Think Of It Is A Reverse Aliyah
Ethnic cleansing is not a cycle of your washing machine. Ethnic cleansing is not a method of housekeeping of which Mr. Clean would approve. Ethnic cleansing is not a line of specialty soaps marketed to different segments of the population depending upon their ethnic affiliation.
Ethnic cleansing is what happens when a government believes that an entire ethnic population in a given territory has overstayed its welcome. It’s the equivalent of a party host turning out the lights, yawning loudly and saying, “It’s time for bed. That’s a hint, y’all. Not a subtle one, either. Don’t you need to go to sleep? Somewhere else?” Except, of course, that the ethnically cleansed don’t have anywhere else to go to, that, in fact, they’re the hosts who are being kicked out of their own party.
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir wants enemies of the state gone. Buh bye. Don’t let the security gate hit you on the ass on your way out. Who does that include? The ten to twenty per cent of Israeli Jews who do not support the war in Gaza (they can always return when they stop hating themselves). And Gazans.
As Israeli Prime Minister Isaac Herzog stated, there are no innocents in Gaza. So, Palestinians are not subject to international law. War crimes ain’t nothing but the name of an eighties metal band now.
Ever Again!
Collective punishment of an entire group of people because of the perceived crimes of a small number of them is a war crime. Herding all members of the group into a small ghetto, denying them civil rights by claiming that they are enemies of the state, creating conditions detrimental to their health when not outright killing them – these are the hallmarks of an ethnic cleansing.
I’m not describing the actions of Nazi Germany. I’m – well, yes, of course, this is what happened to German Jews during World War II. But it’s also happening today. To Palestinians in Gaza. Can we focus on the present, please?
In fact, I’m not describing what’s happening: Israeli Knesset member Revital “Tali” Gotliv is doing the describing for me.
It makes a certain kind of sense. The five year-olds in Gaza who haven’t had their bodies blown apart by Israeli bombs are shifty characters: they’re clearly hiding something. And the newborns who haven’t died because there weren’t enough incubators because the hospitals in Gaza were starved of fuel to run them were born with the knowledge of where the Israeli hostage are being held. There’s nothing to be done about it. It’s genetic.
As Israeli MP Nissim Vaturi stated, there are no innocents in Gaza. Or was that Joseph Goebbels talking about Warsaw? The history of ethnic cleansing may not repeat, but it does rhyme. Horrifically. Like the lyrics of an eighties metal band…
I Would Say That Was The Final Solution, But That Term Has Been Copyrighted And Is In Wide Use In Another Context
“What is happening in Gaza is not a genocide.”
Why not?
“Because Jews.”
Umm, that isn’t really a rebuttal.
“Okay. Look. Jews are never the genociders – we’re always the genocidees. Do you know no history?”
Umm…
So, what are we to make of what former Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked said about all of the Palestinians in Gaza needing to leave? For those of you not keeping score at home, the United Nations definition of genocide is: “a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part.” If the racism fits…
“No, no, no. Hamas which initiated the attack on Israel was committing genocide! Israel isn’t committing genocide in Gaza because – say it with me – Jews!”
Umm, yeah. Hamas’ attack on Israel – which was a horrific war crime – killed 1,200 people. But it didn’t threaten Israel’s existence. Israel has killed 25,000 Palestinians to date, with no end in sight, and has made it clear it wants the rest gone. Sorry, but “Because Jews” can’t disguise the facts.
“Pfah! I pfah at your facts! Anyway, Ayelet Shaked doesn’t speak for the government. She’s just a person with no connection to the government who is offering her personal opinion which does not represent the position of the government. So there!”
So, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu let slip that he was trying to convince other countries in the region to take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza, he wasn’t speaking on behalf of his government?
“No! Absolutely not! Because…Jews?”