Anti-Palestinian Racism?

The Council of American Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, received a ‘Staggering 2171 Complaints” of anti-Palestinian racism in just two months from October 7th to December 2nd, 2023. An over 170% increase in reports compared to the same time the year before. ²

• Denying the Nakba;
• Justifying violence against Palestinians;
• Failing to acknowledge Palestinians as an Indigenous people with a collective identity, belonging and rights in relation to occupied and historic Palestine;
• Erasing the human rights and equal dignity and worth of Palestinians;
• Excluding or pressuring others to exclude Palestinian perspectives, Palestinians and their [non-Palestinian] allies;
• Defaming Palestinians and their [non-Palestinian] allies with slander such as being inherently anti-semitic, a terrorist threat/sympathizer or opposed to democratic values. ³

The first known description of Anti-Palestinian Racism was published in April, 2022 by the Arab-Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA). ⁴

Through decades of anti-racism and equity advocacy, the ACLA found that Palestinians and allies, such as advocates for Palestinian human rights, face a unique and profoundly distinct form of racism. The report, “Anti-Palestinian Racism: Naming, Framing and Manifestations”, was developed to help the community understand the experience of Palestinians and allies in the context of racism, discrimination and settler-colonialism frameworks. The “Anti-Palestinian Racism: Naming, Framing and Manifestations” report was developed after years of consultations with the Palestinian community and its advocates in Canada, as well as with anti-racism academics and activists. ⁵

The naming and framing of anti-Palestinian racism as well as the description of some of its manifestations are useful in clarifying the discrimination and bias faced by Palestinians and advocates of Palestinian human rights. It is important for advocates of Palestinian human rights as well as Palestinians to have an understanding of anti-Palestinian racism so that they can more easily identify discrimination they may encounter. It can also help institutions, organizations and companies develop policies to counter this form of racism. ⁶

At its core, anti-Palestinian racism aims to censor and erase Palestinians and their narratives from the public sphere either directly through punitive measures or indirectly by eliciting fear of punitive measures to deter anyone from sharing Palestinian narratives. Tactics take many forms depending on the context and often involve, but not limited to: defaming a person’s character and reputation; falsely accusing them of promoting hate, violence or antisemitism; denying or threatening to deny a person opportunities or advancement; dehumanizing Palestinians and negating their experiences; and/or portraying Palestinians as inferior people. The frequency and predictability of this backlash against those speaking on Palestinian rights results in a chilling effect on the open discourse on Palestine, and fear to participate in or openly support Palestinian initiatives. ⁷

This has been playing out during 2023-2024. For example, Hollywood actors have lost their jobs for expressing solidarity with Palestinian human rights. ⁸ Others also fear retaliation for expressing solidarity with Palestinians. ⁹ The fear of retribution contributes to the suppression of Palestinian narratives by deterring people from speaking out in defense of Palestinian human rights. ^{10 11}   Another major impact of anti-Palestinian racism is the harm and trauma caused by the targeting of a racial identity.

Anti-Palestinian racism intensifies the anxiety of being Palestinian and can lead Palestinians to hide their identity for fear of being persecuted. ¹² It also can socially isolate advocates of Palestinian human rights from their peers, colleagues and even their own families.¹³ This can have serious consequences, not only resulting in isolation but also potentially triggering anxiety, depression and other mental health issues.¹⁴

It is important to understand anti-Palestinian racism in order to address the censorship and personal harm caused by this form of racism. It is not meant to prevent discussions on Israel/Palestine. ¹⁵ It can be used as a working description and framework for institutions, organizations, companies and individuals in order to address incidents of anti-Palestinian racism, allow more productive discussions on Israel/Palestine, and to avoid attacks on the identities and rights of Palestinians and advocates of Palestinian human rights.¹⁶

The Arab Canadian Lawyers Association gives a non-exhaustive list of examples of anti-Palestinian racism in their report, “namely: Nakba denial, the justification of violence against Palestinians, failing to recognize the indigeneity of Palestinians, erasing the human dignity of Palestinians, excluding Palestinians and allies, and attempting to defame them.” ¹⁷ Often, one incident of anti-Palestinian racism will touch on several of the above examples due to their intersectionality.¹⁸

The primary targets of anti-Palestinian racism are: Palestinians, and in the US, Palestinian-Americans and advocates for Palestinian human rights. However, anti-Palestinian racism affects many more people because it also affects people who are “perceived to be Palestinian” ⁵⁴ because of their skin tone, ethnic background, religion or even their clothing such as the 2023 shooting of Palestinian students in Burlington, Vermont. ⁵⁵It also impacts those who ”simply express support for Palestinian rights.” ⁵⁶

Regardless of whether a Palestinian or an advocate for Palestinian human rights is the focus, “every case of anti-Palestinian racism ultimately targets Palestinians. Ultimately, such racism entrenches the systemic oppression of Palestinians as an indigenous people whose lands have been taken and occupied by settlers,” ^{57 58}

Anti-Palestinian racism affects different people in different ways. Palestinians, allies and advocates for Palestinian human rights can be affected by multiple forms of discrimination simultaneously.

While there may be intersectionalities between anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism is a distinct form of racism because it specifically targets those with a Palestinian identity and those advocating for Palestinian rights. By conflating anti-Palestinian racism with Islamophobia, it erases the diversity of Palestinians, who may practice many faiths or none at all and it mischaracterizes the conflict in Israel/Palestine as a religious conflict instead of one of settler-colonialism and apartheid;^{59 60}; and resources directed at Islamophobia fail to address the sources of anti-Palestinian racism allowing it to persist.

Many people incorrectly perceive the issue of Israel/Palestine as a religious conflict between Muslims and Jews. However, not all Palestinians are Muslim and treating them as such, not only erases the identity of Palestinian Christians as well as Palestinians of other religions, it also reduces a regional, settler-colonial conflict to a religious conflict. This perpetuates stereotypes and a falsehood against Palestinians, Muslims and Jews.

Muslims may experience anti-Palestinian racism regardless of their perspective on Israel/Palestine, Palestinians may experience Islamophobia no matter their religion and Jews may experience anti-Palestinian racism for their advocacy for Palestinian human rights.

Palestinians can be any religion, including Christians, Druze, Muslims, Jewish, Buddhist, etc or they may be agnostic or atheists. Although there may be overlap between the two categories, anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia are distinct because anti-Palestinian racism specifically targets those with a Palestinian identity and their allies, regardless of their religion, race or ethnicity. ⁶¹

Israel/Palestine is fundamentally a settler-colonial struggle with Israel illegally occupying Palestinian lands. ⁶³ The UN Special Rapporteur report states that “Israeli occupation violates Palestinian territorial sovereignty”, “endangers the cultural existence of Palestinians” and imposes “strategic fragmentation” showing “proof of intent to colonise the occupied territory.” ⁶⁴ Israeli laws such as “In 2018, the Israeli parliament approved the Jewish Nation-State Basic Law that enshrines Jewish supremacy over Palestinian citizens [of Israel],⁶⁵ codify discrimination against Palestinians.

“The implementation of this ideology targets Palestinians, their land, their culture and identity in order to maintain Jewish supremacy and accompanying narrative across Palestine. Palestinians in effect are being erased from the landscape. Falsely depicting the oppression of Palestinians as a religious conflict hinders the decolonization and liberation efforts of Palestinians, and restricts their ability to resist and testify against their injustices. Significantly and erroneously, this false reduction prohibits the possibility that Palestinian self-determination and Jewish self-determination are not mutually exclusive.” ⁶⁷

The Arab Canadian Lawyers Association specifically notes an alarming tendency for institutions, organizations, elected officials, government entities, media and the broader community to conflate anti-Palestinian racism with Islamophobia. By doing so, these groups and communities not only avoid addressing anti-Palestinian racism but also downplay its importance and, in effect, contribute to the silencing and erasure of Palestinian voices and narratives.⁶⁸

“For example, [Toronto District School Board’s,] TDSB’s response to complaints of anti-Palestinian racism relating to their scandals involving Davila and Cole and the Garneau student protest was to commit to providing resources and raising awareness on Islamophobia. The Tax Court of Canada’s response to Justice Spiro’s role in the Azarova hiring scandal, was to (inappropriately) bar him from hearing cases involving Muslim parties. Similarly, the CJC’s decision found Justice Spiro had good ties with the Muslim community so there was no concern for an apprehension of bias against Muslims, Arabs and Palestinians – without addressing the specific concerns of bias against Palestinians raised in the complaints. ⁶⁹

“These examples, among others, present a worrying trend that whenever Palestinians and advocates raise anti-Palestinian racism, rather than investigating these complaints and taking accountability for their actions, institutions are obfuscating and avoiding anti-Palestinian racism entirely by instead pledging to take action on Islamophobia. The effect, once again, is to silence Palestinians and disregard their experiences, discourage Palestinians from reporting anti-Palestinian racism incidents, signal that this form of racism is acceptable, and enable anti-Palestinian racism and its accompanying harms to continue to be perpetuated against Palestinians and advocates.” ⁷⁰