In memory: How Palestine is defining the next generation's leadership
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The war on Gaza is mirroring the historic war on Vietnam by the US, in which memories of the youth would eventually form society’s next leaders and opinion makers, namely in the West.
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Palestinians search for their belongings amid the rubble of houses destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 11, 2024. (AFP)
All wars “are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory”, Vietnamese Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen says in his 2016 book Nothing Ever Dies.
In an editorial, The National wrote that the war on Gaza is mirroring the historic war on Vietnam by the US, in the sense that the memories of the youth will eventually form society’s next leaders and opinion makers, namely in the West.
One exhibit is the current Eurovision Song Contest, which was met with boycotts and protests worldwide, with pro-Palestinian acts being met with censorship, alongside the booing of the Israeli contestant.
During the semi-final rehearsals of the Eurovision song contest in Sweden, cries of 'Free Palestine' were heard amid boos and shouts during "Israel's" performance. "Israel's" Eurovision contestant, Eden Golan, performed at the second-semi final on Thursday evening, despite being booed by crowds during Wednesday's rehearsal.
Meanwhile, Eurovision viewers have claimed that fake crowd noise was used to drown out the boos for the performance of the Israeli contestant, calling them "anti-booing techniques." During the semi-final on Thursday evening, many took to X to claim there was “anti-booing” technology being used during "Israel’s" performance, as Golan was once again met with boos from the crowd.
Palestine 'the issue of the age'
Last week, many celebrities attending the Met Gala in New York were subject to the online campaign named social media “guillotining”, in which activists were posting the names of those known to be silent about Palestine, and called on the world to unfollow or block them online.
This all comes while the US is witnessing a nationwide uproar in universities by students staging encampments to show support for Palestine while demanding the institutions to divest from companies tied to the occupation.
Read more: How Columbia University is the new face of the Intellectual Intifada
Historical events such as the Vietnam War protests in the US, the May 1968 Paris student riots, and the worldwide call to end apartheid in South Africa were all brought to life by the young, tech-savvy, and educated.
Now Palestine has become the "issue of the age" in 2024, a case of social justice.
It is also worth knowing that the Israeli claims of antisemitism which have always been sown into Western politics now do not deter the youth from calling out injustice.
Palestine has now become the defining issue for the new and upcoming generation, especially in the West where many have no personal ties to the Middle East.
US media coverage has played a major role in the lack of dissemination of the correct information, and when information is reported, it is often skewed. It is quite crucial, as most young Americans and youth around the world resort to social media as their main source of information.
