ATLANTA, Georgia, Jul 03 (IPS) – Zionism is damaged. It’s completed as a political philosophy and can’t lengthy survive. Having earned the visceral opposition of multitudes of individuals and nations world wide for partaking in huge overkill in Gaza, that historic actuality will doubtless develop into clear to the Israeli folks over time.
Nonetheless, how may essentially the most highly effective state within the Center East, essentially the most flourishing economically, with the strongest superpower backing, develop into defunct? It can’t—until by some means its chief raison d’etrê, its founding philosophy, collapses. That has already occurred.
Within the wake of the October 7 assault by Hamas, the visceral racist core of Zionism has develop into evident within the indiscriminate slaughter of tens of 1000’s of harmless Palestinian civilians, together with many 1000’s of kids.
No purpose of state can ever excuse that. Israel’s righteous anger in opposition to HAMAS for its obscene October 7 assault transitioned shortly into racial hatred, ending in, if not genocide, then definitely warfare crimes and crimes in opposition to humanity. Netanyahu and his Likud allies haven’t hidden their racism for many years. Now it’s express in full view of the world.
The Zionism of Netanyahu and his supporters should be repudiated by the Israelis themselves. Israel’s leaders from Menachem Start to right this moment have lengthy endorsed statements lauding Israel uber alles.
Zionism can solely be rehabilitated if it separates its purpose for current from the present triumphalist navy identification that’s decided to kill, kill, and kill once more till the utter destruction and suppression of all each tangible and ideological enemy.
In a current CNN interview, former Shin Beth Director Ami Ayalon, was very express: he mentioned “The poisonous management of Prime Minister Netanyahu” will “result in the top of Zionism.” In that case, he mentioned, “We can’t be safe and we will lose our identification.”
Ayalon was preceded by quite a lot of brave Israeli thinkers and writers who warned of the identical consequence—Israel was based in 1948 however of their opinion, Zionism had already failed ideologically by the mid-Sixties. They included Hebrew College professor Israel Shahak (1933-2001), who wrote, “It’s my thought-about opinion that the State of Israel is a racist state within the full which means of the time period.”
He insisted that, “You can’t have humane Zionism. It (too) is a contradiction in phrases.” Uri Avnery (1923-2018), a embellished Israeli soldier and later a writer and politician, printed a ebook in 1968 titled Israel with out Zionists.
Lots of the authentic Jewish colonists had utopian goals, however their leaders would in all probability not acknowledge the grim, revengeful militarism of right this moment’s Israel. Just a few tiny orthodox non secular events in Israel have by no means purchased into the navy machine that’s the Likud Celebration’s satisfaction and pleasure.
Some have steadfastly refused even to serve within the Israeli military as a result of they don’t imagine within the Israeli state. Now even they’re being conscripted.
The unique dream of Zionism from Theodore Herzl to Chaim Weizmann to David Ben Gurion, though containing seeds of a right this moment’s hob-booted navy identification, nonetheless additionally expressed a grandiosely humane, even a common, objective—to develop into a “mild to the nations.” In that, Israel has signally failed.
Like HAMAS and most Palestinians, Israel’s folks—and Israel as a rustic—has develop into more and more and deeply racist. Now racism—hatred of others for his or her variations—has develop into racial-ism, which is even worse, a doctrine of race superiority, which was the Nazi credo.
The Israel of Benjamin Netanyahu and his thuggish coalition has succumbed to such race hatred that Zionists from pre-1948 Palestine wouldn’t acknowledge it. A Jan. 6, 2024 opinion article within the Jerusalem Submit urges Israel to reform its politics alongside higher Zionist strains and take energy away from the extremists now in cost. Commendable, however not practically sufficient.
What if Abraham Lincoln had countenanced America’s authentic sin of slavery by merely taking half steps? We’d nonetheless have “slavery lite.” No, Israel’s race-based philosophy should change to the democratic ultimate: a single state in Israel and the occupied territories for Muslims, Christians, and Jews. One individual, one vote.
When Palestinians are handled as human beings—as actual folks as a substitute of enemies to be eradicated en masse—folks all over the place would quickly see how shortly peace would come to the Center East.
James E. Jennings, PhD, is President, Conscience Worldwide
www.conscienceinternational.org[email protected]
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
