Carolyn Cooper | Vybz Kartel more progressive than the JLP on Gaza

In November 2010, I got an email from Nirit Ben-Ari, an Israeli journalist in Tel Aviv writing for Haaretz. She asked: “Do you think that the choice of the name ‘Gaza’ represents a political awareness and identification with the underdog?” My answer was, ‘Yes!’

In Jamaican dancehall culture, ‘Gaza,’ a name made popular by Vybz Kartel, represents resistance against oppressive political powers. ‘Mi deh pon di Gaza’ signifies a constant struggle for survival. Kartel compares disadvantaged Jamaicans to Palestinians relentlessly fighting against Israeli domination. ‘Gaza’ is not only a place. It’s a state of mind.

In Vybz Kartel’s Black Child – Pon Di Gaza 2.0, released in 2010, the DJ repeatedly asks, “Where is the love for the black child?” He gives several examples of the dread realities of poor people in Jamaica: No money to buy a house; no future for ghetto yute when they leave school; and the inadequacy of the minimum wage to sustain a decent standard of living.

WARNER MAN IN BABYLON

In these dehumanising circumstances, Kartel assumes the role of warner man, notifying Babylon of the inevitable consequences of failing to give young people opportunities for personal development: “Dis is not a threat is a warning/ Babylon yu naa go get weh/ Yu ha fi pay fi wa yu do to ghetto yute.”

Kartel gives words of encouragement to those with little faith in Babylon system:

“Mi black bredda dem just hold di faith

Selassie I have a plan fi yu

When one ghetto youth drop out

Ten more born, cau di journey continue.”

Long before Kartel claimed Gaza, Peter Tosh recognised that Palestinians, like black South Africans, were living in a state of apartheid. In the title track of his 1977 album Equal Rights, he declared, “Palestinians fighting for equal rights and justice.” At the 1979 ‘No Nukes’ concert at Madison Square Garden, Tosh dramatically wore traditional Palestinian clothing. He made a visually arresting political statement.

INDICTMENT OF THE US GOVERNMENT

In 2019, Bernie Sanders, outspoken Jewish senator, issued a powerful indictment of the US government for unconditionally funding Israel. He was speaking at the annual conference of J Street. On their website, they assert: “We believe that only a negotiated resolution agreed to by Israel and Palestinians can meet the legitimate needs and national aspirations of both peoples.”

Sanders addressed Israel directly: “You get 3.8 billion dollars every single year. If you want military aid, you’re gonna have to fundamentally change your relationship to the people of Gaza. In fact, in fact, I think it is fair to say that some of that 3.8 billion dollars should go right now into humanitarian aid in Gaza. I believe, absolutely, not only in the right of Israel to exist, but the right to exist in peace and security. That’s not a question.

“But what I also believe is the Palestinian people have a right to live in peace and security as well. And it is not – let me underline this because it will be misunderstood – it is not anti-Semitism to say that the Netanyahu government has been racist.” Four years later, Sanders’ words are even more pertinent at this time of war between Israel and Hamas: “What is going on in Gaza right now, for example, is absolutely inhumane. It is unacceptable. It is unsustainable.”

VENGEFUL POLITICS

Two Fridays ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas. Israel refused to agree. With Old Testament zeal, the government is absolutely committed to the vengeful politics advocated in their Holy Book – Leviticus 24:19-21, KJV:

“And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.” For many Israelis, the peaceful New Testament wisdom affirmed in Matthew 5:28-29, KJV is simply unacceptable: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

Palestinians in Gaza are also unwilling to turn the other cheek. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres said to the Security Council on October 24, “It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.... The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing.”

Given the worldwide condemnation of Israel’s use of excessive force in Gaza, resulting in the death of more than 9,000 Palestinian civilians, it is truly disgraceful that the Jamaican government failed to vote on the UN resolution. How has this administration sunk so low that it could not support the call for a truce? Are politicians afraid of losing their precious US visa? But even the US, the fiercest enabler of Israel, has appealed for a “humanitarian pause” in atrocities.

Taking shame out of our eyes, Jamaican activists have launched a petition on Gaza which can be accessed here: https://chng.it/RPCr8KRRYK. Unlike Kartel and Tosh, the present Jamaican Government does not appear to understand that the struggle for peace in Gaza is, ultimately, a call for equal rights and justice. There and here! As Kartel put it, “Dis is not a threat is a warning.”

Carolyn Cooper, PhD, is a teacher of English language and literature and a specialist on culture and development. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com