“Captain Filastine” and the Trappings of Success
Keywords:
Filastine Srour
respectability politics
the master's tools
NYPD
U.S.-Israeli trainings
top cop
Abstract:
Many Arab Americans cheered Lieutenant Filastine Srour’s promotion to the rank of captain in the New York City Police Department as if this constituted a collective victory for Palestinians. But one person rising up in a notoriously racist institution does not end their community’s criminalization. Nor is individual advancement by a woman a feminist accomplishment, as feminism aspires to dismantle oppressive systems, not succeed in them.
Author biography:
Nada Elia is visiting senior scholar of Arab and Muslim American studies at Western Washington University. She is a regular contributor to Mondoweiss and Middle East Eye, where she publishes editorials on activism, joint struggle, and feminism. She is currently completing a book on diaspora Palestinian feminist activism.
