It Is Our Belief That Palestine is a Feminist Issue...

Abstract

To date, apparently, no major Western women’s or feminist organization has declared its solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. This introduction argues that the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation and for rights, justice and equality is a fundamentally feminist issue. It is so both on the grounds of the traditions of international solidarity that have been central to feminisms that are also anti-racist and anti-imperialist and because Israel’s occupation and legalized system of discrimination targets the reproduction of Palestinian life in the fullest sense, not only as biological life but also in the larger sense of the social and cultural. The paper concludes by arguing that the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel is a crucial intervention which, in consistency with feminist theory and practice, feminists internationally should endorse and act upon.