[Opinion] The Fate of Gaza (Norman Finkelstein interview) - Polidicks

The Fate of Gaza | Current Affairs This piece can't really be summarized,, it's not about any single news story, just a generally good take on the current situation. [quote]Current Affairs: You’ve commented recently with what’s going on in Gaza about not only the massive starvation and deprivation of the people in Gaza as far as material resources, life, and those sorts of things, but also a starvation of solidarity. There actually hasn’t been that much solidarity in the United States and internationally for what’s going on in Gaza. There really hasn’t been a growth of solidarity for the Palestinians, as the situation escalates and the situation in Gaza just continues to deteriorate beyond belief. Why? Why is the situation for Palestinians different than the situation for black South Africans, or other stiuations where there has been solidarity out of the U.S. and the international community. What’s different about this? Norman Finkelstein: Well, I did say in the book that I anticipated, or I expected that if mass nonviolent resistance emerged in the occupied territories, it would still be a very difficult uphill battle. First of all, because there are so many humanitarian crises now in the Middle East that the suffering of the people of Palestine in general, and Gaza in particular seems to pale by comparison, or at any rate, doesn’t have that kind of moral salience and urgency that it once before did. So, first of all, there is the drastic diminution of the salience of the Palestine question. Secondly, large parts of our world are now supporting Israel, and are actually urging and exhorting it to crush the people of Gaza. And that includes the Saudis, the Gulf in general. It includes the Egyptians. It includes the Palestinian authority in the West Bank. So the Palestinians and their cause, in particular, in Gaza, is more isolated than ever. Thirdly, there is this regrettable aspect of human nature, of which the most acute observer was Gandhi. Gandhi said the only thing that galvanizes a public into action is when they see human suffering. In particular, when they see people get killed for a just cause. And there was simply not a sufficient amount of bloodletting, even in the first weeks of what was called The Great March Of Return. There wasn’t sufficient bloodletting as to excite and arouse the passion and indignation of the broad public. On the other hand, it was perfectly obvious that there was going to be a big massacre on May 14th. And one wishes that people had acted on the inexorable logic of where things were going. There was going to be a massacre.[/quote]

finkelstein is a hack who contributes nothing but hot air, his opinions are generally worthless. look at the Dershowitz–Finkelstein affair as an example of what im talking about

there's no logical defense for maintaining the largest open air prison on the planet under those situations, people resist, even violently, and israel is incubating that kind of resistance when they could actually help. as much as violence is bad i will never side with the side of oppressors. Even non violent protest, which finkelstein himself says is the best thing, is ultimately responded to with israel firing into peaceful crowds. also, finklestein is as much of a hack as Corbyn is: that is, not at all. It's entirely manufactured outrage to defend israel. Nothing he said in the article is wrong or controversial., It just looks bad for zionists. The entire war on terror is a farce, and not even ideologically consistent, because the country we support the most after israel, saudi arabia, is one of the most repressive regimes in the entire region. The entire goal of all of this is maintaining US hegemony at all costs. It's not about freedom, or anything. And people of Gaza unfortunately are on the wrong end of this. You CAN'T justify starving them. there's blockades against them, the only aid allowed is through israel, it's a complete joke If you're so worried about them, maybe move away to other places where their kite bombs won't reach.

Look at the history of the region and compare life in Israel before the blockade and after. You're missing key aspects of the conflict such as Hamas waging war on Israel with civilian resources, abuse of Palestinians by their own government and the their continued waste of international aid each year. And the "maybe move away to other places" argument is poor and ignorant. You cannot ignore so many problems with half assed answers and expect people to take you seriously.

appealing to morality on the basis of legality is such a farce when we both know the us and the un are a complete joke on that regard