While since the beginning of the 21st century, world public opinion shifted fundamentally in Palestine’s favour, this transition was not reflected in policies from above. Human rights organizations were willing to frame Israel as an Apartheid State and the UN discussed occupation as annexation. Governments continued with economic, diplomatic and military support for the state of Israel. The most blatant movement in politics from above in this respect was the normalisation between Israel and several Arab states, and substantiated rumors of further normalisation with Muslim countries. The gap between the global civil society and public opinion on the one hand, and the policies of governments and rulers, on the other, means that the Zionist narrative, the criminal actions on the ground and the future policies of oppression are not going to be challenged by most of the governments in the world. As a result, the Palestinian perspective and narrative are suppressed from above, although they are adopted and defended by societies themselves. In this webinar we describe this gap and its implications on the situation in Palestine, explain why it still persists and seek advice from experts and activists of possible ways forward in narrowing this gap in the geo-political world that unfolded in this century.
