Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the humanitarian catastrophe there have deeply changed how people around the world think about politics, human rights and the international order, US journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin has said. After what has happened in Gaza, she said, the world cannot return to what it was. She also linked Palestinian freedom to the wider struggle of oppressed people everywhere.
Martin spoke at the closing show of US rapper Macklemore’s pro-Palestine concert tour in Paris. Before thousands of people, she described Gaza as one of the most important moral and political tests in the world today.
“Gaza has changed the world, it has changed every one of us. It has exposed where everyone really stands. There is no going back to the world as it was before this struggle,” Martin said.
In her view, Israel’s campaign in Gaza has not only exposed the oppression of Palestinians but also raised serious questions about international politics, the media, human rights and how international law is applied in practice. In particular, she said, it has laid bare the positions of Western countries that speak of human rights and justice.
Addressing artists, intellectuals and cultural figures, she said there was no longer room to stay silent on Gaza. Each person must decide whether to stand against injustice or to help keep the existing order in place.
Artists, Martin said, must decide whether they will keep people numb or stand for change. She called for culture and art to be used to build public opinion against injustice.
Widening the question, Martin said Palestinian liberation cannot be separated from the struggle of people everywhere against domination, oppression and the distortion of truth. She sees the fight for Palestinian freedom and self-determination as part of a broader global movement for justice.
She also spoke of the cultural boycott and solidarity movements for Palestine in Western countries. In her view, these efforts are shaping public opinion outside the usual political and media narratives, and artists and cultural figures should weigh the moral responsibility that comes with their work.
Martin is a long-time critic of US foreign policy, military intervention and Israel’s actions. Her documentary “Gaza Fights for Freedom” portrays Palestinian life, the blockade and resistance.
In an earlier interview with Current Affairs magazine, Martin said the Palestinian question is no longer an isolated issue but has moved to the centre of humanity’s collective liberation. In her words, Gaza and Palestine are deeply tied to people’s collective freedom.
Martin said the solidarity and political awareness that have grown around Gaza worldwide have shown the importance of connections between people in different countries and of a shared stand against oppression.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report