The Palestinian Authority wants to mobilize Palestinians living in the United States and Europe to campaign politically for the national cause, building a counterpart to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other pro-Israel lobbies.
The idea was raised at the first-ever Conference of Arab Expatriates, which ended yesterday in Cairo. Aimed at establishing an organizational framework for Arab expats and fostering "a dialogue of civilizations, cultures and religions," the three-day conference was held under the auspices of the Arab League.
But the working papers prepared by the Palestinian contingent to the conference, headed by Taisir Khaled, director of the expatriate department of the PLO, were more focused on advancing the Palestinian cause and attacking Israel than on dialogue. One recommendation called for establishing legal committees composed of Arab expatriates in Western countries to pursue prosecution of "Israeli war criminals." Another urged the creation of awareness campaigns to join the international BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement of Israeli products were also proposed by the Palestinian contingent.
"There are many issues on the table in this conference, but the Palestinian issue is certainly at the forefront," Khaled told The Media Line. "The Arab League has done an excellent job in building bridges between expats and their countries of origin."
Khaled said the future of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees were the two main issues discussed in the Palestinian context.
"Many of the Palestinian expatriates are actually refugees," he said. "A special session was devoted to Jerusalem. I believe the Arab Diaspora will play a vital role in defending all Palestinian causes and combating Israel's policy of apartheid."
Arabs and Palestinians are in a better position to make use of democratic political systems as their numbers have grown in the West. In the U.S., at least 3.5 million Americans are of Arab descent, according to the Arab American Institute, with Lebanese constituting the single biggest country group. In France, close to 10% of the population is Muslim, making it the biggest Islamic community in Europe.
Hillel Cohen, an expert on Palestinian history at Israel’s Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said Arab mobilization in the West has recently increased with the rise in numbers of Arab expats and rising social mobility.
"For many years the Arab Diaspora in the West was very small compared to the Jewish Diaspora," Cohen told The Media Line. "As a result, their influence was more limited, as it is to this day."
Cohen said Arab mobilization for the Palestinian cause flows and ebbs depending on "the amount of blood spilled in the conflict."
"In general, the political clout of Arabs in the West is increasing, and this will eventually take on institutional forms," he added. "What is unclear is whether the Palestinian cause will be at the forefront of the Arab agenda."
The Washington-based American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP), established in 2003, isn’t a lobby, its president, Ziad J. Asali, told The Media Line. The organization supports the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, a policy it maintains is in Israel’s interest as much as it is in the Palestinians’. Asali said he didn’t oppose a Palestinian lobby.
“The U.S. was made to be lobbied and the system is open to lobbying, to anyone capable of doing with impact,” he said.
Hassan Asfour, a former Palestinian minister, said Palestinian political engagement was led by expatriates.
"We must remember that the Palestinian revolution began outside the Palestinian territories," he told The Media Line. "Whether through armed struggle or political activity, the Palestinian Diaspora always played a vital role in fighting for Palestinian rights."
Asfour said large Palestinian communities exist both in North and South America, with 200,000-300,000 Palestinians living in the U.S. and Canada and another 400,000 in Chile alone. Palestinian expats are represented by PLO offices around the globe, he added.
In a session titled "towards a wider role for Arab expatriates in supporting the Palestinian cause," the Palestinian contingent presented a working paper calling for the establishment of a database specifying the number of Arab expatriates in the West and their level of political involvement, the Egyptian daily Al-Youm A-Sabi' reported.
One problem identified by the Palestinians is lack of Arab awareness and mobilization. A working paper proposed to involve Arab expats with local chapters of Palestinian Solidarity Committees, which operate in many Western countries.
Asfour stressed the importance of financial support coming from expats, especially those living in the Gulf. He noted that before the First Gulf War in 1991, 450,000 Palestinians lived in Kuwait and comprised an important support base for Palestinian movement.
Today, issues such as boycotting Israeli products and lobbying for sanctions against Israel as well legal campaigns against Israeli military and political leaders stand at the top of the Palestinian agenda.
"These communities help explain the Palestinian cause to the world, telling it that we are a people that was expelled from its land, not just a loose grouping of terrorist organizations," Asfour said.
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