Palestinian flag at the "March of Children for Palestine" on December 2, 2023 in Los Angeles, California (French)
"From the river to the sea, Palestine is free..."
Perhaps this slogan, produced for Palestine, resembles the situation currently taking place in the world: an uprising of conscience is taking place in the world from the Pacific to the Mediterranean.
Millions of people of all nationalities, races, religions and colours rose up and took to the streets in dozens of countries like never before. It is an intifada of conscience against Israel;
In 36 years, the world has not seen such strong protests against Israel, even in the first intifada that began in the Jabalia refugee camp in Palestine, and what is striking is the diversity of participants in this intifada of conscience.
Sometimes we see this conscience in the protests of the heroic model Bella Hadid, sometimes we see it in athletes, such as Australian basketball player Kyrie Irving who wore a Palestinian headscarf in the NBA, sometimes we see it in the protests of the courageous Spanish minister Iona Belera who condemned all European politicians, and sometimes we see it in the millions in the streets.
In contrast, I think the recent pro-Palestine demonstrations resembled the Great March in Washington, in which Martin Luther King launched the Black Freedom Call.
The demonstration in Washington was so huge and effective that Elon Musk shared photos taken from a drone on social media with expressions of surprise.
Soon after, the largest pro-Palestine demonstration in recent years was organized in London, apparently as a challenge to Washington, and the Big Ben watch is said to have not seen such a crowd in 50 years.
These protests were followed by million-strong demonstrations in Malaysia, Pakistan, and Istanbul. What is going on?
Fashion designers decorate the runways with the colors of Palestine, musicians stirring excitement on stage with Palestinian songs, famous journalists resigning, saying, "I am not free," celebrities, cartoonists, comedians, academics, drivers, and trade union members.
From every profession and every field; people are revolting, denouncing and speaking out all over the world.
It suggests that Gaza has awakened the conscience of humanity.
More interestingly, these people oppose their countries' pro-Israel policies: when France banned the flag of Palestine, the streets of Paris, were dominated by red, black and white. When the German government threatened protesters with anti-Semitic crimes, people on Berlin's famous Alexanderplatz chanted: "Palestine is free."
No such joint action, such a joint rebellion, which has spread throughout the world, has been seen since the anti-war protests that swept the world in the seventies, and this is what I call the "uprising of conscience."
Israel has probably never been protested on such a large scale, by so many people of various nations, nor have the Palestinian people, who have suffered since 1948, received such universal support in their history.
On the other hand, these protests revealed that some countries are not as courageous as their people, and do not have the same conscience. Now, the question of Palestine is a conscientious issue that involves people of every religion and nationality, and not just Muslims.
In conclusion, we do not know exactly where these developments will lead, but we are certain that the world will not be the same.