By Dickson Bandera
A training programme aimed at equipping journalists in Southern Africa with a deeper understanding of the Palestine issue is currently underway under the title An Introductory Course to the Palestinian Issue for Journalists in Southern Africa — Israeli Colonialism and the Palestinian Struggle: Past, Present, and Future.
The training is organised by Palestine Media Forum (Tawasol) in collaboration with Zimbabwe Palestine Newsroom Connect. In Zimbabwe, journalists are attending the sessions in person at the Palestinian Embassy in Harare while joining discussions online with colleagues from other countries in the region.
The programme is facilitated by Habib Omar, Public Relations Officer at the Palestine Media Forum in Turkey and Research Fellow at the Asia Middle East Centre for Research and Dialogue in Malaysia, as well as Ibraspal in Brazil. Omar holds a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Malaya.
The training focuses on giving participants historical and political context behind the Palestinian struggle for independence. Palestine, once under Ottoman rule and later a British mandate, became a focus of Jewish migration from Europe in the early 20th century as the Zionist movement gained momentum.
Tensions between the immigrant Jewish population and the indigenous Arab community escalated, leading to the 1948 war and the mass displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians — an event Palestinians call the Nakba, or “catastrophe.”
The course also covers the wars that followed, Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, and the continuing expansion of settlements.
Journalists are being trained to analyse how propaganda has shaped global narratives around the conflict, and to examine the roots of Palestinian and Arab resistance movements and the dynamics of factions such as Fatah and Hamas.
Participants are also engaging with major current issues, including refugees, the blockade of Gaza, and the debate over whether a two-state or single-state solution offers the best path forward.
Organisers say the training will help journalists counter misinformation and provide accurate, informed coverage of Israeli occupation and Palestinian aspirations for statehood. Zimbabwe has maintained close ties with Palestine since its own liberation struggle, and local journalists are expected to play an important role in keeping the Palestinian cause visible in the region.
For many, Palestine’s story is not just one of conflict but of an indigenous people who have lived for centuries on their land, maintaining their identity despite displacement, occupation, and repeated wars.
The training aims to remind journalists, and by extension the public, that Palestinians, like all peoples, deserve to be heard and to realise their right to independence and sovereignty in their own homeland.
