How can we explain that Israel, despite its genocidal attacks in Gaza and its violation of international law, remains immune to criticism? Why do many feminists in the Global North, so quick to denounce the impact of "Islamic fundamentalism" on Palestinian women, remain silent when it comes to decrying the gendered impact of Israeli apartheid in Palestine?
In
Palestine and Feminist Liberation, Palestinian scholar-activist Nada Elia argues that Palestinian women, far from being powerless and submissive, have long played an important role in resisting their people's dispossession, first by the British Mandate, then by Israel. Elia discusses the challenges diaspora Palestinian feminists face when organizing on Turtle Island, where the dominant discourse has long upheld the Zionist narrative, steeped in Orientalism and anti-Palestinian racism. She articulates a vision for liberation grounded in Indigenous feminism, with its focus on collective empowerment, rather than individual advancement.
