For Israel’s apologists there is no red line that Tel Aviv cannot cross in its war against Gaza: No death toll is high enough, and no civilian casualty is painful enough. For them, Israel is always right, even if it’s categorically wrong.
As soon as the 10-day ceasefire collapsed under the heavy weight of Israeli missiles on August 19, these apologists once more returned to news networks and newspaper oped pages, etc., promoting the same tired message of Israel’s right to defend itself, comparing Hamas to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), and accusing the Gaza resistance of using children as human shields; thus blatantly sparing Israel the moral responsibility of murdering and wounding thousands of innocent people.
The grand mission of these media spin doctors has always been and will always remain absolving Israel of any responsibility in its acts of carnage.
Not only do these apologists demonise Palestinians, but also anyone who dares to take a stand on their behalf. The main staple of this Israeli strategy has been blaming the victim. Such a tactic is nothing new in the way the so-called “Arab-Israeli conflict” has been presented in western media, whose narrative has been much closer to that of Israeli official and media discourses than that of Palestinians. This continued despite the decades-long military occupation, successive wars and countless massacres.
But Israel’s latest war on Gaza has amounted to a genocide. Israel’s argument that it was “defending itself” was no longer a sufficient excuse. No amount of official hasbara (propaganda)was enough to explain entire families being buried alive and the summary execution of civilians; the pulverising of entire neighbourhoods; the gunning down of fleeing children playing at the beach during a deceptive “lull” moment; the destruction of dozens of mosques and churches; and the killing of civilians hiding in UN schools-turned temporary shelters.
It was particularly embarrassing for Israel, but also telling, that the Gaza resistance, which stood alone, fighting tens of thousands of well-armed invaders from tunnels, killed 67 Israelis. All but three were soldiers, mostly killed inside Gaza. A Thai civilian was also killed.
As the world was awakened to the level of devastation created by Israel in Gaza, many also became aware that such wrath is not independent from the fascism that has gripped Israeli society for years. In Israel, there is no longer room for dissent, and those in the highest positions of power, are the ones who openly and freely preach genocide.
However, in this age of social media, where mainstream news networks no longer have near complete command over the narrative, no self-respecting intellectual, journalist, official or any citizen with a conscience can plead ignorance and stand on the fence of neutrality.
Gaza has indeed changed everything. Israel’s criminality and fascism should no longer be open for vibrant media debates, but it must be acknowledged as an uncontested fact. Our language, as in our perception, must also change to accommodate this uncontested reality:
First: Military occupation must be fully and unconditionally rejected. Palestinians cannot be judged for defending themselves and for resisting Israel to end its military occupation, end the siege and achieve freedom. Armed struggle is a right defended by international law for people living under foreign occupation.
Second: As anti-apartheid icon, Desmond Tutu once said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” There can no longer be a place for neutrality when thousands of civilians are brutally murdered by an invading army. Neutrality in this context is outright intellectual cowardice, if not even support of Israel’s crimes.
Third: Taboos placed on comparing the Israeli occupation to apartheid, and Nazi conduct should be dropped. While the racist notions that enabled apartheid are practiced daily by Israel, the analogy should go much further, considering that genocide has in fact been carried out in Gaza.
Fourth: There can be no mutual blame as a way to avoid placing full responsibility on the Israeli occupation and military. Palestinian resistance that blocked the way of the Merkava tanks in Jabaliya and Shujaiyah is a heroic expression of the valour of the Palestinian people. Armed struggle in the Second World War continues to be admired throughout the world. Palestinians should not be made an exception.
Fifth: There can be no bad vs good Palestinians. There are those who resist, and those who collaborate with the enemy; those who pay the price, and those who benefit from the occupation.
Sixth: Israel is a fascist state. It controls the media, and cracks down on dissidents. It uses violence to achieve political ends, and doesn’t shy away from genocide when it suits its interests. Reverting to the “only democracy in the Middle East” statements is a sign of wilful ignorance that can no longer be tolerated.
Seventh: The “Arab-Israeli conflict” is a misleading notion. The confines of misleading geography must end. Moreover, there is no conflict per se, but a military occupation and a state of one-sided war. Palestinians are fighting this alone, but are supported by people from around the world, from every colour, race, religion and nationality.
Eighth: The Israeli siege on Gaza would not have been possible without full Egyptian support.
Ninth: Palestinian supporters should no longer view Palestinians with a sense of pity, but respect and admiration for their courage and heroism.
Tenth: And finally, to end the Israeli genocide and occupation, the wheel of continuous action must turn and keep on turning. Those who support Israel must be exposed, and those who facilitate the Israeli occupation and sustain its war machine are partakers in the war crimes committed daily in Gaza and the rest of Palestine. They must be boycotted. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement must grow and serve as the main platform for international solidarity.
Time for clever words and inaction are long gone, and those who remain “soft” on Israel, for whatever reason, have no place in what is becoming a global movement with uncompromising demands: End the occupation, punish its sustainers, halt ethnic cleansing and genocide, end the siege and bring Israeli and other culprits to the International Criminal Court for their massive war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Ramzy Baroud is a PhD scholar in People’s History at the University of Exeter. He is the Managing Editor of Middle East Eye. Baroud is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com.
