Noam Chomsky - Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israels War Against the Palestinians

GAZA IN CRISIS REFLECTIONS ON ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST THE PALESTINIANS ILAN PAPP AND NOAM CHOMSKY EDITED BY FRANK BARAT Haymarket Books Chicago, Illinois We could not succeed in our publishing efforts without the generous financial support of our readers. Many people contribute to our project through the Haymarket Sustainers program, in which donors receive free books in return for their monetary support. If you would like to be a part of this program, please contact us Shop online at www.haymarketbooks.org or call 773-583-7884. 2010 Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe First published by Haymarket Books in 2010 P.O. Box 180165 Chicago, IL 60618 773-583 elSBN : 978-1-608-46098-4 Trade distribution: In the U.S., Consortium Book Sales, www.cbsd.com In Canada, Publishers Group Canada, www.pgcbooks.ca In the UK, Turnaround Publisher Services, www.turnaround-uk.com In Australia, Palgrave MacMillan, www.palgravemacmillan.com.au All other countries, Publishers Group Worldwide, www.pgw.com This book was published with the generous support of Lannan Foundation and the Wallace Global Fund. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data is available.

TITLE PAGE INTRODUCTION 1. THE FATE OF PALESTINE: AN INTERVIEW WITH NOAM CHOMSKY (2007) 2. CLUSTERS OF HISTORY: U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN THE PALESTINE QUESTION 3. STATE OF DENIAL: THE NAKBAH IN ISRAELI HISTORY AND TODAY 4. "EXTERMINATE ALL THE BRUTES" 5.

BLUEPRINT FOR A ONE-STATE MOVEMENT: A TROUBLED HISTORY 6. THE GHETTOIZATION OF PALESTINE: A DIALOGUE WITH ILAN PAPP AND NOAM CHOMSKY 7. THE KILLING FIELDS OF GAZA 8. A MIDDLE EAST PEACE THAT COULD HAPPEN BUT WON'T ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A NOTE ON THE TEXT NOTES ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS ALSO FROM HAYMARKETBOOKS ABOUT HAYMARKET BOOKS INTRODUCTION When Noam Chomsky first answered my email in December 2005, I would never have imagined that five years later I would be working on a book with him. Since then, Chomsky has continued to reply to my emails and questions and we have slowly developed a steady "written" relationship. A few years after that first email, thinking about how to raise awareness and reach a wider audience on the Palestine question, I asked him if he would agree to an interview.

He did, and a few months later sent me his answers, which as usual were more detailed and researched than I could have expected. The interview was well received and published on various Web sites and in publications, prompting me to consider the format an excellent way to inform and educate a public that too often has to rely on information from a corporate and profit-driven media system. The idea of another interview slowly made its way in my head, but this time I wanted something different, something more interactive. I decided to ask the renowned Israeli historian Ilan Pappe if he would participate in a joint interview/dialogue with Professor Chomsky. Pappe agreed and during the next few months I worked with both of them on various questions and key topics of what is usually referred to as the "Israel-Palestine conflict." When that interview came out, probably because it was the first Chomsky-Pappe interview ever conducted, it appeared in even more publications and Web sites than the first one and came to the attention of a Belgian publisher, Gilles Martin, who consequently published the interview as a booklet entitled Le Champ du possible (Aden Editions, November 2008). Then came an offer to create an English version of that booklet.

But it needed more work. I started to think about what type of book I wanted, what would be its goal and its substance. The last thing I wanted was to publish a book merely for the sake of it. Hundreds of books on the "Israel-Palestine conflict" already exist, some exceptional, so how would this one be different? To answer this, I asked myself: "Why has this 'conflict' lasted for so long, who can stop it, and how?" Ignorance, the people, and by popular resistance and a refusal to remain silent were the first answers that came to mind. I sincerely believe that what is happening in Palestine would never have lasted this long if the public were properly informed about what had been really taking place in this part of the Middle East. Noam, Ilan, and I worked on the dialogue, now titled "The Ghettoization of Palestine," again, gave it more insight, edited some questions, and added new ones.

Ilan additionally contributed several articles addressing various crucial aspects of the Israel-Palestine question and Noam reworked his astonishing piece "'Exterminate All the Brutes': Gaza 2009." Combining interviews and essays was important. On one hand, the interactive joint interview/dialogue form is a means to express and explore researched analysis and opinions in an accessible way. It also offers a more flexible and lively vehicle to share expert knowledge. The joint interview, with two of the most respected people in this field of study, one an American professor and one an Israeli historian, could fill in gaps of understanding and reach a wider audience. Both interviews address multiple topics related to the Israel-Palestine question as well as the recent Israeli Army attack on the "Freedom Flotilla" and, hopefully, allow readers to draw their own conclusions from two compatible yet different views. On the other hand, the solely authored essays give the book a more in-depth analysis, scrutinizing specific periods and events in history in a new light, challenging (even more well-versed) readers in the process.

Selected articles by Ilan Pappe give the necessary historical background that is key to understanding Palestine today. In chapters two and three, Ilan Pappe traces the historical development of U.S. involvement in the question of Palestine and the importance of Nakbah ("catastrophe" in Arabic) denial for Israel. Understanding the Nakbah is crucial to understanding Palestinian-Israeli history. Chapter four is the updated and superb essay "'Exterminate All the Brutes': Gaza 2009" by Chomsky. This groundbreaking piece focuses primarily on the December 2008-January 2009 Israeli assault on Gaza, but also gives a thorough analysis of Israel's relations with the United States and Europe, and the role of social and military resistance in Arab countries.

We return to Pappe in chapters five and seven where he charts the progress of the movement for one state, and lastly, the Israeli Army's massacres in Gaza. These articles offer an alternative narrative to that which is presented by the Israeli government and I am sure will help people to reframe the "conflict." The book closes with Chomsky's latest reflections on the peace process. My hope is that this book can be used as a guide in excavating the past for the benefit of a more clear-sighted present and a justice-centered future in which human rights are universal and justice restored. Frank Barat London, July 2010 ONETHE FATE OF PALESTINE: AN INTERVIEW WITH NOAMCHOMSKY (2007)What is your view of the situation in Gaza today? Could it markthe beginning of the end for the Palestinian Authority? Some background is necessary. Let's begin with January 2006, when Palestinians voted in a carefully monitored election, pronounced to be free and fair by international observers, despite U.S. efforts to swing the election toward their favorite, Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party.

But Palestinians committed a grave crime, by Western standards. They voted "the wrong way." The United States instantly joined Israel in punishing Palestinians for their misconduct, with Europe toddling along behind as usual. There is nothing novel about the reaction to these Palestinian "misdeeds." Though it is obligatory to hail our leaders for their sincere dedication to bringing democracy to a suffering world, perhaps in an excess of idealism, the more serious scholar/advocates of the mission of "democracy promotion" recognize that there is a "strong line of continuity" running through all administrations: the United States supports democracy if and only if it conforms to U.S. strategic and economic interests. In short, the project is pure cynicism, if viewed honestly. project should be described as one of blocking democracy, not promoting it. project should be described as one of blocking democracy, not promoting it.