The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network condemns the continued murders of Palestinians and Black Americans that are the result of racist and colonial ideologies of the Israeli and U.S. governments that endorse violence against the “other.” While we recognize the difference in context and historical circumstances of our oppressions, we believe that the struggles for liberation of both Palestinians and Black Americans are intertwined.
The regimes which sanction the killings of Blacks in the U.S.A and Palestinians share the same settler-colonial mentality built on supremacy.
On May 13, 2020, Mustafa Younis, a 26-year-old man suffering from a psychiatric disorder, was killed in the presence of his mother while trying to enter an Israeli hospital to undergo psychiatric examination prior to brain surgery. On May 30, 2020, Eyad Hallaq, a 32-year old man diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, was killed while he was heading to his education center in the Old City in East Jerusalem. Eyad was shot and killed from close range, although he was incapacitated lying on the floor, having already sustained a shot in the leg.
Both Younis and Hallaq could not have realistically posed a threat to the lives of the officers who killed them. They were murdered merely because they were Palestinians. As mental health professionals, we’re highlighting the murders of Younis and Hallaq because they suffered from mental health problems, and their disabilities did not shield them from being murdered. However, these perpetual crimes against Palestinians are not lone acts but the result of a racist ideology that sanctions violence against members of our Palestinian community. It is state-sanctioned crimes that aim to eliminate the Palestinian people: often Palestinian victims do not pose a threat and, more often than not, the perpetrators are either not prosecuted or get away with a slap on the wrist.
On May 25, 2020 George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man was murdered by a white police officer, in full view of multiple cameras, Floyd was handcuffed lying face down, uttering the words “I can’t breathe,” until he lost consciousness. His death was a result of the oppressive, racist structure of U.S. policing that condones such crimes.
Make no mistake, these acts of murder against Black Americans and Palestinians are not isolated incidents. Israeli policies of ethnic cleansing aim at eliminating Palestinian existence, and systemic racism in the United States actively leads to acts of murder against Black Americans. These state-sanctioned crimes are fueled by an ideology that brands Palestinians and Blacks as the "other" whose mere existence is a ‘threat’ and whose life does not matter; this ideology puts every "other" at risk of being eliminated.
We do not want to crudely equate the suffering of one oppressed people with another; however, as we continue to struggle for our liberation, we recognize that our own liberation as Palestinians cannot be achieved without the liberation of other oppressed people.
The systematic dehumanization and discrimination of people based on their skin color, religion, or ethnicity is neither sporadic nor incidental. We, Palestinian Mental Health professionals, believe the perpetrators are not those who pulled the trigger, but hegemonic, racist, and colonial mentalities to whom Arab life is dispensable. For the Israeli colonial force, the only ‘a good Arab is a dead Arab’.
The brutality of Israel's colonial forces is becoming ever clearer worldwide and needs to be stopped. We call on our colleagues in the mental health professions—both individuals and organizations—to take a stand and help us preserve the lives and dignities of the vulnerable and oppressed. These are our core morals and values; this is why we chose this vocation.
We call upon you to:
Condemn the murders of Palestinians and Black Americans.
Dismantle the systems of oppression and injustice by holding accountable those responsible.
End the “deadly exchange,” through which police from the U.S.A., Brazil, France and other countries are sent to train with the Israeli military, exchanging tactics that promote discriminatory and repressive policing.
Demand an end to the annual $3.8 billion in U.S. foreign military aid to Israel, used to suppress Palestinians.
Call for an end to the collaboration with academic and professional organizations that have for decades aided and abetted Israel's apartheid policies.
Lobby the professional mental health organizations not to hold their conferences in Israel.