Occupation familiar to American mind
Mohammad Mohsen Rahemi
Journalist
Mohsen Askari Jehaqi has translated works such as “On Palestine” and “Gaza in Crisis” from English to Farsi. The two aforementioned books are a collection of articles and interviews by Noam Chomsky, an American thinker, in collaboration with Ilan Pappé, an Israeli historian. He discussed the war between Hamas and Israel as well as the intervention of the United States in the war in an exclusive interview with Iran Daily, which follows.
What is the policy of “incremental genocide” that Israel is pursuing in Palestine, and what historical background does it have? Is the carnage in the recent Gaza war a component of this very policy?
Chomsky has thoroughly demonstrated in three books, “On Palestine,” “Gaza in Crisis,” and “Who Rules the World?” — and even in “Pirates and Emperors, Old and New” — that Israel is pursuing a policy of incremental genocide in Palestine. Supporting pieces of data like the one that indicates Israel has unjustly killed at least 10 to 12 children weekly over the past few decades have been documented in these books. If we refrain from labeling this as cruelty, genocide, or crime, then we must present new definitions for these wrongdoings.
I do not care about the counterarguments and justifications of the Israelis. Those who wish to counter these arguments are standing on shaky ground because statistics and figures are not something we can simply conceal.
What happened during Operation Al-Aqsa Storm and what has transpired since October 7 epitomize what has occurred over there in the past seventy years. It’s akin to having watched a seventy-episode series and now saying that you want to read its synopsis; look at what has happened in the past 45 days for a synopsis. So, I believe a genocide has occurred, and if anyone doubts it, they can read Chomsky’s books on this matter.
Ilan Pappé discusses Israel’s strategy for transforming Gaza into a southwestern frontier. What is this strategy, and why is it being pursued? There have been reports about the transfer of Palestinians residing in Gaza to Egypt or Jordan during the recent war. Is this also part of the same policy?
That would also be in line with Israel’s other policies. There’s no denying that forced displacement is occurring in Gaza. Imagine someone telling you to move after forty years of living in Tehran to live in the peripheral regions of Pakistan. How would that make you feel? It’s tantamount to tearing an individual away from their roots, and undoubtedly, what gets separated from its roots ends up neglected and decaying, and eventually fades away.
What is happening now is that they are forcibly pushing Palestinians toward the southern part of Gaza and, from there, into Egypt. This issue is not merely a geographical matter; it has psychological, social, and cultural consequences. If you were compelled to leave behind what you cultivated in your family over the years and move on, you would realize that the displacement, abandonment, and disconnection it brings to your family makes it more than a geographical relocation. It’s more akin to a profound, painful, and generational separation from your roots that plants you in another society where you lack common roots and that society may look down on you. So, whether it’s direct killings through bombardments or showing the Palestinians the door out of Gaza, the Palestinian people are experiencing genocide.
One may also ask why the discomfort that Western leaders feel about this situation is mild, but for us Iranians, it’s much more severe. There’s a reason. If you tell Americans today that the Israelis have attacked a country, occupied it, and established their own land, their minds won’t boggle. It’s not terribly different from what their ancestors did. Once a part of the English colonies, they later became colonizers themselves and eventually formed the United States of America. Even before that, their ancestors traveled from Britain, Spain, Portugal, and elsewhere in Europe to conquer and take the lands of the Americas for themselves. The American public might now say what Israel is doing is similar to what we did. From the American perspective, this issue is not strange, and they probably will say, “What other way is there for a country?”
We, Iranians, have never been like this. We have been in this region for over 5,000 years; hence, we have seen our fair share of occupations around us. That’s why we inherently have a problem with occupation, usurpation, and coercion. Our people almost certainly react to seeing an instance of oppression in the street, unlike Westerners. In their political genes, it’s ingrained that we have taken whatever we could, even if it involves bloodshed and massacre; we have conquered lands and done a good job of making them ours. If it hadn’t been like this, could we even have had a country?
How did the US become the US? It was just like that. They killed and destroyed millions of Native Americans. That’s why they say, “The Israelis haven’t done anything strange.” While, for us Iranians, it is strange because our civilization’s history is, at least, against occupation.
One of the aims set by Israel for the recent Gaza war was to eradicate Hamas. Pappé, in the book “Gaza in Crisis,” refers to this matter as the “age-old dream of eradicating Hamas”. What perspective does knowing the history of this issue, especially from 2007 to the present, open up for us? Are the resistance groups in Palestine, in terms of sociological and historical aspects, susceptible to elimination?
Hamas is a thought, and it is not confined to either its individuals or organization. Hamas has an intellectual structure deeply rooted in the nature of Palestinians. It even has a legal manifesto. Therefore, those who believe that they can eliminate Hamas by killing its members, destroying its organization, and eradicating its political or military structures have actually used this as a pretext to achieve their hidden agendas.
It’s like if I were to launch a political party called “Justice,” and you came and murdered the members of my party. Does that mean the passion for justice has been eradicated? No. There may be criticisms of the policies of Hamas, but what led to the formation of Hamas was the struggle against oppression and occupation. This idea of fighting and resisting oppression, occupation, tyranny, injustice, and cruelty has its roots in human nature. If they were to eliminate Hamas, knowing that its core ideas are inherent in human nature, what would they achieve?
In my opinion, the debate is neither religious nor political and is not related to any specific country or party. The same goes for the debate on justice. Thieves who steal but distribute the loot equally are at least committed to justice. So, it cannot be said that the debate on justice is religious or related to a specific class. Justice, as it is in human nature, is always associated with humans and human societies. Even if they eliminate Hamas, without a doubt, another Hamas will be born. After all, there will always be some Palestinians who ask, “What will be the fate of our homeland?” If we can erase this question from human nature, then yes, Hamas can be eliminated. Although Hamas is a name, it embodies a belief, and this belief cannot be eradicated.
If Israel gets to kill Ismail Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders, it would not mean that they have been able to eliminate the core idea behind Hamas. Those who advocate the destruction of Hamas have predetermined political ambitions they want to achieve, but they use the pretext of fighting against Hamas and its members and organization. If we look at this issue in the context of the Middle East, we can see that projects like the normalization of relations between Arabs and Israel under the Abraham Accords would make sense. The main goal is not what is stated, and, God willing, our policymakers will also be aware of that.
Can Russia and other countries affect the future of Gaza?
Looking back at the apartheid regime in South Africa, we see that the country thrived when it had international support, especially from the United States. As soon as the US withdrew its support, the apartheid regime crumbled. Israel is in a similar situation. As long as international support for this country continues and countries turn a blind eye to its wrongdoings, atrocities, and crimes, this situation persists. However, if the world can unite in its approach to Israel’s behavior, the scenario will undoubtedly change. Now, if this unified approach is against the Zionist regime, it will undoubtedly lead to its destruction. But if the approach is in favor of this regime, it would certainly result in a tragic story for the region and the Palestinian people.
It seems that recording the historical experience of Palestinians has formed a strong foundation for the idea of resistance against the occupying enemy. Pappé discusses the issue in his book titled “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine”. Is the complete elimination of resistance possible in Gaza without the complete eradication of humanity?
Even if this dehumanization takes place and the Palestinian resistance in Gaza crumbles, the resistance will undoubtedly emerge elsewhere because people feel humiliated. World War II happened due to the humiliation of the German people after World War I. That is, if the Versailles Treaty had not been concluded in such a humiliating way and the people of Germany had not been humiliated, they would never have given rise to World War II. If you study the history of World War II, you’ll see how the contempt and humiliation of a society can ignite the flames of anger, hatred, and resentment in the minds and hearts of its youth.
Now, add occupation, abduction, killings, and genocide to that kind of contempt. Look at the siege of Gaza, which they themselves call the “world’s open prison”. It’s a land that is one-fourth the size of New York but has a population of two and a half million. When these things add up, what more can we expect other than an eruption of anger from a youth who lives there and has endured all this contempt and faced this level of suppression and tension?
Let’s assume the Israelis can eliminate these youths with any weapons they can find and dehumanize them, turning the place into a wasteland. They better be sure that their behavior will cause anger to erupt from elsewhere several times over. We are seeing instances of this right now in the unprecedented protests that are popping up in the capitals of European countries, from London to Rome, and even reaching the hearts of American students who are angry and opposing suppression.
Since this issue is inherent in human nature, it is not eliminable. By killing people, this resistance will not disappear. This is a belief, and beliefs are not necessarily in the mind of one person. Some beliefs exist in the nature of all humans and define what it means to be human. No human in the world can endure suffering, oppression, occupation, plunder, and tyranny. Even if such a situation is in their favor, they know they are living in a glass house and cannot endure it for an extended period.