As the death toll in the ongoing military offensive by Israel inside Gaza crosses 800, there are yet no signs of any stalling of the unprovoked violence by Israel. The offensive was initially limited to air strikes inside Gaza. But last week Israel sent its ground troops inside Gaza which resulted in escalation of violence and also in a higher number of casualties. As the Israeli offensive continues, more and more people on social networking sites are venting out their anger and condemning Israel. Not that there isnt any pro-Israel lobbying going on the net. Add to that the pro Israel diplomatic lobbying and their control on the mainstream Western media and one can see an asymmetrical flow of information which shows Israel as the victim and the oppressed Palestinians as the aggressors. Coming back to the point of showing their anger, it is infact bothersome that this show of solidarity with Palestinians has remained limited to a few social networking sites. There are no political rallies in any city in the Arab world or even the broader Muslim world. Not only are the Arab rulers mute spectators to this slaughter of people in Gaza, but the reaction of common Arabs has been shameful, to say the least. Even Pakistan, which had for long shown political solidarity with the cause of Palestine, has seen no major rallies or demonstrations in support of Gaza.
The reasons for this complete insensitivity and apathy are not too difficult to guess. Firstly, most Arab societies and even Muslim societies have become apolitical. With no political representation of people in Arab countries, which are ruled by monarchs or dictators, political mobilization has been buried long ago. It is infact by design that the rulers in these countries dont allow much political mobilization, given that their survival depends on a docile populace. Secondly, over the last few decades, after the end of the Cold war, the left wing politics across the world has suffered a major blow. The left wing parties used to be the biggest supporters of the Palestine cause and would often mobilize people in political rallies. With the dismal state of affairs that leftist politics finds itself in across the globe, it is no wonder that they are not able to organize any meaningful rallies. One does find small rallies here and there, but they truly lack passion and a representative character. Thirdly and perhaps the most important cause of this criminal silence is perhaps about nationalism. Across the globe we see Nation States launching attacks on some ethnic group inside their country, which stops people from such countries openly criticizing Israels aggression, since their own countries can be accused of the same practices. Take, for example, the case of Pakistan. It is fighting a secessionist movement inside Balochistan and has so far dealt with it ruthlessly. For the State of Pakistan or even its people to question Israel on Gaza, many fingers are suddenly pointed at the countrys own conduct in Balochistan. It would be hypocrisy to distinguish between the victims in Balochistan and those in Gaza. After all selective outrage doesnt count for much. The apolitical Muslim societies across the world which are dependent on the West for most of their needs can hardly make any significant efforts to get the people of Gaza out from this Israeli blitzkrieg.
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