You’ve probably seen the script. A Palestinian is invited onto a major news network, usually for a three-minute segment that feels more like a cross-examination than an interview. Before they can speak about their family’s home being demolished or the bombs falling on their neighborhood, they’re hit with it: "Do you condemn...?"
It’s a performance. It’s a prerequisite. And for Mohammed El-Kurd, it’s a trap.
In his 2025 book, Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal, El-Kurd isn't just complaining about bad journalism. He’s dissecting a global system that demands Palestinians—and oppressed people everywhere—be "perfect" before they deserve an ounce of empathy. He calls it the politics of appeal, and honestly, once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
The Myth of the Perfect Victim
So, what exactly is a perfect victim? According to El-Kurd, it’s a person who suffers in silence, dies in a way that is "photogenic," and, most importantly, never gets angry. They must be passive. They must be non-threatening.
The Western media loves a victim they can pity, but they can't stand a victim who resists.
El-Kurd argues that the international community has created a hierarchy of grief. If you are a doctor, a child, or a "gentle father," your death might get a headline. But if you are a young man resisting occupation? You’re "defanged" or vilified. El-Kurd is basically saying: why do we have to prove we are "good" people to not be killed? It’s a grim realization. It suggests that human rights aren't universal—they’re earned through a performance of respectability.
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Respectability Politics and the "Anti-Appeal"
El-Kurd has been in the spotlight since he was 11. Back then, settlers took over half of his family’s home in Sheikh Jarrah. He grew up watching his grandmother, Rifqa, navigate this surreal reality. He saw how the world responded to her—sometimes with sympathy, but always with the expectation that she remain a "pitiable" figure.
In Perfect Victims, he rejects this entirely. He calls for an anti-appeal.
What does that look like? It looks like:
- Refusing to "audition" for humanity in front of a Western audience.
- Embracing rage as a natural, healthy response to dispossession.
- Shifting the focus from the victim’s behavior to the perpetrator’s actions.
- Moving past the "women and children" trope to humanize all Palestinians, including those who fight back.
Why the World Loves a "Docile" Victim
El-Kurd draws a stinging comparison between how the West views different conflicts. He points out how Ukrainian citizens were (rightly) celebrated as heroes for taking up arms against an invasion. Their resistance was seen as noble.
But when Palestinians do the same? The language shifts. They become "militants" or "terrorists."
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This isn't just about semantics; it's about power. By framing Palestinians as either "passive victims" or "violent aggressors," the middle ground—the complex reality of a person fighting for their home—is erased. El-Kurd argues that this framing is a tool of settler-colonialism. If you can convince the world that the victim is "imperfect," you can justify the violence used against them.
The Cost of Seeking Approval
One of the most gut-wrenching parts of El-Kurd’s analysis is the "psychic disfigurement" caused by the politics of appeal. When you spend your whole life trying to be the "good Palestinian" for a Western lens, you start to internalize those restrictions. You censor your own anger. You curate your own trauma.
He talks about the "circuitous journey toward an impossible atonement." Basically, Palestinians are told that if they just act more "civilized," the world will help. But the goalposts always move.
Breaking the Script
El-Kurd’s writing is a mix of poetry, memoir, and brutal political critique. He’s not interested in being "likable" to a liberal audience that demands he be a "charismatic sidekick" to their own activism.
He references real cases, like the death of Shireen Abu Akleh. He notes how the media immediately pivoted to her American citizenship to make her death "matter" more to a Western audience. While meant to help, this tactic reinforces the idea that a "regular" Palestinian life isn't enough to warrant an investigation.
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Beyond Awareness: What Happens Next?
"We’ve raised awareness. Then what?"
That’s the question El-Kurd leaves us with. For decades, the strategy has been to show the world the suffering in hopes that people will care. And people do care—but as he points out, awareness hasn't stopped the bulldozers.
If you want to engage with this work in a meaningful way, it requires a shift in how you consume news and practice solidarity. It means:
- Audit Your Empathy: Ask yourself why you feel more for one victim than another. Are you waiting for a "perfect" story before you speak up?
- Reject Tone Policing: Stop demanding that the oppressed speak "politely" about their own annihilation.
- Focus on Systems, Not Individuals: Don't get bogged down in whether a specific person is "perfect." Focus on the systemic reality of occupation and dispossession.
- Follow Unfiltered Voices: Seek out journalists and writers who refuse to use the passive voice or sanitize the reality on the ground.
Mohammed El-Kurd isn't asking for your pity. He’s demanding a seat at the table where he doesn't have to apologize for existing. Perfect Victims is a call to stop looking at Palestine through a lens of "appeal" and start looking at it through a lens of justice.
The next time you see a Palestinian on the news being asked to "condemn" before they can speak, remember the script. And then, look for the people who are brave enough to tear it up.