The Collapse of the Palestinian Old Guard

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

The Palestinian “Abu-name” system used to point to a Palestinian revolutionary spirit aimed at liberating the homeland and expelling the Zionist invaders. Palestinian leaders, especially those from Fatah, were keen to call themselves “Abu So-and-so” to signal their revolutionary character and the depth of their commitment to the Palestinian cause and to fighting Israel. Sonorous, varied Abu-names spread widely; I recall among them Abu Shamekh, Abu Sadem, Abu Kifah, Abu Nidal, Abu Qaher, Abu al-Layl, Abu al-Hawl, Abu Azem, Abu Tha’ir, and Abu al-Nasr, etc.

The name carried such national significance that children would rush to adopt a nom de guerre in emulation of this or that revolutionary. Many Palestinians came to be known by their “Abu” nicknames, often without anyone ever knowing their actual given names.

The glow of these titles was negatively affected after the Oslo Accords, because the idea of liberation was struck a powerful blow. The philosophy underlying the title collapsed with the appearance of the negotiating table, and the idea of fighting and struggle no longer dominated the Palestinian cultural, intellectual, and national landscape. For this reason, a marked decline was observed in the use of the Abu-name system after the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, and the focus shifted to personal names. There ceased to be trust in the original meanings of the Abu-titles, whether on the part of those who bore them or on the part of ordinary people, to the point that children no longer had any inclination to adopt an “Abu” title.

…to illustrate the theft of flour, or the use of flour that comes as aid to the people, in order to achieve personal financial gain. There is now “Abu al-Aspirin” and “Abu al-Acamol,” to illustrate the counterfeiters of medicine; there is also “Abu al-Jawwalat” [Abu Cellphones], to illustrate the smugglers of cellphones from abroad; there is “Abu al-Niswan” [Abu Women], to illustrate a person’s baseness toward women; and there is “Abu al-Shunat” [Abu Bags], “Abu al-Anazat” [Abu Goats], “Abu al-Athar” [Abu Antiquities], and “Abu al-Jarrafat” [Abu Bulldozers].

The old Abu-name system has collapsed, giving way to a new Abu-name system that expresses a new stage in the history of the Palestinian struggle. This is a new system that dishonors the Palestinian people, that makes the people small before other peoples and nations, and that makes people appear very small before the Zionist enemy, who ought instead to tremble before the pride and dignity of the Palestinians. These new “Abus” have humiliated the people of Palestine and turned them into material for mockery, ridicule, derision, and contempt. We, the people of Palestine, bear the responsibility, first and last, because the years pass and our struggle against these people never rises above private gatherings. We whisper their stories, we hint and we insinuate, but when it comes to confrontation we turn our backs, and perhaps we are not even stingy with a few phrases of hypocrisy.

We must stand with boldness and courage to confront these corrupt figures who spread corruption throughout the land and destroy every moral, national, social, and economic foundation of the people.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “انهيار نظام الأبوات الفلسطيني” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.