Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders & Intellectuals Speak Out aims to challenge several strata of the current Palestine discourse that have led to the present dead end: the American pro-Israel political discourse, the Israeli colonial discourse, the Arab discourse of purported normalization, and the defunct discourse of the Palestinian factions. None promote justice, none have brought resolution; none bode well for any of the parties involved. Here, an alternative Palestinian view of liberation and decolonization is provided by engaged Palestinian leaders and intellectuals, those who been actively involved in generating an ongoing Palestinian discourse on liberation, taking into account the parameters of their struggle as it now stands.
Drawing on their own remarkable personal experiences and successes — as archaeologists, artists, authors, community leaders, educators, filmmakers, historians, human rights activists, journalists, lawyers, spiritual leaders, political prisoners, and the like — they address what now, what next, is to be done, in a manner that reflects not only Palestinian aspirations, but their view of what is possible.
‘Liberation’ is a term that was dropped from the official Palestinian lexicon simply because it was incompatible with the US-championed political discourse, but it has resurfaced here because without its justice dimensions, there can be no peace. Now that the international community is able to see that Oslo, along with the ‘two-state solution’ model, has irreversibly failed, the paradigmatic void has opened space for the articulation of new possibilities. Our Vision for Liberation embraces this opportunity to introduce a new Palestinian discourse, one that is able to address current challenges and obstacles to Palestinian rights and freedom, and provide diverse paths, all leading forward.
“This is a fascinating, great book.”
— ROGER WATERS, founding member, Pink Floyd.
“These moving visions of a decolonized, democratic and free Palestine will resonate wherever collective yearnings for freedom have survived. Palestinian intellectuals, activists, and artists are a beacon both for the future of Palestine and the destiny of our globe.”
— ANGELA DAVIS
“Read this book and you will be strengthened and inspired. It’s a death knell to the Zionist fantasy and imperialist domination. Every page breathes the scent of freedom —sooner than is thought.”
— RONNIE KASRILS, South African anti-apartheid icon
“This book deserves a warm welcome. It celebrates the achievements of Palestinians and the rich diversity of their culture. Clearly, their spirit of resistance is alive and well.”
— KEN LOACH, Renowned British filmmaker
“There is eloquent, optimistic logic to this outstanding anthology… It is that Palestine will be free when, like a seed beneath the snow, the power of a universal movement emerges from below: truly a people’s liberation matched by our solidarity.”
—JOHN PILGER, Acclaimed Australian journalist and documentary filmmaker
“It is so important to pay attention to the brave and smart voices of Palestinians, those particularly who are active every day to bring decency and justice into a world getting uglier by the day.”
— VIJAY PRASHAD, Indian historian, and director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
“The first-hand testimonies in this collection of essays send a clear message to the racist apartheid occupiers of Palestine: your attempts to obliterate us have failed. Here we stand. Here is the evidence of the culture, the archeology, the history and the land that you have tried to persuade yourselves and the world that didn’t exist, here we stand as living proof of the presence you could not erase even after more than a century of trying.”
— JEREMY SALT, Author of The Unmaking of the Middle East: A History of Western Disorder in Arab Lands
