© Ninian Reid/flickr/cc"The danger always lay in the example Castro set, which exposed the possibility of challenging the pernicious self-declared U.S. monopoly over human existence—and for which he merits remembrance as a hero." -Belén Fernández
published in
Granma, the newsletter of the Cuban Communist Party,
is of utmost significance. Weaving an account of
imperial violence as a force necessitating resistance, the legendary Castro's discussion of Palestine and the genocide inflicted upon Palestinians should be read with particular attention within the
internationalist context that has, historically, formed part of the Cuban revolution since his memorable speech,
History will absolve me. Not only read, but heeded.
Reflecting upon the widespread horror that engulfed the world in relation to the Nazi persecution of Jews, among other minority groups, Fidel wrote:
"Why does this government believe that the world will be insensitive to the macabre genocide which today is being perpetrated against the Palestinian people? Perhaps it is expected that the complicity of the US Empire in this shameful massacre will be ignored?"
Cuban collaboration with the Palestinian resistance dates back to June 18, 1959, when revolutionary
Ernesto Che Guevara visited Gaza only a few months after the triumph of the Cuban revolution. In later years,
Cuba supported Palestinian armed resistance, forming particular alliances with Fatah under Yasser Arafat, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Following this, the Caribbean country severed all diplomatic ties with Israel.
Comment: As a powerful and global symbol of resistance, Fidel Castro protected Cuba for decades against the hegemonic machinations of the USA. As painful as it is to see the Palestinian toll in the face of its will to survive, he is right in his reasoning that to give up, at any stage, no matter the violence, is to resign to a swift and complete extermination...something Israel is only too willing to accommodate.