Dear Editor,

I have been unapologetically pro-Palestine and critical of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. I remain so. But solidarity should not require historical amnesia.

There is a story about black people on both sides of this conflict that deserves more attention, particularly from those of us in Jamaica who speak seriously about Africa, slavery, racism, and the Diaspora.

Slavery did not begin with Europeans crossing the Atlantic. Various forms of slavery existed in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East for centuries, including the enslavement and trafficking of Africans through Arab and Muslim-majority societies.

Acknowledging this does not diminish the uniquely racialised, hereditary, and plantation-based horror of European chattel slavery in the Americas, nor does it justify anything being done to Palestinians today. History is not a competition in which one atrocity cancels another.

But there are black Palestinians whose history deserves to be remembered.

Gaza has an Afro-Palestinian community historically concentrated around Gaza City’s Al Jalla’a area. Some families trace their ancestry to Africans brought to the region through older systems of slavery; others descend from Africans who arrived as pilgrims, merchants, soldiers, and migrants. The community has also faced colourism and anti-black prejudice, including discrimination in employment, marriage, and social life.

The name Al Abeed, associated with “slaves”, is an uncomfortable reminder that historical attitudes can survive long after formal slavery ends. Black Palestinians have nevertheless participated in the Palestinian struggle. Fatima Bernawi, a Palestinian of Nigerian ancestry, was one of the earliest prominent Palestinian women involved in resistance and is widely remembered as the first female Palestinian political prisoner.

This is the contradiction we need to be mature enough to understand: a people can suffer oppression and still have prejudices within their own society. The same principle applies on the other side.

Ethiopian Jews, or Beta Israel, have faced documented discrimination in Israel, including in employment, housing, education, and policing. The 2019 killing of Solomon Tekah, a 19-year-old Ethiopian Israeli, sparked mass protests against anti-black racism. I can acknowledge that without becoming an apologist for the Israeli State.

Likewise, I can support Palestinian liberation without pretending that Palestinian society is free of anti-blackness.

Some will argue that increased racism within Arab or Palestinian societies only gives ammunition to people trying to undermine the Palestinian cause. There is truth in the danger of that manipulation. The history of slavery in Muslim-majority societies has certainly been weaponised by detractors of Palestine to confuse Africans and justify Israeli atrocities.

But that cannot mean black people must remain silent about anti-blackness. Supporting a free Palestine does not require us to put Palestinians on a pedestal, and opposing anti-black racism does not require us to weaken our opposition to occupation, displacement, or violence against Palestinians. These positions are not contradictory.

In fact, I believe our solidarity gives us the right — and perhaps the responsibility — to make a simple request. This is not a prerequisite for aid, it is not “fix yourselves first”. It is not a condition attached to Palestinian liberation. It is simply an ask; every good turn deserves favour.

Just as we bear Palestine in mind, we ask that Palestinians and their supporters to bear Al Abeed in mind. If we stand with Palestinians against discrimination, we should also ask them to stand against anti-black discrimination within their own society. If South Africa can go to bat for Palestinian justice, surely our solidarity can include asking for justice for black Palestinians too.

A strong and fully embraced black Palestinian community would not weaken Palestinian society. Instead, it could strengthen its connection with Africa and the wider black world.

As Jamaicans, we should understand this complexity. Our own history is a collision of African, European, Asian, and indigenous histories, as well as slavery, colonialism, resistance, and migration. We know that people who have suffered oppression can still reproduce prejudice.

Human beings are complicated, so I reject both extremes:

• Palestinians suffer; therefore, they cannot be racist

• Some Palestinians are racist; therefore, Palestinian liberation is illegitimate.

Both are wrong.

We can oppose anti-black racism wherever it appears without allowing it to become an excuse for denying Palestinian rights. We can say free Palestine and also say black Palestinians deserve freedom from anti-blackness. This is not betrayal; it is consistency.

Just as we ask the world to bear Palestine in mind, we ask Palestinians to bear blackness in mind.

Yannick Pessoa

Montego Bay, Jamaica

yannickpessoa@yahoo.com