"Solidarity places an undue burden on Palestinians to prove that they are worthy of it."
Precisely.
Imagine you're trapped inside your own house which is on fire, smoke filling your lungs, the fire's heat is rapidly roasting your skin. Your kids have already been burnt to death, and the roof just collapsed and killed your partner, you're the only one left. The fire brigade are outside with the ladders, but their hoses are filled with jet fuel being used to fill up the arsonist's buckets, as they throw more on the flames that are killing you. A stranger walks by, they take the ladder, but before raising it to your window they shout: "Are you a good person though? Why don't you like arsonists? How did YOU vote? Do you condemn fire? If, I save you, will you be thankful enough? Prove it."
If that makes you uncomfortable, good. It should, because if you're truly on the side of the oppressed, you should be uncomfortable with how comfortable we've all become with watching. This isn't about guilt, it's about clarity, and clarity can be hard to sit with.
In 1938, Evian Conference delegates debated whether jewish refugees were 'suitable' for resettlement, asking if they'd be economically disruptive, politically radical or would be culturally assimilated into whiteness. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, the UN and western regimes debated endlessly about whether the ANC's armed struggle disqualified black South Africans from international sympathy, nevermind solidarity, while Apartheid continued to murder and dispossess. In 1995 and beyond, Bosnian Muslims had to lobby for years to get the world to call Srebrenica what it was, while pundits 'both-sideds' yet another massacre of civilians. As men and boys were slaughtered by the thousands, the question wasn't "How do we stop this?", but "Are they even worth it?"
You might be thinking, "but I'm not like that, I'm different" and maybe you are. But are you different in your actions, have you moved beyond words, have you actually changed what you do? This isn't an accusation, it's an invitation to look honestly at yourself.
In every case above from Evian to Srebrenica, the delays and demand for proof, was the cost of doing nothing while people were murdered. Today, Palestinians are being asked to pass the same test, the only difference is we've already had 80 years before acting. Ask yourself, how much more proof is needed before you will act, what needs to actually happen beyond the present moment before you will?
Principles of solidarity-as-political-alignment
Move beyond the solidarity-as-sympathy framing. Would a stranger's sympathy be enough for you in your burning house? "I act as your witness as I watch you burn to death, thoughts and prayers with you."
Instead, move towards solidarity-as-political-alignment, turn off the hoses full of jet fuel being used by the arsonists, and say "I see you brothers and sisters, I've destroyed the buckets, here's the ladder, now let's put out the fire together, as one."
What follows isn't a prescription for the perfect ally, more an invitation to rethink what solidarity actually means. It's an invitation to join something that actually works, not because I have all the answers, but because I've seen what doesn't work and I refuse to keep doing it. These are the principles of solidarity-as-political-alignment as I understand them.
1. Palestinians are already leading, we should therefore follow
The direction of those resisting oppression is set by the oppressed, no one else. No matter what you have read, seen or heard, none of that or any analysis is a replacement for their reality of lived struggle. Palestinians are no victims in need of rescue, they are the very agents of their own liberation, they know their struggle better than any outsider ever possibly could. But this isn't as simple as "follow any Palestinian." Palestinian political leadership is fragmented, there are competing visions, strategies and interests. We need to follow those on the frontlines of resistance who are fighting for the complete dismantlement of the settler-colonial project.
For me, that means the One Democratic State Initiative and those aligned with that vision of a democratic state for all citizens from the river to the sea. We don't set the agenda, we ask, what do you need from us? We don't speak for Palestinians, we amplify their voices. We don't decide strategy, we align our action with theirs. We don't get to pick and choose which Palestinian leadership to follow based on what's comfortable, we follow the direction of liberation, even when it's uncomfortable. We listen before we speak, we learn before we act, we respond, we don't react. This is hard, as it requires discipline, humility and recognising that our instincts to speak, act and help, are often driven by our own desires to feel useful rather than by what's actually needed. We can unlearn this learned behaviour. By coordinating our action with Palestinian strategy, we check ourselves, "Am I doing this for them, or for me?" We don't burden them with our misunderstandings, even in our allyship.
2. Reactive solidarity is meaningless performance, not action
A protest today for a massacre of yesterday, a social media post as a video goes viral, a donation when a fundraiser appears in your feed. This isn't solidarity, it's reaction, and reaction is controlled by the system's timeline, not Palestinian strategy. In that reality, Empire is deciding when to strike, what makes the headlines, what we see and when we see it. When we only react, we are dancing to Empire's tune.
This doesn't mean we never respond to events, it means we don't only respond. It means our response is shaped by strategy, not by the manufactured news cycle. It means our action doesn't stop when the headlines move on. Palestinians don't need a dance, they need you to turn off the music and close down the nightclub. We can no longer wait for atrocities to act, we can't continue to let Empire set the pace of our organising. We need to build sustained, disciplined, political work that isn't dependent on what appears in orchestrated social media realities. We can do this, we can build something that isn't controlled by Empire.
3. One-way solidarity is the trap
When Palestinians are framed as "supported" we are positioning ourselves as the "supporters". This replicates the power asymmetry and dynamic we claim to oppose. That language means we become the saviours projecting our own virtues, imagining Palestinians to be helpless victims who must receive our charity. That isn't solidarity, it's progressive colonialism. We can no longer keep assuming we know what's best for Palestinians, we can't centre ourselves in the struggle. We need to recognise our role is to serve Palestinian strategy, not to lead it, not to direct it, not improve it, not to talk over it, not to water it down to satisfy our perceived moral righteousness.
There's no separate "us" and "them" in the struggle, because when they are attacked, we are attacked, and when they win, we all win. That's where the difference in leadership is, as they set the direction, and we serve it. There's only the colonised and the coloniser, and there's only one side to be on. Recognise that our role is to elevate Palestinian leadership, standing alongside it. Our solidarity isn't about ourselves, it's about liberation. Let's stop making it about us, and make it about what actually works.
4. Symbolism doesn't change material conditions
A profile picture frame, some hashtags, that slogan on a sign, a moment of silence. None of that stops bombs, lifts sieges, frees hostages or protects children. Symbolism makes us feel good, it doesn't make Palestinians safe. We need to start measuring our actions by their impact, not by visibility. We have to ask, how does this actually change the balance of power, and if doesn't, why not? If it's just symbolic and disconnected from Palestinian strategy, we shouldn't be doing it. Visibility that serves Palestinian-led strategy is different, but most of what we see isn't that. Most of what we see is reaction, performance and feel-good gestures that leave Empire's power structure untouched.
We need to recognise that the system isn't broken, it's working exactly as designed. Acting within it with the hope of reform is futile. That expends our energy on things that result in no change to the status quo, and that's the whole point. Recognising that isn't bad, it's the way of liberation. The system is designed to absorb our energy, to exhaust us with symbolic gestures and reformist fantasies while colonisation continues. We need to stop playing by these rules designed to keep us contained and imprisoned. We can do better than symbols, we must.
5. Humanitarianism as defined today isn't neutral
I say this having worked in the aid sector for 12 years. I've seen it in Gaza, in Lebanon, in South Sudan, in Congo, in Haiti, in every location the aid sector operates. This connects to what I said about reactivity, because the humanitarian sector is one of the primary ways Empire controls how we respond. But it's deeper than that, as the aid sector isn't just about timing, it's about form. It maintains the conditions it claims to address, channeling resources away from resistance towards institutions that stabilise colonial systems. It positions outsiders as saviours and Palestinians as helpless recipients. This is supremacist behaviour, it happens everywhere because that's the point, that's how it operates by design.
If people won't ally with Palestinians because I point this out, they were never an ally to begin with, as allies can handle the truth about the systems within which they exist. We must reject humanitarian framing that depoliticises Palestinian struggle and refuse to be part of systems that maintain colonial conditions. Start centring political solutions, not charity, not aid, not "development", as none of that works. The aid sector isn't broken, it's working exactly as designed to maintain the status quo. Recognising that isn't bad, it's the path to liberation. This maybe hard to hear if you work in this sector. I know, I did too, but there's a different way.
6. Sustained organising is the only path
Mass movements are powerful, but they aren't enough. They're reactive, subject to Empire's control, burn out and fade. What's needed is sustained, disciplined, intentional organising. People who are committed for the long haul, who understand victory isn't guaranteed, who organise because it's the only response to annihilation, not because they're certain of winning. This isn't about being perfect, but consistent. It's about showing up when the cameras aren't there, when the posts aren't trending, when it's hard and thankless and there's no validation waiting for you. We can do this, we can build something that lasts.
Focus on the target
The old model of solidarity is broken, reactive, performative and ultimately complicit in the Empire it claims to oppose. We need something else, a model that is:
- Palestinian-led
- Strategically disciplined
- Sustained over time
- Focused on power, not symbolism; and
- Grounded in political analysis, not humanitarian sentimentality
This isn't about being a good ally, it's about being an effective one, one that builds power to dismantle the settler-colonial project. Led by Palestinians.
We need to be absolutely clear about what we're aiming at. The target isn't a ceasefire, isn't a two-state solution, isn't the removal of one zionist to be replaced by another, not humanitarian relief. The target is the complete dismantlement of the settler-colonial project and the establishment of a democratic state for all citizens, from the river to the sea, where people live as equals with full rights, in a real democracy.
Anyone who distracts from this target needs to be challenged with clarity and camaraderie. Sometimes people don't understand what we're actually aiming at, and they need to be brought into the conversation with patience. Sometimes people are confused by the noise and need to be gently redirected. Sometimes people are so used to reformist thinking that they can't imagine anything else. This is about keeping us all focused on the real goal. The struggle is hard enough without us aiming at the wrong thing. We need to help each other stay clear, stay aligned and stay on target. This isn't about being exclusive or pure. It's about being effective. Without clarity on the target, we can't win.
There will be people who tell you this is unrealistic. They'll tell you to be pragmatic, to accept less, to work within the system. Those people are either naive about how systems change or invested in the system not changing. The Palestinians who are leading this struggle know what they're fighting for. They've known for 80 years. It's time for the rest of us to catch up.
A new way
Imagine a struggle where Palestinians set the direction and we move together behind them. Imagine a movement where we don't wait for the next atrocity to act, where our organising is actually sustainable and disciplined, where we focus on power and not symbols, where we recognise that the system is broken and we choose to break it.
Imagine what that would look like for us, waking up each day knowing what our role is, knowing who we're accountable to, measuring our actions by whether they actually shift power. Not wondering if we're doing enough, because we already know what enough looks like. Not performing virtue but building power. Not asking Palestinian comrades to prove their worth, but asking what they need and then delivering it. Imagine relationships built on trust and accountability, not guilt and performance.
And imagine what that could look like for our Palestinian comrades, not having to waste energy making their case to the world, not having to beg for attention or sympathy, not having to perform their pain for an audience that might or might not decide they're worthy. Palestinians could focus their energy on liberation because we have finally stopped asking them to prove they deserve to live.
That's what's worth building, not a perfect movement, but a serious one. Not one that makes us feel good, but one that actually works. Not one that makes us comfortable, but one that makes us effective.
This is what the One Democratic State Initiative is building, it's what I believe the article by one of its coordinators "Rethinking solidarity with Palestine" is referring to, and it's what I am committing to.
I am still listening, hearing, understanding, adapting, learning, becoming. But I am committed to this path, and I invite others to join. Not because I have all the answers, but because the old way is killing us all.
