MALCOLM X STANDS FOR PALESTINE

On this day a century ago, 19 May 1925, Malcolm X, one of the most prominent Pan-Africanist revolutionaries, was born in Omaha in the US state of Nebraska.

Like many revolutionaries, Malcolm knew that the African struggle was fundamentally linked to the struggles of other oppressed people in different parts of the world.

One struggle Malcolm stood with was that of the people of Palestine. In early September 1964, Malcolm X visited Gaza to witness first-hand the horrors of the Israeli occupation. During the trip, he visited the Khan Younis refugee camp, which housed displaced Palestinians, which deepened his appreciation of the suffering of the Palestinian people. 

Shortly after the visit, Malcolm X authored an article in the Egyptian Gazette highlighting the flawed logic of the Zi*nist project in Occupied Palestine, laying out the lack of logic or legality for the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. He also raised that the state of Israel also threatens African sovereignty. Though the article is now more than 60 years old, his arguments remain relevant today, especially as Tel Aviv ramps up its brutal onslaught against Palestinians in Gaza.

Rest in power, Malcolm X.