The Inseparability of Postcolonial Studies from Palestine: Reflections on Edward Said

Abstract

The plight of Palestinians in Palestine and in the diaspora is a result of Israeli settler colonialism. Israel’s atrocious behaviour to colonised Palestinians is manifested through a myriad of crimes such as blockading occupied territories, demolishing homes, educational institutions, hospitals, and places of worship, restricting their movements, cutting power and communication, killing rampages, massacres to the extent of genocide, and other gruesome violations of human rights – all designed to force Palestinians off their lands and to eventually occupy them. Among academic disciplines, postcolonialism is most relevant to the discourse of Israel and Palestine and most promising to the cause of justice and the promotion of human rights in the region. In this essay, I argue that, owing to Edward Said’s pioneering role in the development of postcolonial studies, the origin of this intellectual and literary movement is traced back to Palestinian resistance to Israeli colonisation. Therefore, practitioners of this decolonial discourse are in principle obligated to address the issue of Palestinian liberation from Israeli colonial oppression. Later in this essay, I also offer a cursory glance at some remarks of Salman Rushdie on the Israel-Palestine issue and discuss a perceived need for decolonising postcolonial studies.