Joseph Massad: Why genocide is a "Western value"

One year ago this week, Palestinian resistance fighters broke out of one of the most heavily guarded places on Earth, the occupied Gaza Strip, and totally routed the vaunted Israel army within a few hours. In doing so, they upended a regional order in which many thought the Palestinian issue had been successfully sidelined in favor of Israeli integration and normalization with Arab regimes under the umbrella of US hegemony.

Immediately, Israel and its Western backers in government and media tried to erase from popular memory the shocking images of Israeli military defeat, and to replace them with alternative images of vulnerability and victimhood – in which defenseless Israeli babies were burned and countless Israeli women raped.

We knew early on, and we now know conclusively, that those atrocities did not happen. In fact, on that day, Israel killed many, if not most, of its own people as it invoked the so-called Hannibal Directive, a secretive military doctrine which permits any level of force needed to prevent Israelis being taken captive.

But using Israeli atrocity propaganda as a pretext, the United States and Europe gave their full support to the Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people, which continues one year later amid an ever-broadening regional conflict.

Israel has extended its genocidal violence to Lebanon and it is also threatening to attack Iran, following Iran’s missile retaliation for previous Israeli aggressions.

Armed by the United States, Israel has killed more than 41,000 people in Gaza and more than 2,000 in Lebanon, according to official figures, although estimates for what may be the actual numbers in Gaza range significantly higher.

What is the historical context for the events of 7 October 2023? Why does Israel enjoy such total support from Western governments? Where does the role of the Israel lobby fit in? And what might come next?

Joining us today to discuss these questions is Joseph Massad.

He is professor of modern Arab politics and intellectual history at Columbia University, and one of the most significant public intellectuals today. We are honored that he has regularly contributed to The Electronic Intifada for many years, and he writes a regular column for Middle East Eye, providing essential historical context and perspective on contemporary events.

He is the author of Islam in Liberalism, Desiring Arabs, The Persistence of the Palestinian Question: Essays on Zionism and the Palestinian Question and Colonial Effects: The Making of National Identity in Jordan. He is currently working on a major history of settler-colonialism.

This is a segment from The Electronic Intifada's day 369 livestream. Ali Abunimah, Nora Barrows-Friedman, Jon Elmer and Asa Winstanley were joined by Joseph Massad, a professor of modern Arab politics and intellectual history at Columbia University, and one of the most significant public intellectuals today. You can watch the entire broadcast here: https://rumble.com/v5hyme1-breaking-news-and-analysis-on-day-369-of-gazas-al-aqsa-flood-the-electronic.html

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