[Marxism] Norman Finkelstein on "savagery"

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Middle East for Dummies
By Mark Hand
http://www.pressaction.com/pablog/archives/001601.html#001601

 ?It?s a pretty straightforward conflict,? author and academic Norman 
Finkelstein said during an April 7 lecture at American University in 
Washington, D.C.

Finkelstein was referring to the Israel/Palestine conflict, but his 
observation easily could apply to the uncomplicated nature of the U.S. 
government's crimes in Iraq. The U.S. mainstream media, of course, sows 
confusion among the public by misreporting the motivation of the opposition 
to the U.S. aggression. What is occurring in Iraq is a simple case of a 
segment of the indigenous population seeking to defend their nation against 
a well-armed and well-financed legion of invaders.

Regarding Israel, Finkelstein said it's ?perfectly straightforward why the 
Palestinians have a grievance.? The creation of Israel involved wide-scale 
ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in order to sanitize areas for the 
inhabitants of the new nation.

Almost all chroniclers of the Israel/Palestine conflict will admit there 
was, at the very least, partial ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in 
1948, Finkelstein explained. Israeli historian Benny Morris, for example, 
concedes that the birth of Israel involved some ethnic cleansing of 
Palestinians but contends their removal was necessary for the good of the 
new Jewish state. "There are circumstances in history that justify ethnic 
cleansing," Morris says.

To support this claim, Morris argues that the United States would not have 
reached such exalted heights as a nation if it had not committed genocide 
against Native Americans. ?Yes, even the great American democracy couldn?t 
come to be without the forced extinction of Native Americans," Morris says. 
"There are times the overall, final good justifies terrible, cruel deeds.?

Many U.S. historians and political leaders in the late 19th century and 
early part of the 20th century shared Morris?s approval of the Native 
American holocaust. ?The only difference is that he is saying it at the 
beginning of the 21st century,? Finkelstein said.

As with the Palestinians, the Native Americans certainly committed savage 
acts against the intruders and the people who the intruders claimed to 
represent. But there's a simple and comprehensible explanation for these 
acts, according to Finkelstein: "Fear of territorial displacement and 
dispossession."

As fears of dispossession intensify, a growing number of Iraqis are 
beginning to muster the courage to confront the occupation forces and their 
ancillaries who burst into their nation unwelcome. They could keep quiet 
and let the U.S.-led coalition and its collaborators solidify control of 
the nation. This scenario would likely produce less bloodshed and hardship 
for the people of Iraq in the short-term. And opting for this route would 
be completely understandable for a nation of people who has suffered 
greatly for so many years.

But for many Iraqis, kneeling down at the feet of the invaders is not an 
option. In their eyes, anybody participating in the takeover of their 
country, whether soldier, civilian contractor, journalist or citizen of an 
invading country, is fair game for attack. They would probably argue that 
residents of the nations that have sent armies to invade their country 
should be recused from judging their actions, because Iraqis are the ones 
living in constant fear and facing shattered lives at the hands of the 
occupiers.

The resistance in Iraq is spilling over into areas ? kidnappings and 
mutilations ? that may shock the sensibilities of fellow Iraqis and 
citizens of the invading nations. Once the initial shock of these acts has 
dissipated, it should not surprise anyone that some Iraqis might unleash 
such fury.

The violent and callous behavior of the U.S. government has had a spillover 
effect on U.S. citizens not just in Iraq but around the world. 
Anti-American sentiment has significantly increased during the past three 
years due to the actions of the U.S government, just like anti-German 
feelings prevailed for years after World War II, Finkelstein said.

The upsurge in violence by Israel against the Palestinians over the past 
three years has also had a spillover effect around the world. Criticism of 
the Israeli government and its apologists has grown considerably during 
this period, Finkelstein explained.

But the claims of a "new anti-Semitism" by Israel's supporters and some 
media outlets are nonsense, he said. In fact, a recent Pew Research Center 
study discovered a diminishing of anti-Semitism in key European countries, 
Finkelstein noted. The report says:

"Despite concerns about rising anti-Semitism in Europe, there are no 
indications that anti-Jewish sentiment has increased over the past decade. 
Favorable ratings of Jews are actually higher now in France, Germany and 
Russia than they were in 1991. Nonetheless, Jews are better liked in the 
U.S. than in Germany and Russia. As is the case with Americans, Europeans 
hold much more negative views of Muslims than of Jews."

The "new anti-Semitism" and its varieties are a ?hysteria that comes about 
whenever Israel faces a public relations crisis,? Finkelstein said.

"New anti-Semitism" was the buzzword after the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, 
after Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982, and after the Palestinians 
offered their support for a two-state solution to the conflict later in the 
1980s. With the recent surge in criticism of Israel's treatment of 
Palestinians, books and magazine articles claiming a "new anti-Semitism" 
are cropping up again, Finkelstein noted.

He cited Phyllis Chesler's book The New Anti-Semitism, Gabriel Schoenfeld's 
book The Return of Anti-Semitism, Abraham Foxman's book Never Again: The 
Threat of New Anti-Semitism, and Miriam Greenspan's cover story for Tikkun 
magazine titled The New Anti-Semitism as examples of a renewed public 
relations campaign that uses "anti-Semitism" to bolster the position of Israel.

As for what can be done in the United States to help the Palestinians, 
Finkelstein said, "Let's not pretend we're powerless." The Israel lobby in 
the United States "is a very fragile instrument" that is built on a "house 
of cards," he said.

But as with the task of ending the U.S. government's occupation of Iraq, 
stopping Israel's terror campaign against the Palestinians will not be an 
easy job. Israel and its supporters, according to Finkelstein, have 
"conviction, commitment and sacrifice" on their side. Those who wish to 
improve the plight of the Palestinians would see better results if they had 
the courage to adopt these attributes, he said.



Louis Proyect
Marxism list: www.marxmail.org 


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