- The Guardian
- Issue #2196
Che Guevara in Gaza
With the recent celebration of Ernesto Che Guevara’s birthday, and the atrocities in Gaza perpetuated by the IDF, it is worth remembering Guevara’s visit to the Gaza Strip in 1959, at the invitation of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Following the Cuban Revolution Cuba wanted to show its solidarity with the Arab and Palestinian national liberation movements.
Guevara’s visit reflected the emerging alliance between revolutionary Cuba and anti-imperialist movements throughout the Global South. His visit transformed the Gaza Strip into an important international anti-colonial struggle before the world’s press. Cuba gave scholarships to Palestinian students, granted citizenship to stranded Palestinians and held conferences in support of Palestine.
Guevara, dressed in military fatigues, was received as a hero when he toured the Al-Buraij, Al-Shati, and other Palestinian refugee camps. After his visit to the Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, the young Mohammed Al-Aswad was inspired to adopt the nom de guerre ‘Guevara of Gaza.’ He joined guerilla operations against the Israeli military’s occupation of Gaza after the 1967 Six-Day War. He went on to lead the As-Sai’qa, the vanguard for the Popular Liberation War, a Baathist faction and a member of the PLO.
The Gaza Strip developed a unique sub-culture within Palestinian society. Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Dayan famously said, “We run Gaza by day, and Guevara and his comrades run it at night.” Al-Aswad was a Marxist who promoted the resistance narrative and inspired many of Hamas’s early leaders. In 1992 Gaza was such a problem Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said, “I wish I could wake up one day and find that Gaza has sunk into the sea.”
Guevara’s visit is remembered today by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine as an important symbol of international solidarity and anti-colonial struggle. His image appears on posters, murals, and in commemorative events, and his writings on guerilla warfare continue to be studied by activists. In Latin America and international solidarity movements, Guevara’s visit is remembered as Cuba’s commitment to the interconnected struggles against colonialism and imperialism. Guevara remains a symbol of Cuban-Palestinian solidarity and Third World revolutionary movements. For Palestinian activists, he remains a source of inspiration, and an icon of rebellion and resistance.
Graham Holton
