IS ISRAEL MOVING FROM POLITICIDE TO GENOCIDE? Prayers and thoughts with everyone in Gaza. As we watch the ground invasion commence and even more children die, I cant help wondering: I have long described Israels program in the WB and Gaza as politicide, borrowing the term from Baruch Kimmerling, because i thought it more accurately reflected the nature of Israels program: to destroy the possibility for any Palestinian national expression within a sovereign state. however, the nature of the Israeli assault of the last two weeks--the wanton killing not merely of civilians but of children and whole families without even a hint of remorse, the way lies and the most vile propaganda, surrounding the kidnapping and killing of the three settler youth, to justify a pre-planned massive assault on a largely defenseless population, the violent and inciteful language of leading politicians to the public without apology--is forcing me to consider Israels actions, and even aims, as having approached the level of genocide. I conclude this because of the intensely rabid anti-Palestinian propaganda being spewed across the Israeli political spectrum, the clear uptick in extreme bigotry by such increasing numbers of Israelis, the ongoing and increasing dehumanization of Palestinians so that their suffering does not even register, and so on. it is clear to me that a goal of all this violence, so much of it filmed real time in excruciating graphicness and shared with the world, is to force Israelis and the countrys fervent supporters to dehumanize Palestinians even more. how can we do this to them unless they really are monsters? the implications of Israel being in the wrong are so great for supporters that whatever has to be done to avoid having to come to grips with this reality will be done. Genocide does not have to be the physical destruction of a whole or part of a group. It is becoming clearer that the israeli government has the mental element--the intent to destroy in whole or part a national group. the physical element of genocide includes killing members of the group and causing serious bodily or mental harm to them. There are other acts, such as forced sterilizations, mas rape, forcible transference of children, aiming to physically wipe out a group. its clear that israel has not practiced, and however gruesome the death toll, Its not even in the same universe as Syria yet, or Rwanda or other unambiguous cases of genocide yet. But genocide is not an all or nothing action; its not the Holocaust or Cambodia or bust. There are levels and degrees. And it feels like something has changed, and that Israel is moving into a level of psychopathic behavior and unapologetic murder of innocents, that something has changed in the ground that threatens not just the survival of Palestinians as a national group, but that of Israel as well. And what is equally bad, is that in dragging Americans and other supporters down with it, it is widening the circle of dehumanization, enabling even more violence on a large scale, increasing hatred among peoples, and making the possibilities for reconciliation almost nil.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 21:10:32 +0000
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