Ghassan Kanafani: Selected Political Writings

“Resistance, in its plethora of meanings and images, is what motivated Ghassan Kanafani to write,” Louis Brehony and Tahrir Hamdi write in their introduction to Ghassan Kanafani: Selected Political Writings (Pluto Press, 2024). Its publication could not have been more timely as the world witnessed, first-hand, what ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of a people under colonialism looked like and, as a result, how resistance is paramount in the Palestinian people’s lives.

While Kanafani is mostly known for his literary works, his political writings which include studies, analysis and manifestos linked to the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) are the focus of this translated anthology. Influenced by his own personal narrative and that of his family’s displacement during the 1948 Nakba, as well as his own observations of life in the refugee camps, Kanafani sought a relatable approach – one that derived its essence from the Palestinians’ own experience. One example the book gives is from an interview in which Kanafani relates, from his teaching experience, the importance of reinforcing connection with one’s roots within the education system.

The book groups Kanafani’s writings according to themes, also portraying the evolution of his commitment to revolutionary struggle and his Marxist political thought. In all the translated works, the depth and rigour of Kanafani’s analysis is remarkable, as is his awareness of the radical changes Palestinian society needs to make in order for revolution and liberation to be successful.

From reflections on his early life, forays into writing and his own politicisation, to the detailed insights into Palestinian anti-colonial resistance, Kanafani’s writings portray his ability to give as much importance to sentiment as to logic. In an interview which makes part of this anthology, Kanafani is asked about seeing reality from the oppressed people’s perspective. “My concept, however, was not crystallised in a scientific, analytical way, but was [simply and expression of] an emotional state,” he answers.

From the ANM to the PFLP, Kanafani consistently maintains how, contrary to the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the PFLP did not promise an easy victory. Keeping in mind that, ultimately, the struggle against Israeli colonialism is also a struggle against imperialism, Kanafani insists on process rather than rapid results. Likewise, Kanafani does not consider the 1948 Nakba as the start of Palestinian displacement but 1936, which saw Palestinians revolting against the British while Arab regimes inclined towards the British Mandate for solutions. Kanafani writes, “the isolation of the Palestinians from their cause, whether intentional or not, has led to the ‘dispossession of the Palestinian’, after the dispossession of his land. This analogy is deliberate. Namely, that what happened on the level of the land happened to the human being.”

Echoing Ernesto Che Guevara’s concept of a “new man”, Kanafani’s concept of a Palestinian State was linked to “the creation of a new Palestinian human”. He also exhibited an awareness of how Palestinians related to each other more in terms of exile rather than revolution. Evaluating critical periods in the Palestinian anti-colonial struggle, Kanafani notes, “The danger of a period of defeat – that carries with in both the seeds of construction and the seeds of destruction -requires a true grasp of what must be rejected and what must be defended.”

The translated writings show how Kanafani devoted considerable time to mapping out the importance of resistance, alongside scientific political thought. Identifying and understanding the enemies to the Palestinian anti-colonial struggle: Israel, the World Zionist Movement, World Imperialism and Arab Reaction Represented by Feudalism and Capitalism, indicate Kanafani’s understanding of the larger battle. “In our struggle for the liberation of Palestine, we face primarily world imperialism.”

Another concern for Kanafani was the fragmentation of Palestinians either as a result of factions or the diaspora. Israel’s Zionist ideology unites its settlers against a perceived enemy. Palestinian resistance, meanwhile, faces several complexities, notably colonialism itself and the diaspora. Another preoccupation for Kanafani was whether the Palestinians can liberate Palestine alone or with external involvement. On the latter, however, Kanafani was adamant that the Palestinian resistance should not be exploited by Arab regimes.

Reading Kanafani’s works is an exercise in contemporary political relevance. Two year prior to his assassination, Kanafani was interviewed in history, politics, resistance and language. Language, in particular, stands out, as Kanafani corrects the interviewer’s terminology for accuracy in disseminating the Palestinian anti-colonial narrative and struggle.

“When there is no sword and no guns in the room, you could still talk,” the interviewer says. “No, I have never seen any talk between a colonialist case and a national liberation movement,” Kanafani responds.

Following 1967, which Kanafani describes as a bigger catastrophe than 1948, national Palestinian unity was a necessity which he advocated for. “The crucial issue of national unity cannot be imposed in a charged and tense atmosphere, nor can it be achieved through pressure, accusations or siege.” Again, his words reflect the current impasse on Palestinian national unity, which also reflects the earlier concerns Kanafani had regarding the PLO promoting a swift victory as opposed to a steady resistance against colonialism and imperialism.

Much can be gleaned from this collection of Kanafani’s writings, but this reflection towards the end of the book encapsulates the essence of his thought and strategy: “armed action must target the Zionist state and all imperialist and capitalist interests that collide or align themselves with it.” A consistent strategy, not capitulation in various forms, under the auspices of peace-building which ravaged Palestine to the point of the latest genocide.

Source: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250206-ghassan-kanafani-selected-political-writings/