The status of freedom of expression in Palestinian society under the shadow of foreign political foundations

    Freedom of expression is a value that human beings are incessantly calling for. There have been restive times that enormous figures of people the world over have passed through defending this value and discarded dilemmas coming out of realms where freedom of expression is decayed given to erroneous practices to this value as well, even many have lost their lives while in the mid of a fierce battle with the violators of freedom of expression. Those could be totalitarian regimes or insurrectionist groups that act for specific agendas and push them to plunge into the swamps where freedom of expression is violated.

By this token, the world has witnessed excruciating experiences of people fighting relentless battles to secure their rights to express themselves freely. Sometimes, regimes apply an iron fist approach to their people, which has eroded this value from its nobility.

What substantiates this argument is that it is worth an indomitable struggle in the international arena, represented by its leading players who emphasize that the right of freedom of expression is unalienable as stipulated in their covenants. Therefore, almost all countries have items in their constitutions, and formal decrees ensure this right. However, many people still reluctantly and barely express themselves when media outlets are restrained due to dictations imposed upon them by rulers, who ignore what is enshrined in their constitutions.

Furthermore, this value reflects people's spirit toward experiencing their various orientations, accompanied by their need to ask their rulers to dignify their lives, express their attitudes when they flare up against power abuse, and hold the abusers accountable.

On the ground, many remarkable instances of freedom of expression might be refining our perception of how freedom is experienced in different societies. Therefore, when looking at Palestinian society, it's incumbent upon us to keep in mind that this value is a double-edged sword due to the critical political situation, either internally or externally, including the Israeli side, and the pressure of the International Community through human rights organizations that monitor the status of freedoms.

Similarly to other countries, freedom of expression is one of the main tenets enshrined in the Palestinian charter, and the political discourse of the Palestinian leadership is tailored in a way that means that the freedom of expression is an inalienable right ensured for every citizen. However, what has been going on in reality proves the opposite in both geographically separated areas, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Despite these challenges, Palestinian society has shown remarkable resilience, with freedom journalism, especially investigative journalism, being policy-oriented and not having absolute freedom in terms of criticizing the government's practices. This resilience is a beacon of hope, inspiring us to strive for a future where freedom of expression is a reality for all.

This right is practiced in various forms, such as women's issues, where women have become more impulsive in creating assemblies. People with disabilities could also expressly advocate for a society where egalitarianism prevails. However, their discourses keep politics out most often.

Delving profoundly into this theme, we find out that this fundamental right is only suspended with tireless claimants and defenders who document any encroachment on the freedom of expression or other related rights. However, the reality indicates that this right needs to grow. We can capture the fact that this right is still maintained through strenuous efforts being exerted by many local foreign players from different countries like Germany who monitor this within the Palestinian society.

These players are dedicated to acting in many fields, such as political education, one of the missions the German political foundations are working on. Six German political foundations are acting multilaterally on the Palestinian side, aiming to tackle and support society through engagement with local operative partners reflecting the Palestinian political and social landscape. These foundations polarize to embrace their vital voices in valuable activities. The most outstanding German actors that have been the vanguards in highlighting freedom issues are the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, and Friedrich-Naummen Foundation for Freedom. Their efforts give hope for a future where freedom of expression is a reality for all, reassuring us that change is possible.

Undoubtedly, the freedom of expression here isn't stagnant, but it can rely on actors from different backgrounds, either culturally or politically. The new experiences that the politicians and civil society activists in the Palestinian mainstream are exposed to lead to a conceivable scene where the thoughts are being sharpened, galvanizing the conception of how the freedom of experience right is being applied and regulated in a society like Germany which has proven a wide-scale success according to the international standard. The successful German experience was a beacon of hope, inspiring Palestinian society to strive for similar achievements and encouraging us to continue our efforts.

As we consider the role of German political foundations in Palestinian society, many questions arise. How are these foundations contributing to the promotion of freedom of expression? Are they truly making a difference?

The aforementioned political foundations act as non-state actors and represent conduits that show the target groups the mechanisms that must be applied to build up a spotless background of how to practice this right. They also introduce them to the German successful experience, which generates eagerness to follow it up.

At first glance, these foundations urge the general public to ramp up their efforts to confront the ruling authority, which might end up in violent confrontation due to demanding this right. On the contrary, these foundations don't implement instigating or interference strategies; it's all about flourishing the target groups with the necessary knowledge and embracing creative ideas that stir up their motivations to get them into circles where they can capture specific political and social issues that essentially constitute pillars for a healthy society where the followers have democratic tools to have a dialogue either with the ruling authority or among differing conflicting groups.

A political foundation like Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), which is closely associated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is a well-versed think-tank that aims at analyzing the political situations worldwide and intellectually supporting the gifted pioneers through civic education at different social and political levels to improve their reality according to their trends. It transfers the values of the Christian Democratic based on promoting freedom, liberty, peace, and justice. It deals with a complicated realm in the Occupied Palestinian Territories where it handles a situation in which the freedom of expression is affected by a kind of spoilage on the one hand and from the Israeli occupation on the other hand through educational channels.