Reflections on the Israeli holocaust in Gaza

By Khalid Amayreh The virtual holocaust Israel is now waging against the Gaza Strip is taking its toll on innocent civilians. The shocking scenes speak for themselves. The gruesomeness transcends reality; it exceeds by far the most eloquent of words. Gaza-2008-9 is very much like Dresden-1945. And as Dresden was annihilated by the RAF toward the end of the Second World War, the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza are being decapitated and thoroughly terrorized by the Israeli army, the Wehrmacht of our time. But there is obviously a fundamental and conspicuous difference between Gaza and Dresden. Dresden was targeted by the allies as an act of sheer vengeance and revenge for what the Nazi war machine had done, including German attacks on London and other British cities. But Gaza committed no crime against Israel. To be sure, the opposite is quite true. Have we forgotten that the bulk of the Gaza victims, who are being annihilated with the Zionist war machine, happen to be refugees and their children and grandchildren uprooted from their towns and villages across the borders inside Israel? In 1948, Israel uprooted them in wave after wave of genocidal ethnic cleansing, and ever since has been trying to liquidate them by bombing their homes, killing their children, bulldozing their farms and lately by trying to starve them to death. And now, the six-decade reign of terror and death is being culminated with an aerial holocaust, all for the purpose of displaying “Jewish power” and “heroism.”!!! Well, what heroism is there in having the state-of-the-art of the American machine of death rain missiles and bombs, including Bunker Busters, on unprotected apartment buildings, mosques, streets, pharmacies, college dormitories? This is not heroism; it is a sheer act of cowardice. The Nazis ganged up on defenseless people more than six decades ago, but they at least didn’t claim to be carrying out heroic acts as self-absorbed and gleeful Israeli leaders are doing now. In truth, Gaza is being crucified because it refuses to succumb to the cruelty and supremacy of the “holy tribe,” because it refuses to die quietly and continues to cling to life and look forth for a better tomorrow, because Gaza is saying “give me freedom or give me death.” The Nazis of our time want Gaza to die quietly, or at least as quietly as possible. Israeli behavior leaves no doubt as to the diabolical designs of the Judeo-Nazi entity. But the Israeli military and political establishments don’t want to appear before the world as they really are, as Nazis par excellence who think, behave and act like the Nazis. This is why they are trying to cover up their crimes with a frantic campaign of fabricated lies. But Nazis are Nazis even if they have Jewish names and pretend to be the victims. In the final analysis it doesn’t matter if Nazis call themselves “chosenites” or “master race” or “ubermenschen,” or even “victims.” Sowing hatred Israel is not only wreaking death, terror and havoc on defenseless Gazans. It is also sowing hatred, a lot of hatred, in the hearts and minds of millions of people who are watching Israel decapitate Gaza. This is undoubtedly going to be one of the lasting aftereffects of this madness. The gruesome and phantasmagoric images which hundreds of millions of Arabs and Muslims and others around the world are watching on their TV screens around the clock are a sure prescription for decades of hatred and sullen enmity toward Jews throughout the Muslim world. Arab and Muslim children won’t have to read about Israeli Nazism in their textbooks. They are watching it live on their TV screens. Let it be clear to all and sundry. Israel is telling an entire generation of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims that they either surrender to the Jewish Third Reich or become “terrorists.” They will become “terrorists” and be it as it may. Surely, the pornographic slaughter will eventually boomerang on Israel and regretfully on Jews. Unfortunately, many innocent Jews will pay the price just as mostly innocent Palestinians are paying the price, with their lives and the lives of their children and beloved ones, for the brutal ugliness of the Zionist mindset. In the final analysis, anti-Semitism is manufactured in Israel, not in Damascus or Cairo or even Gaza. Hamas Israel says its aim is to destroy Hamas. Well, there is no doubt that Israel possesses the military ability to destroy the Hamas government. Israel, after all, is a military superpower which also happens to be more or less in control of the politics and policies of the United States and to a lesser extent the governments of Europe. However, destroying Hamas’s government is one thing, and destroying Hamas the movement, is quite another. Hamas has hundreds of thousands of supporters in occupied Palestine as well as tens of millions of sympathizers across the Arab and Muslim world. These will not disappear even if the Gaza government does. The ongoing huge demonstrations in solidarity with Hamas, now flooding the Arab world, shows that Hamas is more, much more, than a local nationalist-Islamic movement that can be eradicated by Israeli firepower. Yes, Hamas has obviously been hit hard. But the movement is by no means about to die or even get weaker. In fact, there are many indications that Hamas will get stronger, at least in terms of popularity and stature. The American puppet regimes in the Arab world may not like Hamas. Some of them may even be gloating over the Gaza calamity. However, Hamas is definitely winning the hearts and minds of the Arab masses from Casablanca to Bahrain. This may not yield tangible benefits immediately, but the long-term gains are absolutely certain, and this is exactly what Hamas is seeking. Well, let us suppose for the sake of argument that Israel succeeds in “terminating” the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip as Israeli leaders have been saying. Would this end the Islamic resistance to the Israeli occupation? Would this allow Israel to liquidate the Palestinian cause by imposing a “peace settlement” on the weak Palestinian Authority? Nay, this won’t happen at all, because Hamas, whether we like or not, represents and encapsulates the spiritual essence of the Palestinian people and their yearning for freedom and justice. More to the point, the contemplated elimination of the Hamas government by Israel would eventually be proven to be one of the stupidest Israeli misdeeds ever. First of all, it would free the resistance group from the burden of government and allow it anew to carry out more ferocious attacks against Israel without having to worry about the bombing by Israel of buildings and security headquarters and hospitals. In fact, Hamas had never wanted to be in government let alone form one. Hamas all along had wanted to be in a position to influence any Palestinian government, but not to be in the driver’s seat itself. However, the outcome of the 2006 elections imposed the burden of government on Hamas especially after Fatah refused to join Hamas in forming a government of national unity. So, in a certain sense, the disappearance of the Hamas government in Gaza would be a bless in disguise for Hamas. Remember these words very well. Because the conflict with Israel is not going to end in ten years or twenty or even fifty years.