Gazan Theater of Absurd: Executioner Playing Victim

By Bob Travica

I wouldn't change any point I made in my previous blog on Israel's invasion of Gaza weeks ago (1). Some things have changed though - both for better and for worse. As for the better, Israel's assessment of killed Israelis (used as the pretext for the aggression) was lowered by 200 down to 1,200; there was a temporary ceasefire with a release of around 100 hostages from Gaza and around 240 Palestinians from Israel's jails; and global humanity has spoken in favor of ceasefire, via mass protests and UN resolutions.

But there has been bad news too: the number of killed in Gaza went from 11,000 to over 18,000 (70% children and women), and Israel's relentless air campaign moved to the South of Gaza, which is packed with Gazans previously pushed from the North; everything collapsed in Gaza – the health system, infrastructure, and economy. Fighting guerilla-style fighters with an overwhelming military power, Israel's military is systematically turning Gaza into an unlivable rubble, torturing and massacring 2.3 million people. While apparently with no wider international support for this old-style colonial onslaught, Israel still has the support of the U.S., which keeps blocking ceasefire demands in the UN, and the EU, less decisive in support but still aboard. This is also bad news as well as is the survival of Israel's right-wing government: it is responsible for not preventing the October 7 massacre in Israel, cares not about hostages and human life on either side, tramples moderate Israelis,  and adamantly imposes an ethnic cleansing strategy on Gaza.

I finished my previous blog by citing a 2009 statement by Tel Aviv professor of social psychology Bar-Tal: "An analysis of the present situation indicates that except for a small minority, which is capable of looking at the past with an open mind, the general public is not interested in knowing what Israel did in Gaza for many years, why Hamas came to power in democratic elections; how many people were killed in Gaza from the disengagement (in 2005)…" (2)

In the present blog, I'll continue from this point.

Superiority of Eternal Victims

Bar-Tal's comment echoes today's situation. The minority he referred to is alive but less visible. Mainstream media rarely cover this side of happenings. However, social media transfer clips of Orthodox Jewish priests protesting against Israel's aggression in Gaza (3). There are videos of police beatings of anti-war protesters in Tel Aviv. Former Israeli soldiers are speaking against the war and some prominent public speakers are in agreement. However, reasonable Israelis with moderate political views are still marginalized. And so the question remains: Why is the general Israeli public not interested in knowing what Israel did and does now in Gaza? How come they can be blind and deaf to the unprecedented slaughter their military is committing upon their Arab civilian neighbors? Anytime Israeli officials or ordinary people are confronted with such horrific facts via social media, they resort to recalling the October 7 massacre, emphasizing graphic details as if the Gaza slaughter still pales against the magnitude of the crimes of Hamas/Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The well-known journalist and public speaker Gideon Levy provides an answer. He's argued for years that Israelis succumbed to "euthanasia of consciousness" over the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. This is caused by deep beliefs that Jews are (1) chosen people, (2) the greatest and the only victim, and (3) superior to other people. (4) These three beliefs could be understood as being central to Israel's culture, defining the relationship between local Jews and a broad social environment and their place in history. Taking this as the lens, it may be possible to understand the attitudes and practices of Israelis who deviate from the moderate minority mentioned above. I recommend watching Levy's speeches for examples, and here are mine.

At the moment, some observers in the West agonize over the realization that half of the air bombs dropped on Gaza are "dumb" munitions designed to destroy indiscriminately whatever they hit. Why does Israel do that - wonder various commentators? The answer may be simple: Check Belief #3 above. The current government looks at Arabs/Palestinians as a lower race, sub-human, or as PM Netanyahu labels it "children of dark" who endanger "children of light" (Jews/Israelis). In my previous blog, I cited other derogatory, racist terms with which Israeli officials shower over the public. The superior people sentenced the inferior people to torture, purge, and annihilation, so the volume of casualties is irrelevant. An unpleasant reminiscence of what Jews experienced under Nazis in WWII.

In the U.S., some university administrators have been accused of tolerating anti-Semitism on university campuses; some were forced to resign by invisible players. Careful analysis of each act of students' political activism is undoubtedly needed to separate concern for basic humanity and civilian life from hate of Jews. But just listening to representatives of Jewish organizations reveals a belief that any opposition to what the official Israel is doing equals anti-Semitism. Why so? See Belief #2. Jews are always the victim, even when they victimize others.

A case in point: the UN is regularly accused by Israeli and Jewish officials for not condemning sufficiently October 7 crimes and for not initiating war crimes/genocidal proceedings over the terror inflicted on Israeli women, among other things. In a recent interview, an Israeli official asks herself why the UN acts that way and offers an answer: "Because those women are Jewish!" Again, the victim mentality surfaces as an instant explanation that preempts the space for odd details, analysis, and all that wasting of time.

I've argued from the start of this war that Israel's government has never had the liberation of hostages as a key goal. I reasoned that the invasion of Gaza was a way of covering up incompetence and mistakes that led to the security catastrophe on October 7. Instead of being sacked, Netanyahu becomes an irreplaceable war chief as long as the war runs. Then, the hostage release via negotiations happened and exposed the official swearing in the military solution to the hostage problem as a spin. The military hasn't liberated hostages, but killed three just recently, and who knows how many in total on October 7 and in Gaza tunnels. Therefore, hostages have never been a priority, and the Israelis with euthanized consciousness may not even blame the government for that. According to cultural belief #2, Jews always fall victim, and hostages are just one instance of such a destiny.

Chosen People

Belief #1, being God-chosen people, draws roots in the ancient Jewish religion: Jews are the people to whom God revealed himself and made a binding promise (covenant) with that they lead the world to the ultimate establishment of divine sovereignty over all humankind. The chosen people get rewards and punishment from God, and endure in the exclusive godly mission, waiting for the arrival of God's messiah and realization of absolute divine sovereignty. (5)

This belief may have helped Jews to survive in the diaspora under difficult and sometimes genocidal conditions; as well, it could have pushed capable individuals toward exceptional achievements of universal value. But it acquires a darker side when melted with political agendas. In particular, that of Zionism, a political movement that originated in the 19^th century in Europe, aiming at gathering Jews back in the ancestral land - today's  Israel/Palestine. Zionism unraveled a delicate balance between Jews and Arabs in the region.

After long Turkish rule was replaced by British control over Palestine, Jews from Europe poured in; in 25 years, their massive immigration changed the proportion of Jews to Arabs from 1:4 to 1:2 (6). Brits accommodated Zionists' strategy to get Jewish financial support for the U.K. effort in World War I (1914-1918); their rule in Palestine was filled with Jewish-Arab conflicts. Subsequently, Zionism was baked into the foundations of the modern Israel state and shaped its history. It triumphed right away with the expulsion of 700,000 Arabs from their homes in 1948 (nakba). Aggressive Zionism peaked again with the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 by an Israeli settler, because Rabin worked toward the two-state solution (creating separate states for Jews and Arabs). Zionism has carried out Illegal Israeli settlements onward, but it took a hit with the government-arranged migration of Israelis from Gaza in 2005.

Last year, right-wing parties entered the government in coalition with Netanyahu's Likud party. Newly appointed National Security Minister Ben-Gvir, and Minister of Finance/Minister in the Defense Ministry Smotrich don't hide that Gaza is to be ethnically cleansed by expelling Palestinians to Sinai in Egypt and grabbing the land there for Israeli settlers. Smotrich heads the Religious Zionism Party which claims the entire region for Israel, based on an alleged religious mission (7). Orthodox Jewish priests consider the whole construct to be rubbish (3).

At the time being, however, Israeli extremists do manipulate the chosen people belief and claim the redemption of Gaza. The Israeli public is taken hostage by the extremist government, which stirs up pain and anger toward bloodthirsty revenge. Consequently, the chosen people are shocked at the world's denial of Israel's self-proclaimed right to do whatever it wants with Gaza, and can rationalize this only through the mantra "We are always the greatest and only victim!"

Follow the Money: Qatar, Hamas, and Chosen People

How come Qatar emerged as the key negotiator (alongside Egypt) in the hostage exchange? (Note: Palestinians in Israel's jails are also hostages since they've been jailed by the Israeli occupational force, and Israel has used them in bargaining for releases of captured Israelis in the past.) Qatar has been providing financial aid to Gaza for quite some time. It took over the support role and its money has covered civic and military needs in Gaza. This was done with the full awareness of Israeli authorities.

The eye-opening investigative reporting by the New York Times exposes the strategy of the Netanyahu governments to play Hamas against Fatah, the key political forces among Palestinians, with the chief goal of disabling the two-state solution (8). Palestinians are made to keep head-butting for power, while settlers grab more land in the West Bank and the Zionist agenda gradually comes to a full fruition. To these ends, Netanyahu's Israel assisted in the money transfer to Gaza, although some Israeli politicians and security officials objected. The more the chaos - the better, that's part of the old playbook for all aspiring autocrats. These developments have been missed by Western politicians and "experts" who fire at Iran as the main culprit behind the October 7 tragedy. (Note that Iran is a Shia theocracy that props the militant organization Hezbollah, while Hamas is a nationalist organization with no religious agenda; key Hamas leaders reside in Qatar.)

At this point, we are back to the belief of being chosen people. Its political manipulation currently produces unconvincing public narratives in the form of war propaganda and international PR. Israeli authorities expect the world to believe that a few guns, air pipes, and everyday objects found in tunnels under Gaza City hospitals "prove" that these were used as Hamas military facilities. Then, the enemy is a "coward hiding behind human shields" (instead of confronting face-to-face Israeli airplanes, tanks, and cannons with infantry arms). All the while, the Israeli military "tries to minimize harm to civilians in Gaza" by warning civilians before air attacks (provided the frightened, exhausted Gazans are tuned to a proper communication channel and can evacuate swiftly themselves and their livelihood)...

In general, these lame pitches are to be taken at face value because they come from the chosen people's army called Israel Defense Force (perhaps so because all its operations are by default "defensive", as the overused refrain goes - "Israel has the right to defend itself").  The world must condone all Israel does because it's fighting on behalf of humanity against sub-humans. It's humans vs. Morlocks, stupid! (as H.G. Wells presaged in the novel "Time Machine").

To avoid any misunderstanding, my intent hasn’t been to put Israeli cultural beliefs at the surgical table. The patient in need of surgery is the distortion of these for extremist political purposes. Paradoxically, Zionism may be shooting itself in the foot. As the world condemns the invasion of Gaza, the ugly face of Zionist racism is exposed. By getting Israel ostracized, Zionist policies could weaken precisely what they are trying to strengthen – the Jewish statehood. That process as well as the ongoing criminal war on Gaza can be stopped with a change of Israel's government that survives just owing to this war.

 

(1) Travica: https://cogito-bob.blogspot.com/2023/11/move-south-and-get-out-ethnic-cleansing.html

(2) Bar-Tal: https://tinyurl.com/jdnutrbs

(3) Rabbi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FNtMV2i8-8

(4) Levy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EtNFXL_ykg

(5) Britannica: http://bit.ly/3GK7KBd

(6) British survey: https://www.loc.gov/rr/amed/pdf/palestine1/Arabs-of-Palestine-British-Survey.pdf

(7) Jewish Library: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/religious-zionism  

(8) New York Times: https://bit.ly/3TvzalD

Move South and Get Out! - Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza

By Bob Travica

On October 7, 2023, the military wing of Hamas committed crimes against Israeli citizens. That's a horrible tragedy. A day after, the Israeli government declared war on Gaza where the Hamas party is in power. We still don't know the real proportion of the October 7^th tragedy nor how it happened. How is it possible that Hamas' long preps escaped Israel's advanced surveillance system? How did long-range rockets get into the sealed Gaza ghetto before the Israeli noses? How come the military and security forces were so asleep on October 7^th? How many Israelis died at the hands of Israeli forces that day, which hit both the militants and their hostages in kibbutzim?

Three weeks later, we are witnessing an unprecedented onslaught of the Israeli military on Gaza, a tiny land strip of 360 square km, that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians. In three weeks of the war, Israel's war machine killed 9,000 civilians, nearly as much as in 20 months of the Ukraine war (1).

The Background

Gaza is practically a ghetto within the state of Israel. Israel created it via concrete walls, barbed wire fences, watchtowers, reflectors, motion sensors, and remotely controlled weaponry. There is a North exit into Israel, a South goods-only exit also to Israel, and one nearby to Egypt. Institutionally, the Gaza Strip is the result of the unsuccessful implementation of the 1947 UN resolution of partitioning the land between Palestinians and Jews after colonial rule ceased. Historically, Gaza was part of the territory called Palestine since the Roman Empire era. Beforehand, Jews originated there and called it the Land of Israel. Arabs settled in the 7^th century and controlled it until Ottoman Turks took over and ruled for five centuries. The Zionist movement was established in Europe in the 19^th century with the mission of reestablishing Israel. That happened in 1948. Jews became "Israelis," and Arabs "Palestinians." The percentage split between Israelis and Palestinians was 30:70 in the combined population of 2.7 million.

The eviction of Palestinians to neighboring countries began right away. There were wars between Israel and its neighbors (Egypt, Syria, Jordan), in which it prevailed and enlarged the territory controlled. In the short 1967 war, Israel occupied Golan Heights, Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, previously controlled by the neighbors (Egypt ruled Gaza). Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem became Palestinian territories under Israel's occupation. In 2005, Israeli forces unilaterally pulled out of Gaza and sealed its borders (so-called "disengagement"). Insecurity and violence continued. There were Palestinian uprisings, suicide attacks in the streets of Israel, firearm battles… There were Israeli raids into Gaza, with thousands killed.

Since 1948, many negotiations, diplomatic maneuvering, declarations, and treaties unfolded. In 1974, the UN reaffirmed the 1947 resolution on land partitioning known as the "two-state solution," reasserting Palestinians' right to self-determination. While some progress was made in stabilizing relations between Israel and its neighbors, no effective resolution to Palestinian statehood has ever been reached. Israel has never accepted the condition of the "two-state solution" to pull out of the territories occupied in 1967, and the nationalists never accepted the idea of an independent Palestinian state as a neighbor.

Today, the Palestinian Territories consist of Gaza and the West Bank, both nested within Israel, numbering 5 million people; over 4 million Palestinians live in neighboring countries, including refugee camps. The Israeli Jewish population has grown 10-fold since 1948, owing to Jewish immigrants from abroad. According to the UN, the West Bank is the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel; this fact doesn't deter Jews from settling there with the support of right-wing forces, such as the nationalist Likud Party now led by Benjamin Netanyahu. "We have nowhere else to go" became the mantra of Jewish immigrants, which expressed both honest patriotism and a neo-colonialist mentality.

Hamas entered the scene in 1987 – a radical party competing with the older Fatah party and defeating it in the 2006 Gaza elections. The U.S. and its allies denied Hamas' legitimacy, branding it a terrorist organization. Still, Hamas established civil and military governance, although it hasn't been the sole force in Gaza. Palestinian political and military players range from the political left to the right. For example, Hamas is not jihadist while Palestinian Islamic Jihad is. 

Enter Iran, a regional player with a long history, and with a unique ethnicity and branch of Islam. Its involvement in regional affairs arises from contemporary ideological and longer-term political ambitions, which are carried out partly by militant agents. Iran has targeted Israel since its turning into a Shia theocracy in 1979, and it funds radicalized Palestinians (military Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad). And the list of interested regional parties doesn't end here; lately, Qatar and Turkey have got aboard by supporting Hamas. 

Finally, more distant "friends" complete the picture - great powers interested in energy resources, weaponry markets for their exports, and military positioning in the strategic geographical space. The prominent ones are the U.S. and Russia/USSR. They back regional players (the US backs Israel, Russia supports Egypt and Syria). Friends request favors that hurt the other side's friends, thus the plot gets even trickier.

Looking at this history, Palestinians appear sandwiched between Israel and their neighbors (Egypt, Jordan, and Syria). Israel is hostile: it doesn't tolerate Palestinians and denies them statehood. Neighbors appear friendly but attach strings: aid is mixed with nudging radicalized Palestinians to punch Israel. Small improvements in the Middle East conundrum are short-lived and pale before the failures in solving the Palestinian issue and the continuous radicalization across the board.

Unpacking Spins

The reporting of Western liberal media is a bit better than in some other conflicts. For example, owing to the BBC, we see pictures of civilian suffering, and get reports of Gaza's authorities. Commentators don't refrain from using critical language in the context of the Israeli military's actions. Still, twisted language is persistently fed to the public and media, creating a biased picture of reality. Here are some examples of such spins unpacked.

As opposed to what we've been told, it is not just the "Hamas terrorists" that resist Israel's onslaught, but a broader coalition of fighters defending Gaza. The blanket label "Hamas" is consistently used to label Israel's enemy even when Palestinian Islamic Jihad commits acts that the Israeli government or media report. This spin may have the purpose of averting the rage of jihadists since Hamas is not part of that camp.

We keep hearing that "Israel has every right and obligation to defend itself." However, Israel formally declared war on Gaza and attacked, so it acted as the aggressor on the Palestinian territory. And the aggressor is apparently aggressive: the world witnesses how it demolishes Gaza, killing indiscriminately babies, children, and adult civilians, and destroying homes, hospitals, schools, infrastructure, everything… So, a true language would be: Israel has every right to attack and destroy with no obligation to anyone or anything.

The Israeli government declares that one strategic goal is "to dismantle Hamas" and "not to target civilians." However, the two tenets are impossible to accomplish in urban warfare within a small place like Gaza. This fact is glanced over by "Hamas uses people as human shields." So, the logical conclusion is that taking on civilians is necessary to get to Hamas (and other defenders). Therefore, the concern for civilians is baloney. 

Consistently with this, the invading aggressor "warns" Gazans to move south allegedly for their safety. To move with no possessions, food supplies, basic sanitation, shelter to count on… Actually, the aggressor just clears the way so it can move faster in its conquest, while Israel's warplanes bombard the south nevertheless. Israeli officials add insult to injury by "explaining" cynically why they shut down Gaza's infrastructure, 'Hamas controls electricity, gasoline, food, so it should release these resources to Gazans – not Israel!'

Since the declaration of "dismantling Hamas and not targeting civilians" doesn't hold water, what is the Israeli military doing really? Obviously, it slaughters Gazans and executes a criminal strategy aiming at ethnic cleansing. In the process, Gazans are severely punished, and Gaza is destroyed and made unlivable. Surviving Palestinians are to be pushed out of Gaza and Israel, probably to Egypt,  as envisioned in a leaked government document (2) and statements of some Israeli politicians. The Netanyahu nationalist government is engaged in a merciless revenge and criminal land-grab. Period.

But what about avenging the claimed 1,400 deaths and rescuing 240 hostages, as claimed? The revenge appears bottomless until the destruction and ethnic cleansing are completed. So, Israel's actions are totally disproportional to the cause of war. Indeed, this is the revenge-and-rescue spin with the purpose of whitewashing the government's failure in defending the country on October 7. The government gaslights the shocked citizenry by putting all the blame on Hamas and turning Israelis into busy, vengeful warriors. Catastrophic mistakes and incompetence are disguised by calls for retaliation and saving hostages.

"Saving hostages" is actually just another spin. The actions of the Israeli government show absolutely no care for hostages. Caring would've been demonstrated by continuing negotiations for the hostages' release in exchange for Palestinians jailed in Israel, rather than pouring 10,000 air strikes in three weeks, that endanger the hostages and enrage the kidnappers. We still need to learn how many hostages died at Israelis' hands. (3)

Duplicity Unmasked

What do powerful Western allies advise Israel? Publicly, we hear claims that the Israeli authorities are urged to avoid civilian casualties. But Israel's response has been only to increase the mayhem; 9,000 civilians were murdered in three weeks of the invasion. Israel doesn't budge: even when cautiously warned of violating laws of war, it continues terrorizing civilians from the air and on the ground. So, it follows that Israel disobeys the U.S. and other allies? Wow! But does this make any sense? Support of the U.S. is crucial for Israel (political backing internationally, military aid, deterring Hezbollah and Iran, and engaging in a broader war should it erupt).

Because it makes no sense that Israel would risk weakening/losing this support, we may assume that, behind closed doors, the U.S. officials advise something different than what they say publicly and the media is readily parroting. All the American shuffle diplomacy amounts merely to defending Israel and endeavoring to pacify the interested parties by pretending to be concerned with Palestinian civilians. The U.S. has gotten used to civilian "collateral damage" in its many wars, hasn't it? To the extent that the effects of Israel's war against Gaza qualify as war crimes or genocide, Israel's allies are accountable as well. Undoubtedly, they will use their political influence to ward off such accountability at the time of reckoning.

Israel doesn't take Palestinians as a party to negotiate with and make deals; they can't be trusted or respected as citizens and owners. Israel plans the future for Palestinians on its own, and ridicules them as "children of darkness" (Netanyahu), human animals (the minister of defense Yoav Gallant), monsters (former minister Galit Distel Atbaryan), barbaric, medieval, rats, snakes, savages... (4) Who talks like this, if not a party that views its counterpart as a lower race? This is called racism in the older vocabulary or "dehumanization" today. It implies that Gazans play no role in strategizing about the future; they must be deprived of any means of self-defense, murdered, or kicked out.

We should pause at this point and think about a broader historical picture. It suggests that history in this case repeats as a paradox. Under zionist governments, Israel has inflicted on Palestinians such policies that are eerily similar to those that Nazis imposed on Jews decades ago in Europe. This time though the tables are turned: racist Israelis terrorize Palestinians. History may be repeating also regarding the Jewish deep belief that "the whole world is against us." Sadly, the apocalyptic carnage inflicted upon Palestinians in Gaza cannot help but turn the world against Israel. One can only be sorry for those Israelis and Jews elsewhere who oppose the Gaza aggression and don’t deserve such blame.

Even much softer criticism than this one enrages warmongers in Israel and right-wingers in the West. They strive to stamp "antisemitism" on any attempt at looking at history or showing concern for the Palestinian plight. The right-wing politicians and media brand millions of protestants around the world demanding a ceasefire in Gaza as "pro-Hamas" and "supporters of terrorists." The former U.S. President Trump promises that, if reelected, he'll gag "antisemitism" and cancel citizenship of politically incorrect immigrants. Right on, a revealing support from the mouth of a white supremacist! People who are blinded by rage, defensiveness, or prejudices can't grasp any of these conclusions. But these do follow the principle of giving the same respect to all the people, Palestinians and Jews alike.

The war in Gaza is a culmination of the Middle Eastern vicious cycle of violence blocking the way for resolving the problem of Palestinian statehood. It's delusional to expect that the "dismantling of Hamas" will prevent the emergence of new militants. On the contrary, the terror and obliteration of Gaza will undoubtedly extend the spiral of radicalization and violence into an unforeseeable future. Perhaps that's exactly what warmongers on both sides want. How else could they survive?

A Tel-Aviv social psychologist Bar-Tal, a researcher of mass psychology in Israel, said: "An analysis of the present situation indicates that with the exception of a small minority, which is capable of looking at the past with an open mind, the general public is not interested in knowing what Israel did in Gaza for many years, why Hamas came to power in democratic elections; how many people were killed in Gaza from the disengagement (in 2005)…" (5). No, this is not a characterization of the present war: the statement is from 2009!

1) https://tinyurl.com/5xz4ty4b

2) https://tinyurl.com/2vu9uhzm

3) https://tinyurl.com/5n7jv9hs

4) https://tinyurl.com/awzt2xxx

5) https://tinyurl.com/jdnutrbs