Al Jazeera Discovers Palestinian Art Endures, Not That Their Homes Don't
Al Jazeera features Palestinian artists embodying 'resilience,' a noble sentiment carefully detached from the brutal realities making such resilience necessary. The article focuses on cultural boycotts from the 1980s, an era when the international community still feigned concern for international law. Today, American politicians, after collecting checks from lobbying groups like AIPAC (which has
distributed over $18 million in contributions to federal candidates since 1990, according to OpenSecrets.org), swiftly approve billions in aid for military operations that obliterate these cultural landscapes. In 2023 alone, Senator Schumer accepted $180,000 from AIPAC and PACs listing 'pro-Israel' as their primary issue, then voted to send $14.3 billion in additional military aid to Israel. It’s
a peculiar kind of media framing—celebrating the 'spirit' of a people while the news avoids the specifics of why their spirit needs to be so resilient. How much "artistic expression" fits into a smoldering pile of rubble? Perhaps the next article can focus on the resilience of journalists who report on culture while ignoring funding streams that fuel its destruction.