Send in the Keffiyeh Clowns
Why the "pro-Palestine peace marches" are the biggest circus in town.
Something revealing happens when wars end – or threaten to end, as is the case with the Israel-Palestine ceasefire. The people who screamed loudest for peace now can’t seem to find their voice. The ecstasy of righteous fury has given way to the come-down that inevitably follows periods of intoxication. Confused and disoriented, they search for reasons why this peace won’t do: the ceasefire isn’t comprehensive enough; the terms favour the wrong side; the timing is suspicious. Peace, it turns out, was never really the point.
The last few years have introduced us to new members of the activist class. These are a strange hybrid of professional protesters and outrage merchants, keffiyeh-clad leftists and Islamofascists. Resolution in the Israel-Palestine conflict signals unemployment for these protesters. Worse, it heralds the absence of meaning. Why? Because they’ve built whole identities based on righteous anger, LinkedIn-optimised careers on perpetual cr…
