retrospectology , 1 month ago

Some quotes from David Ben-Gurion, one of the early zionist founders of Israel:

“A partial Jewish State is not the end, but only the beginning. … I am certain that we well not be prevented from settling in the other parts of the country, either by mutual agreements with our Arab neighbors or by some other means. . . [If the Arabs refuse] we shall have to speak to them in another language. But we shall only have another language if we have a state.”

“I don’t understand your optimism,’ Ben-Gurion declared. 'Why should the Arabs make peace? If I were an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: THEY THINK we have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We come from Israel, it’s true, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?”

"Let us not ignore the truth among ourselves … politically we are the aggressors and they defend themselves… The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down, and in their view we want to take away from them their country. … Behind the terrorism [by the Arabs] is a movement, which though primitive is not devoid of idealism and self sacrifice.”

Or one of my favorites from his diary:

"We must do everything to insure they (the Palestinians) never do return.”

It’s with that context in mind that the recent genocidal rhetoric from Israeli officials makes more sense:

“In order to preserve the security achievements that our soldiers lost their lives for, we must resettle Gaza with security forces and settlers that will embrace the land with love,” Karhi said. He said that “this is the only real way to make the Hamas Nazis pay a price and to defend our nation and country.”

Ben-Gvir also spoke at the march, saying that what the protesters are calling for was the “true solution.”[source]

Or when Netanyahu compared the Gazans to “Amalek” an ancient tribe from a story in the Torah that the tribe of Israel genocided. Or when they describe Palestinians as “human animals” etc.

Israel has always been a European colonial project from the very beginning and violence has always one of the primary means of ensuring settlement is possible. One thing many people don’t realize is that the Zionist colonial project was in motion long before WWII, as far back as the late 1800s. They saw WWII and the holocaust as an opportunity thus quotes like:

“The Arabs will have to go, but one needs an opportune moment for making it happen, such as a war.” -David Ben-Gurion, 1937

Or after the holocaust:

“If I knew that it was possible to save all the children of Germany by transporting them to England, and only half by transferring them to the Land of Israel, I would choose the latter, for before us lies not only the numbers of these children but the historical reckoning of the people of Israel.”

What we cannot do now is let Zionists argue that “Every nation had genocide in its founding, it’s inevitable” because this is happening right now, we are witnessing it. We can’t discuss it as if it’s some regretable historical fact. The reason we say “never again” is to prepare people for times like what are happening right now. We’re all under a moral mandate to stop this from happening.