goals. Their demands for a ceasefire, humanitarian support, and
stopping Israel’s transgressions are neither unreasonable nor impossible to be
met by the very international structure which has one goal: “never again”.
Mohammed Abu Dalhoum is the president of MENAACTION and a
senior research analyst at NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions.
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