Why do liberals lionise Zelensky, but ignore Marwan Barghouti?

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has had an audience with King Charles ahead of a meeting with UK PM Keir Starmer. Reports suggest Starmer will press allies for more long-range missiles for Ukraine. That kind of support is bipartisan. Boris Johnson was also a huge fan of Zelenskiy. But what about figures like Marwan Barghouti?

Western liberals have lionised the former comedian from the first days of the war. It’s hard not to get a sense of crossover between FBPE Twitter centrists and the president’s fanbase in the UK. It’s another flag for their X bio, after all.

And it’s hard to shake the sense that in Ukraine, finally, well-heeled centrists found a war where the victims were white enough to deserve support. Imperialism seems only to be worth resisting when the victims look like you.

That’s not to dip into the kind of apologia for Vladimir Putin’s invasion preferred by a fringe of campist weirdos in the West. But it does beg questions about why Zelenskiy gets to play international diplomacy on something like easy mode, while others languish in fascist jails, their captivity barely remarked upon by Wooferendum Twitter.

For example, is it even possible to imagine that kind of liberal support for someone like Marwan Barghouti — the so-called Palestinian Nelson Mandela. Barghouti is seen as a figure of unifying popularity in Palestine, even as he languishes in an Israel jail, subject to beatings by his fascistic captors.

Marwan Barghouti: Palestine’s Nelson Mandela

He was sentenced to five life sentences in 2002. For murder charges he denies. By a coloniser court whose authority he rejects. In a trial which experts say was full of illegalities.

He’s a sort of Palestinian everyman, known for his calm demeanour, who learned Hebrew in jail and spent years in exile. He spent years in hiding, dodging Israeli assassination attempts.

The National describes him as:

an avid reader, consuming histories and biographies, including that of Nelson Mandela by the British author Anthony Sampson. In 2013, the campaign for Barghouti’s release, backed by eight Nobel Peace laureates, would be launched from Mandela’s old cell on Robben Island in South Africa.

One of US foreign policy’s leading talking shops even acknowledged his wide appeal and potential to lead a future Palestinian state, noting:

a growing acknowledgement among Israelis and Palestinians that Barghouti’s broad appeal and reformist streak offer the best prospects for peace.

Here’s Drop Site’s News founder Jeremy Scahill with a fascinating overview of Barghouti:

In the latest round of hostage exchanges, despite the best efforts of Hamas negotiators, his release was denied. Barghouti isn’t even in Hamas. He has reportedly been a critic of the organisation himself, but such is the respect he attracts the conservative wing of Palestinian resistance demanded (vainly) he be freed.

So here you have a unique character. An intellectual and long-time prisoner of an unjust regime on allegedly jumped-up charges. A unity figure who commands a degree of respect from all sides. Some say, the man most likely to lead his people toward peace. A sort of moderate, if you will? Surely the sort of figure your average smug centrist would get behind, no? Well, no. It doesn’t seem that way.

And it’s hard not to come to uncharitable conclusions about why.

Featured image via the Canary

Comments 1

Patrick McQueenie says:

7 months ago

They lionise Zelensky because they are not ready to back down on the FUBAR made in putting this incompetent arsehole in charge of a Country which was not interested in WAR, their Leader before this Turd was handed the keys to the Vault of Western Money which poured into this puppet Nation was friendly towards Russia and China, and was on the brink of signing a Peace Treaty and Trade Deals with Russia, The Zionist Jews who own most of the Worlds Paper Money which makes up the majority of Billionaires who mostly live in America Britain and Europe went bat shit mental, they immediately ordered all western political leaders who they also OWN to begin an insurgency in The Ukraine, so our western leaders the USA EU who I personally do not give a Shit about, and the UK which I really do give a shit about sent enough literal money and Weaponry into Ukraine, after MI6 the CIA, Homeland Security, The FBI, Black Ops and the SAS were launched into action to carry out their dastardly work like they did in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria, and Gaza/ Palestine, Lebanon and Iran, most of the Worlds population cannot see the wood for the trees they also believe Liars rather than truthful people whom THEY call whistleblowers, who says it was Hamas who carried out the Raid on October 7th 2023 Netanyahu and his Zionist Knesset who also claim their are tunnels under every hospital school old persons home and city in Palestine, why was Saddam Hussein and his Government of Iraq attacked for having WMD when they clearly did not why were Bush Blair and their Cabinets not imprisoned for a very long time, the Twin Towers Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, the London Tube and Bus attack May every single Victim Rest in Peace, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria, insurgencies and the above act of Genocide mentioned above, all of these actions are in my opinion a smoke screen, smoke and mirrors call it what you like, all our attention is being sucked into the void of eternal conflict involving NATO, the USA, the UK and the EU and has been mostly instigated by them as well, why don’t you so called political experts and professors of history and financial experts and analysts take a look at the state of the economy of all countries in the World, I myself remember Scotland / UK and the World at large before 9th November 1989 the text which follows will be construed by probably the majority of people as nonsense but just as I pointed out earlier the Truth is denied and the Person who speaks the truth is the Liar, here it is anyway and I will never regret or withdraw my fact, The World has never been at Peace since western powers got a Russian President to order the demolition of The Berlin Wall, NATO and the West promised this CIA sleeper who became President of at this time the USSR that there would not be any encroachment eastwards, NATO and the EU are now on the Borders of Russia since 1989 we the people have watched as our Governments Bankrupt our Countries with Unnecessary Wars, These so called Politicians have over this time created Austerity froze our Wages and Pensions Decimated the NHS and Destroyed the Welfare State, they have destabilised the UK economy bailed out banks with our taxes let big companies keep wages low , and all the while they tell us times are TOUGH really how the fuck would they know about how tough it really is, Wages have been virtually stagnant since Brown, Darling, Cameron, Clegg, and Osborne Low Wages Food and other Commodities through the Roof in the last five Years they have went up by 67% FFS, Politicians in Westminster have spent more money fighting wars than they have on anything else, it is Heartbreaking these depraved monsters have been shoving the blame onto the unemployed the disabled and the People who built up a decent Country which these Bastards destroyed in the Name of Rotten MONEY, the people I speak of are the Boomer Society far from being to Blame for the fucking mess we are in now This Generation worked down the pits, the steelworks, ironworks, factories, brickworks, breweries, the building trade, the transport industry, served in the armed forces some sacrificed their lives limbs eyesight hearing and have had their bodies and faces deformed, How Dare The Westminster Political Criminal Class blame the Society who Built up a Country still suffering after a World War and put the Great in front of Britain again, it is time the normal people began thinking for themselves the way of Political Elitists is, always and will be to Divide and Conquer, they know the young and middle aged healthy working and a long way from retirement can be swayed into believing their Political Propaganda Lies about how the unemployed disabled and pensioners are lazy scroungers, this is a Sad Indictment of the Majority of the Society Born from 1989.