WHEN the celebrated academic Edward Said first started writing and speaking out in the late twentieth century about justice for Palestine, supporters of Israeli apartheid found themselves unprepared. They didn’t anticipate that they would face such an articulate and formidable defender of Palestinians’ rights to life and human dignity. Though of Palestinian descent, Said studied at Victoria College in Egypt and subsequently at Princeton and Harvard Universities in the United States. He taught at Columbia University in New York City for four decades — from 1963 until his death in 2003 — and lectured at many other prominent universities, including Harvard and Johns Hopkins.

Most Palestinians cannot afford to have a continuous and uninterrupted formal education, let alone the excellent academic training that Edward Said had received. Their first nakba, or ‘catastrophe’ happened in 1948, when Zionist militias and mercenaries — that later morphed into what is now the IDF — killed tens of thousands of indigenous Palestinians and massacred hundreds of Palestinian towns; more than half of the Palestinian population was also displaced. Since then, Israeli atrocities in the form of regular raids, killings, and demolitions have made the lives of Palestinians a hell on earth.

Israel has robbed Palestinians of their normal lives. They live in fear and are at the crossroads of a continuous search for safety. They cannot think of acquiring the desired qualifications and skill sets that could help them articulate their fears and losses as well as their hopes and aspirations. It is simply a miracle that Palestine still has the likes of Hanan Ashrawi and Mustafa Barghouti to tell the world its stories and what it stands for. But their number is very small.

Conversely, Israelis are privileged in all spheres of life. Their politicians, academics, spokespeople, commentators, and members of the intelligentsia are highly skilled and exceptionally trained. They are prosperous individuals with impressive educational and professional backgrounds and academic achievements and are well-connected with the West. They have gone to the best universities in Britain and the USA, and their English proficiency level is no lower than that of their counterparts in these two countries. A quick look at the educational credentials of the members of the Israeli cabinet and the Knesset will substantiate my contention.

Given the above facts, we should not be judgmental or cynical when we see Palestinians struggle to articulate their anguish or become emotional or agitated in media appearances. Nor should we be surprised when we find their Israeli counterparts extremely eloquent, measured, composed, and prudent in the media, ‘although it is difficult to say where prudence ends and hypocrisy begins.’

The huge gap in competence between Israelis and Palestinians has perturbed me for a long time. In 2021, I saw a glimmer of hope and felt very optimistic about the future of Palestine. I explain the reason below.

There was no ‘October 7 Hamas attack’ in 2021. On May 10, 2021, Israel launched air strikes on Gaza, demolished properties, and killed Palestinian men, women, and children indiscriminately. Israel’s gruesome crimes continued until a ceasefire was implemented on May 21. It all started when Israel wanted to evict six Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. Palestinians protested, and Israelis started to contain and kill them. In that context, I wrote an essay that was published under the title ‘World sees Palestinians as fighting an occupation’ (New Straits Times, May 19, 2021).

As it is always the case, during the May 2021 Israeli assault on Gaza, as part of a farcical attempt to stifle free speech, criticisms of Israel were routinely equated with antisemitism in the pro-Israeli media. We, the academics in the Department of English Language and Literature at International Islamic University Malaysia, contemplated organising a webinar on this topic. I was tasked with putting it together.

I discussed the plan with my long-time friend, the late Dr John Molyneux. I made friends with him in the early 2000s when I was doing a PhD at the University of Portsmouth, UK, where he was an academic. Our friendship and communication continued until 2022, when John suddenly passed away.

John was a passionate advocate for justice for Palestine, which I discuss in ‘Remembering John Molyneux, friend of Palestinians and oppressed peoples’ (2023). During my PhD years at Portsmouth, John and I were involved in organising rallies in solidarity with Palestinians and other oppressed groups. I attended his lectures on campus and beyond and heard him deliver reasoned speeches in support of the Palestinian cause.

I asked John to be the main speaker of the webinar. He readily agreed and told me that he had just written an essay titled ‘Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism’ (2021). He shared it with me, and it is an excellent piece. Both John and I considered the title of the webinar and decided that it would be ‘Anti-Zionism Is Not Anti-Semitism: Reflections on Recent Israeli Atrocities in Gaza.’ We scheduled the event for May 28, 2021.

But we needed at least one more speaker. Who could that be?

I asked for John’s opinion on the idea of inviting a Palestinian speaker, preferably from Gaza. He replied: ‘Yes, it is a good idea to have a Palestinian speaker. I suggest they speak first about the immediate situation, and I speak second about the background and antisemitism issue.’

By the way, I co-edited Displaced & Forgotten: Memoirs of Refugees (2017), which includes a memoir by a woman from Gaza. I asked the other co-editor of the book to approach the Gazan woman with a request to speak at the webinar. She agreed but suggested that a high school student, Amal (not her real name), would be a better discussant.

A high school girl would be the co-panellist with the veteran British academic and intellectual John Molyneux! Initially, I found it hard to digest the idea or to comprehend the possibility.

Long story short, Amal spoke at the webinar on May 28, 2021.

Her presentation was absolutely superb. It was a delightful experience for me to hear a high school girl from Gaza speak so eloquently and confidently. Her natural fluency and immaculate English were her strengths in communicating her ideas well. Amal’s arguments were clear, discreet, measured, and dispassionate but compelling. Her speech meant the world to me.

John was equally taken by Amal’s performance and asked me to give his contact details to her. On May 29, 2021, I wrote to Amal: ‘Your performance yesterday was absolutely marvellous. We are all impressed!… Dr John Molyneux wants me to give you his email address.’

I gave her John’s email address, and on June 2, 2021, I received the following message from John: ‘I received an email from [Amal] very promptly. In fact, my response to her was a little delayed (by personal circumstances), but I have replied to her now, saying I would like, if she is willing, to do a Zoom interview with her.’

In 2004, one year after Edward Said left this world, I presented a paper at a conference themed ‘Remembering Edward Said’ at the University of Toronto. Participants in that conference shuddered with sadness for Said’s death, thinking that they would not see him write an essay for The Nation immediately after an Israeli atrocity in Palestine. Nearly two decades after Said’s demise, Amal’s speech at the webinar cheered me up and instilled in me hope and optimism that there would be more Edward Saids to represent Palestine and its people.

Since Israel launched the ongoing, internecine genocide against Gaza, I have been gripped by a fear for Amal’s life. We heard in October 2023 that Amal and her family members were still alive and moving to Khan Younis because Israel said the southern Gaza city would be safe. In early December 2023, Israel started levelling Khan Younis, and the city is now a remnant of genocide.

My co-editor of Displaced & Forgotten sent a WhatsApp message to Amal’s mother on December 2, 2023. It is undelivered.

Israel has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian children, women, and men — and maimed and injured many more — in this ongoing genocide alone. I still hope Amal and her family members are alive and well. Perhaps they have been running away with their lives.

But what about Amal’s school and the university she would attend? Israeli bombings have reduced all to rubble. Israel has done everything to ruin Amal’s opportunity to receive a normal education. Thus, the apartheid state kills Palestinians and threatens to shatter their dreams. But it is defeated by their great courage and unshakeable resolve.

Israel exhibits its dastardly cowardice with every bomb it drops on Palestinians.

Md Mahmudul Hasan, PhD, is professor in the Department of English language and literature, International Islamic University Malaysia.