Palestinian-American historian, journalist and author, Dr. Ramzy Baroud, speaks on his upcoming book, just-released digital media project – Palestine in Motion – and why Palestinian history has to be urgently retold.
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When it comes to Palestine, we often see a dichotomy between mainstream media platforms – which are essentially molded out of a Zionist narrative – and a counter-narrative, produced by a young generation of highly educated Palestinians which try to reach new audiences, tear down the limits imposed by the dominant rhetoric and take center stage. This generation of intellectuals tries to define its role in the aftermath of the Oslo fiasco, now that it has become clear that the US-sponsored ‘Peace Process’ as the sole criterion of conflict resolution is dead and gone.
The Internet has created favorable conditions to spread this counter-narrative on a journalistic level, but there is still much work to be done, especially on a deeper level.
Palestinian intellectuals cannot confine themselves to reporting mere facts, because the Israeli narrative is based on a cruel but very elementary concept: rewriting history in order to completely erase Palestinians.
Is it possible to act on two fronts? Can we combine the journalistic experience and the historian’s analysis? What should be done in order to neutralize the Israeli propaganda and its attempts to cancel the Palestinian point of view and even the very existence of a Palestinian…