Arab Springs To No Avail

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Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine

By Candace Lukasik: Among the Arab revolutions of the last year, there is one struggle for justice that has endured since 1948: The occupation of Palestine. The Arab Spring offers new hope for a shift in the Palestinian condition of dispossession, discrimination, and death.

The Arab revolutions grew out of a sustained hope for freedom. Grassroots mass mobilization was the force that inspired and executed the uprisings and continues to direct the movement. We are witnessing a shift in power from the leaders to the people. This shift demands that these rulers take heed of the will and strength of popular demand.

The mass mobilization in epicenters like Tahrir encouraged other populations in the region to follow. Citizens rose up against the Egyptian regime, which for decades stood in the way of Palestinian aspirations. Since Mubarak stepped down, Palestinians have begun to re-examine future possibilities.  The belief that the US controls Middle East politics, and that the Arab world is powerless against America and Israel, must be cast aside.

The portrayal of nonviolent, politically mobilized Arabs in the media discredits the notion of the timeless, chaotic, and underdeveloped Oriental. The Arab Spring has forged a new association between Arabs and effective political action in the minds of Westerners. This development undermines the narrative that classifies Israel as the Western beacon of democracy in an unstable region filled with Islamic and Arab radicalism. Palestinians can now be heard and respected in the context of a widespread Arab mobilization, which will also empower wider international activism in support of the Palestinian cause. The Arab revolutions rose out of repression, economic hardship, and authoritarian government. Collectively, an end to Israeli apartheid is integral to this wider struggle for liberty.

The Arab Spring demonstrates that the Middle East is not a monolith. There are competing ideas of what liberation looks like. Palestinians too are fighting oppressive forces to determine the future that they collectively envision being a part of. Palestine faces more than mere dictatorship – it is opposing an apartheid regime actively interested in displacing its indigenous population for yet further settlement. Perhaps now that Americans and others have become more receptive to Arab dissent, Palestinian cries of “Kefaya” (enough) will be received with the urgency they deserve.

LionPAC

By Jonathan Huberman: Witnessing millions of oppressed people rise from the depths of indignity and overthrow the yoke of dictatorship has spread a contagious euphoria throughout the world. Many supporters of Israel have especially rejoiced in the Arab Spring. Would Israel finally find peace with fellow democracies that share its democratic ideals? This initial excitement has led to the sobering realization that dethroning dictators cannot single-handedly create democratic societies. For the Arab Spring to succeed and for Israel to enjoy peace, neighboring countries must become not just democratic in name, but also democratic in values.

Few Arab countries have embraced a democratic ethos, and Egypt, despite exhibiting strong reformative fervor, is a telling case. The most powerful political party in Egypt is the Muslim Brotherhood, whose policies are anathema to the democratic values of toleration and equality. Prominent members of the party have supported domestic violence, flogging adulterers, and executing homosexuals. The chairman of the party, Muhammad Badi, in 2010 called for supporters to rise against, “the Muslim’s real enemies, not only Israel but also the United States.” How can Egypt become a flourishing democracy when these radical policies contradict the foundational philosophy of democracy? If Egypt and other countries allow extremist parties to hijack their societies, then their nascent democracies will certainly fail.

The 2006 election of Hamas in Gaza similarly shows how extremist groups often derail the development of democratic societies. Hamas limited Palestinians’ personal liberty and disrupted hopes for a just society. Hamas instituted a strict interpretation of Islamic law, enforcing a female dress code and criminalizing homosexuality. Far from promoting democratic values, Hamas distorted Islamic law by encouraging its citizens to pursue terrorism against Israel under the notion that "Jihad [is] the personal duty of every Muslim." If Arab countries follow the example of Gaza, then the Arab Spring will be a short-lived experiment in democracy. Arab citizens must prevent extremist groups that scorn democratic values from poisoning their democratic dreams.

Israel should not be the sole democracy in the region that provides suffrage for minority citizens, ensures the freedom of speech, and protects gender equality. Once Israel’s neighbors join the family of democratic nations sharing democratic values, the Middle East will finally be able to achieve the dream of peace that has eluded it for generations.

Turath

By Nadine Mansour and Gabriella Romanos Abi Habib: One year later, the Arab revolutionary spirit perseveres. For some nations, like Tunisia, it is manifested in its first democratic elections. For others, like Syria, the revolution still seeks the toppling of yet another authoritarian leader. Overall, results of the Arab Spring don’t seem as rosy as predicted.

The various regional revolutions have given way to volatile conditions, including economic disruptions and escalating crime. The ruptured veneer of stability sustained by decades-long oppression under authoritarian leaders can only lead to a long process of experimenting with representative government. Despite this democratic fervor, there is no guarantee of democracy. This is a gray transitional period between authoritarianism and democracy often defined by a cycle where leaders may rise and then fall soon thereafter as an effect of democratic accountability and constituent disapproval. Any attempt to predict future actions is futile in such a tumultuous period with revolving-door administrations.

Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya are one step ahead of the rest in this period of democratic transition. Where the former leaders of said nations have been ousted, it is important to recognize that the greatest injustice would be to overlook the socio-economic factors that triggered such movements in the first place. Without the fundamentals of a representative government present, bureaucratic processes such as the impending Mubarak trial draw attention away from the real factors that initiated revolutionary momentum. We must remember that the goal was not just to oust dictators, but to end their unjust policies.

While in Libya the transition is just beginning, Tunisia’s recent democratic elections have formed an assembly to draft a new constitution and set dates for future elections. For the time being, Tunisia is the archetype for democratic transition for the Arab world. We hope that following Egypt’s current parliamentary elections, it will become yet another model.

As students at an American university, Turath cannot venture so far as to assume what issues require the most attention, and we do not claim to have the understanding necessary to offer ideal solutions for the complexities of the movement. What we do understand are the basic human desires for justice as demanded by Arabs, and we actively support these actors as they passionately put themselves at risk in the name of justice and a hopeful future.