Stuart Littlewood – a tireless campaigner for the Palestinian cause – describes how he was harassed by an employee of the Palestinian embassy in London and branded “an enemy of Palestine” because he criticized the failure of the embassy to promote the Palestinian cause to the British public and to counter the lies and propaganda of Israel.
Shock-horror, I’ve just been declared an enemy of Palestine.
Naturally, I’m anxious to behave correctly in this crisis situation. Should I be sobbing my heart out?
Or should I throw a party to celebrate my new status and wear it like a badge of honour? Is there a club I can join?
Being cast into outer darkness by the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority is a great sadness. They are running out of friends so fast that they really can’t afford to make more enemies.
But never mind, Palestine is not the PLO or the PA. There are still the ordinary Palestinian people, whom I greatly admire for their courage and cheerful resilience. And those guys in Gaza – you know, their democratically-elected government which is holed up there and still being blitzed and starved every day along with the 1.5 million population. We dare not speak their name because a gang of criminal lunatics in the West has labelled them terrorists. They represent Palestine too.
Anyway, I just had to drop the ambassador a line to tell him – as if he didn’t already know – that this ranting female, known to me only as “Linda X”, rang from the embassy and I suspect she’s one of his bird-dogs. She accused me of negative criticism and branded me an enemy of Palestine.
I call my remarks fair comment, of course, and they are always accompanied by positive marketing advice.
The ambassador’s reply sets a new tone in diplomatic language:
I had promised myself not to react to your destructive and negative emails, that carry no weight and based on flagrant distortions of the facts about the Palestinian General Delegation. However, I must straighten the records with your extremely biased allegations that are utterly baseless and serves only the interests of our enemy.
He continues in this vein with little regard for facts. To save embarrassment I will not reproduce it all, but here is a snippet.
Firstly, you are not qualified to judge the performance of the Delegation because it is obvious that your little knowledge about our activities is posing a great damage to our ethos and reputation. Secondly, instead of attacking the ambassador for not appearing enough on radio and television, concert your efforts and skills in extracting interviews for him by putting pressure on your biased media than accusing the ambassador and the Delegation...
I still insist to meet you face to face, but it seems you don't have the guts to face the realities...
If the ambassador and his staff cannot cultivate media contacts and persuade them he’s worth reporting, they should find other employment. How absurd to suggest that I or anyone else should try to fix him up with media interviews.
Yes, we all know the British media are biased. But editors say they receive press releases from the embassy "once in a blue moon". When will it sink in that the Palestinians’ press and public relations team must be at least as professional as the Israelis’?
I’m accused of refusing to meet him despite the fact that I have been to the embassy twice. He turned down a further meeting in Cambridge because he decided it was unnecessary, rudely dumping the campaigners (including myself) who invited him. I have offered to meet him again but on reflection can’t think why I should.
He’s right about one thing though. Not being on the diplomatic cocktail circuit or embedded with the ambassadorial retinue, I’m in no position to judge at close quarters the activities of the Delegation. All I have is the view from the outside like everyone else – and it’s depressing. Israel is given a free ride and the Palestinian cause deserves far better representation than it is getting.
If the ambassador cannot see the need for a disciplined media strategy and a website showcasing the desperate plight of the Palestinians and their right to freedom, and take criticism with good grace, perhaps he should return to the gentle academic life of Bethlehem University.
If it’s any consolation to him, a Palestinian reader commenting on the article that caused all the fuss has written to say: “How about the Palestinian embassy in Ottawa? It’s even worse than the one in London.”
Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation. For further information please visit www.radiofreepalestine.co.uk.
