op-ed: Forecasting our future

The great administrative thinker "Peter F. Drucker", who is considered one of the most prominent figures in management in the modern era, says in his famous book (Drucker's Ideas in Management), especially what he said in the second note, which was titled (Foreseeing the Future), that scholars of future studies measure their successes by a number of The things they expected would happen that actually happened, and they did not count those important things that did happen but were not within their expectations.

All the futurists say may come true, but they may miss the most important things in the plain facts before them, and worse, they may not pay any attention to them.

And Drucker continues, “We are not here to talk about errors that occur when predicting the future. Important and distinctive things are always the result of changes in values, concepts and goals, that is, they are in things that can be deduced and not predicted.”

Drucker adds, however, the most important work that an organization manager can do is to identify the changes that actually occur. The main challenge facing society in both its economic and political fields is to exploit these changes that actually occur as opportunities. The important thing is to anticipate the future from what is actually happening and then develop approaches that enable it to realize and analyze these changes.

Drucker concludes his note by proposing a practical procedure for managers of organizations that seek progress and promotion: Identify the main trends that are already emerging in the market, and write a paper on the possibility of continuing these trends and the extent of their impact on your life and your organization.

The world around us is shifting and changing, and this change has prompted some experts in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict among American Jews to say, “The year 2023: is a turning point in favor of Palestine in international politics.” This is the title of an article by the expert in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict for more than 40 years (Mikhail Platnik) published In English, on the American Mondoweiss website, last Friday, 8/18/2023.

Platnick based his prediction on three variables, the first of which relates to the fact that Israel has been exposed as an apartheid state. The mark that increases the conviction of world public opinion, including Jewish public opinion, every moment and every day. Platnick goes on to say that the weekly demonstrations in Israel calling for democracy and an end to the coup against the judicial institution confirm that Israel is a racist state, especially as it calls for democracy for its Jewish citizens only, as it does not allow Palestinian citizens to rise to the stage of rhetoric and demand their rights.

Of note in this regard is the fact that the name Israel is associated with apartheid more than 11 million times per week, according to Semrush. Whereas, the number of such conjunctions did not exceed 50 times in the period from 1948 to 2000, according to a note published by the Strategic Assessment Journal issued by the Israel Institute for National Security Studies seven years ago.

As for the second variable, it revolves around the dramatic changes that are increasing at the level of the Democratic Party and its support for Israel. As other reports show that he did not remain supportive of Israel in the hierarchy of the party's leadership, except for the top of the hierarchy only. As for its base and center, they have made up their minds about Israel, and it is expected that this matter will be fully resolved in favor of the Palestinian right within a decade.

The third variable relates to the rise of China and the end of the unipolar era, and its China's demand,  with its partners among the rising powers to lead the global system to lift the injustice against the Palestinian people, which was clearly evident in the closing statement of the BRICS summit several days ago.

In conclusion, I argue that the Palestinian people are well aware, especially at this moment in time, that "justice alone does not turn the wheels of history," as our great poet Mahmoud Darwish said in the document declaring Palestine's independence in 1988. It is also not hidden from the Fatah movement, which has Palestinian patriotism. And its leadership announced its decision to hold its eighth conference at the end of this year. Exploiting and investing the opportunities entailed in the changes in the Palestinian strategic environment requires it not to produce the past and to choose qualified people who are able to understand and realize the moment and build on what (Mikhail Platnik) said in his article.