The “see no evil, hear no evil” attitude that the western empire and its adherents have towards Israel shows how little things have changed since the times of Native American genocide. Occupations of Palestinian land that go against U.N. orders mean nothing. Israel’s systematic destruction of Palestinian communities, harassment and terrorism against Palestinians and Arabs by state police, and apartheid against Palestinians in the occupied areas mean nothing. The Israeli government, as Chris Hedges has said, “does not deform the truth; it inverts it.”
So much of the western world’s indifference to Israel’s atrocities comes from a modern version of the past colonial mentalities. All that’s different is the cast of the victims. Support for the occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine parallels how the Europeans colonists rationalized the invasion and genocide of Native Americans.
This is a fair assessment of the motives behind support for Israel’s activities. While much of the time the defenses of Israel involve denial that human rights abuses are taking place, the alternative defense is to try to justify those abuses; almost half of Israeli Jews support Palestinian ethnic cleansing, according to a 2016 Pew Research poll.
“Surrounded by ‘the other,’” writes Lawrence Davidson about how Israel’s goal of a state dominated by one ethnic groups rationalizes the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and Arabs, “the only way you can achieve your exclusive state is through discriminatory practices and laws ultimately producing an apartheid nation. And that is what happened.”
The complexity of the issue makes it easier for Israel to deflect from the truth. No one is disputing that Israel’s enemies commit atrocities, though that’s the charge that’s usually used as a whataboutism in the debate over Israel’s nobility. The dispute is over whether it’s right for Netanyahu to divert a drinking water spigot away from the Palestinians in Gaza; or whether it’s right for Israel to systematicallybait and kill Palestinian children in Gaza, drop bombs onto hovels in Gaza City, and send officers to routinely harass and search Palestinian homes; or whether, when the Israeli government’s true intentions are admitted, the attacked Palestinians should be dehumanized and indiscriminately treated as terrorists.
Denial of Israel’s atrocities, like the other forms of denial the U.S./NATO empire promotes, are resulting in broader tragedy. As Israel continues its proxy war with Iran and escalates its aggressions towards Syria, it’s preparing a larger war in Syria that could spill into regional or even worldwide catastrophe. By claiming (without proof) that further military aggressions are needed to stop Iran and Hezbollah from establishing permanent bases in Syria, Israel is intensifying its warfare in the region. This is a move which, amid the United States’ increasing assaults on Syria and cold war escalations with Iran and Russia, makes a World War III scenario much more likely.
“Victimhood indoctrination combined with racism, Biblical myths, Jewish supremacism and militarism, exploitation of the holocaust is integral to Israeli identity,” Dr. Vacy Vlazna has written about how Israel’s educational system rationalizes violence against Palestinians, and by extension Israel’s militaristic current actions. “Israel has purposely elevated the holocaust into a religion and its greatest hypocrisy is the brutal concentration camp of Gaza now in its 10th year. Western governments bystanders actively protect the sanctity of the holocaust but are silent on the daily collective punishment and inhumane suffering of Gaza families.”
The cycle of militarization, cruelty, and violence that’s created this world situation can’t be broken as long as nations like the U.S. and Israel deny their internal injustices. A society that doesn’t recognize its own capacity for evil will take evil to catastrophic heights. We’re now facing the consequences for not having realized this sooner.
No comments:
Post a Comment