Stéphane Hessel: French Resistance fighter for Palestine

Stéphane Hessel, 93-year-old hero of the French Resistance, urges a new generation to renew the struggle for social justice in his book Indignez-vous! (rendered in translation as Time for Outrage!)—released just in time for the Occupy Wall Street protests.

In an Oct. 11 interview on PBS News Hour, interviewer Ray Suarez asked him for an example of a modern state "violating the ideals that World War II was fought around." Hessel responded:

To me, what brings my outrage to one particular spot of this world is, of course, the way the Israeli government treats the Palestinians. I consider that as a violation of international law.

He goes on to cheer on the protesters in Tunisia, Egypt and Syria who "really took it into their hands to get rid of the tyrants and to work for a more democratic world."

This is very salubrious stuff for the general climate, and Hessel's words should be widely trumpeted. We are reminded of the passing two years ago of Marek Edelman, the last surviving leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Few of the obituaries noted his anti-Zionism and open solidarity with the Palestinian cause.