Masar Badil, also known as Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, is a radical-left group that promotes the “decolonization” of Palestine and the abolition of the state of Israel. ¹

Ideological Background

Masar Badil runs a network called “revolutionary youth vanguard” as well as an initiative called the Palestinian Alternative Student Path, which encourages Palestinian students to get involved in decolonialist actions and demonstrations. Vanguardism is a term from Marxism-Leninism, originally coined by Vladimir Lenin, to describe an elite party that organizes and plans a Communist revolution. ² The student group works with other Arab and international student orders to spread radical-left viewpoints and encourage revolutionary action. ³

Activities

As of May 2024, Masar Badil’s X/Twitter account regularly reposted international accounts condemning Israel’s war in Gaza. ⁴

In a Medium blog post from November 13, 2021, a Palestinian activist named Rima Najjar went into detail about the differences between Masar Badil and efforts like Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) and One Democratic State Campaign (ODSC). According to Najjar, Masar Badil also supports cutting Israel off from the financial system, like BDS, but also has a political platform: it supports a “single, undivided Palestine from the river to the sea” achieved through the “liberation” and “decolonize[ation]” of Palestine rather than merely “dismantle[ing] apartheid in Israel,” which the author claimed was the ODSC approach. ⁵

Masar Badil completely rejects the “Zionist claim” that the land recognized as the State of Israel belongs to “Jews worldwide,” and says it is owed to its “indigenous population,” by which it means Muslim Palestinians. It links the Palestinian “liberation” struggle to the “decolonialist” struggles of the Philippines, India, and South Africa. ⁶ This is echoed by the statement of principles on its website, which adds that it considers all treaties and laws that established the current borders of Israel down to the Balfour Declaration to be “null and void, illegitimate and unlawful.” ⁷

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network participated in one of Masar Badil’s conferences in 2021. ⁸ The conferences took place in Madrid, Spain; Beirut, Lebanon; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. ⁹

1. Najjar, Rima. “Masar Badil: The Palestinian liberation struggle movement that dare speak its name.” Medium, November 13, 2021. Accessed May 18, 2024. https://rimanajjar.medium.com/masar-badil-the-palestinian-liberation-struggle-movement-that-dare-speak-its-name-782ae1afd5d1
2. “Vanguard of the Proletariat.” Britannica. Accessed May 19, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/vanguard-of-the-proletariat.
3. “Palestinian Student Organizing.” Masar Badil. Accessed May 19, 2024. https://masarbadil.org/en/palestinian-student-organizing/#goals.
4. “Masar Badil.” X. Accessed May 18, 2024. https://x.com/masarbadil?lang=en.
5. Najjar, Rima. “Masar Badil: The Palestinian liberation struggle movement that dare speak its name.” Medium, November 13, 2021. Accessed May 18, 2024. https://rimanajjar.medium.com/masar-badil-the-palestinian-liberation-struggle-movement-that-dare-speak-its-name-782ae1afd5d1.
6. Najjar, Rima. “Masar Badil: The Palestinian liberation struggle movement that dare speak its name.” Medium, November 13, 2021. Accessed May 18, 2024. https://rimanajjar.medium.com/masar-badil-the-palestinian-liberation-struggle-movement-that-dare-speak-its-name-782ae1afd5d1
7. “Conference objectives.” Masar Badil. Accessed May 19, 2024. https://masarbadil.org/en/conference-objectives/.
8. Najjar, Rima. “Masar Badil: The Palestinian liberation struggle movement that dare speak its name.” Medium, November 13, 2021. Accessed May 18, 2024. https://rimanajjar.medium.com/masar-badil-the-palestinian-liberation-struggle-movement-that-dare-speak-its-name-782ae1afd5d1.
9. “Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement launches with conferences in Madrid, Beirut and Sao Paulo.” Samidoun, November 12, 2021. Accessed May 19, 2024. https://samidoun.net/2021/11/palestinian-alternative-revolutionary-path-movement-launches-with-conferences-in-madrid-beirut-and-sao-paulo/.