Palestine


So after my recent post that included some bits and bobs from Cannonball’s “thinkstagram” series he made over the past year or so, we decided it’d be a good idea for me to post more from this series on the site.

If you feel called to do so in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, you also have permission to share any of Cannonball’s Palestine posts on your own socials. His Instagram is currently set to “private” for the purpose of redirecting people to this site, so if you’d like to share his posts on your own page, you’ll need to download them.

Here’s a folder you can download them from: Cannonball Statman Posts about Palestine (2023-2024)

Cannonball did say to include, as a crucial caveat: this is him speaking from an American Jewish perspective about Palestine. And this kind of perspective can bring certain kinds of clarification and inspiration about the interconnectedness of our lives and liberatory struggles, but it’s not the primary perspective you should be looking for.

First and foremost: when it comes to Palestine, you should be listening to Palestinians.

Slide 2 of Cannonball’s post on the 15th of May, 2024; the 1st day of the 76th year of the Nakba.

It shouldn’t even be necessary for this series to be written. Because we’ve had over 76 years now to figure this out: the Israeli state, which was openly founded for the purpose of annihilating Palestinian humanity and colonising Palestinian land, is simply doing exactly what it said it would do.

It’s not complicated.

Israel is a fascist terror state. It represents fascists and terrorists. Not Jews.

But again, this shouldn’t even need to be said. Because who they represent isn’t even relevant.

What’s relevant is, for over 76 years now, they’ve been committing the most heinous crime known to humanity: genocide.

Meanwhile, they accuse Palestinians of “terrorism” – they even sometimes accuse Palestinians of “genocide” – simply for fighting back.

Simply for refusing to die.

With this vile abuse of language and its devastating consequences, the Israelis have effectively forfeited their right to speak on the matter.

So, to learn about Palestine: listen to Palestinians.

Bisan and Lama Jamous are two of so many brilliant and courageous Palestinian journalists you can learn from today.

And there are any number of Palestinian people who’ve released a wealth of written and recorded works on any number of topics, in English and in other languages, from Edward Said to MC Abdul to Aminah and Hussein Musa to Line On Some Trip to far too many others to name here.

Palestinian culture, history, and humanity is incredibly rich and diverse. It fully speaks for itself, as any society does.

You’re simply less likely to have heard about it because these are people whose lives have been considered a lot less valuable by White society. And that’s part of the problem.

West Asian voices, especially Palestinian voices, have long been drowned out and discarded by a world that wants them to die. The fact that you can watch any number of news reports and read any number of articles supposedly about Palestine without ever hearing from a single Palestinian is something we should all be deeply troubled by, because this silencing and erasure is also part of the genocide.

So listen to Palestinians. They’re the ones affected by all this, and they know more about it than anyone.

Slide 9 of Cannonball’s post about “Blockout 2024”

That being said, you might be wondering – why did Cannonball, a non-Palestinian, speak on this in the first place, after 75 years of the ongoing Nakba?

Because that’s what so many Palestinians have been asking us all to do.

The grim reality is, many people in the West had never heard about Palestine from any perspective other than the genocidally anti-Palestinian perspectives that are the norm in Western media, which leave out key facts and context as a means to justify this ongoing genocide. And Palestinians tend to be very aware of this.

So in the 75th year of the Nakba (15th May 2023 – 15th May 2024), there was an immense push for people who aren’t Palestinian to advocate for Palestinians and make their voices be heard by anyone who hadn’t heard them before.

Now in the 76th year of the Nakba, the whole world has heard what Palestinians have to say. Many people have simply chosen the path of White supremacy, fascism, and terrorism, by not listening.

For the most part, those who choose not to listen are those who made their bed long ago. They’ve found themselves in a mass murder-suicide cult called Zionism, and they’ve decided they like it that way.

We’ve mourned the deaths of their souls, and we live with the reality that there’s nothing more we can do to save them from themselves, now that they’ve heard our voices and consciously chosen to give themselves to this full and total death.

Many more, on the other hand, have chosen to listen with their hearts open, to understand what’s happening, and to stand with Palestinians for liberation and justice.

A lot of these people started off by listening to a “safe”, “palatable” White person like Cannonball explaining the situation, and this is how they realised the Palestinian perspective is what needs to be centred and amplified. But make no mistake, this should never have been necessary.

Again: first and foremost, you should be listening to Palestinians.

See you soon!
Kléo

P.S. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for this one: on the 14th of June, a very special new version of the Cannonball Statman song “Henry Hudson” will be released as part of Killing The Flowers Will Not Delay Spring, a benefit compilation by queer artists from which all proceeds will be donated to The Freedom Theatre in Jenin.

And if you’re in the New York area June 16th, there will also be a release celebration at Purgatory from 6-9pm, and all proceeds from the celebration will go to eSims for Gaza.

Table of Contents
  1. For Context
  2. The Total Inversion of the Concept of Anti-Semitism
  3. No Ethnic Group Is More Or Less Predisposed To Good Or Evil
  4. Humanisation
  5. Young American Artists
  6. Grassroots Music and Arts Communities
  7. Statement on Dezionisation as an Integral Aspect of Cannonball Statman’s Work
  8. Kimya Dawson
  9. Understanding Hasbara as a System of Control Through Mental Terror
  10. How Hasbara Creates Information Ghettos
  11. On the 51st Birthday of the Mental Patients Union
  12. Understanding Anti-Semitism
  13. It Does Not Make Me Ashamed To Be Jewish
  14. Why Palestine Matters To Everyone
  15. For Your Sweet Eccentric Aunt
  16. The Pathologization of Empathy
  17. Blockout 2024
  18. 15th of May, 2024
For Context
The Total Inversion of the Concept of Anti-Semitism
No Ethnic Group Is More Or Less Predisposed To Good Or Evil
Humanisation
Young American Artists
Grassroots Music and Arts Communities
Statement on Dezionisation
as an Integral Aspect of Cannonball Statman’s Work
Kimya Dawson
Understanding Hasbara
as a System of Control Through Mental Terror
How Hasbara Creates Information Ghettos
On the 51st Birthday of the Mental Patients Union
Understanding Anti-Semitism
It Does Not Make Me Ashamed To Be Jewish
Why Palestine Matters To Everyone
For Your Sweet Eccentric Aunt
The Pathologization of Empathy
Blockout 2024
15th of May, 2024
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