Solidarity for Whom?
摘要
This chapter explores the diverse genealogies and postulates of transnational solidarity that have emerged and were enacted in the Balkans to support Palestine or Israel. The first section examines the volatile yet relevant solidarity campaigns supporting Gazans among young generations of protesters and activists in and from the Balkans. The analysis based on qualitative data shows how pro-Palestinian stances have nothing to do with Hamas, nor does criticism towards Zionism and the politics of Israel employ antisemitic tropes. The second section explores another trope of solidarity verbalised by Serbian authorities in support of Israel, thereby shedding light on a historically intertwined history of nationalism and colonialism of Serbia and Israel in the Balkans and the Middle East. This twofold perspective illuminates how most activists reconcile with personal and collective stories from wartime and persecution through the plight of Palestinians, while others weaponise memory and history to double down on fighting “old enemies” and mobilising “old anxieties”.