264
What went wrong in Israel? A genocide scholar examines ‘what Zionism became’ (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 week ago by HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works to c/world@lemmy.world
113 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, when asked to explain the apparent about-face that led him to advocate the unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, quoted a beloved Israeli pop ballad. “What you can see from there, you can’t see from here,” he said, referring to the shift in perspective he had supposedly undergone since coming to power.

Israeli-born Holocaust historian Omer Bartov invoked the same line when he was asked how he had come to view Israel’s ferocious assault on Gaza as a genocide. Living in the US, where he has spent more than three decades, he said, had given him the necessary distance to see the annihilation of Gaza for what it was. “I think it’s very hard to be dispassionate when you’re there,” he said.

Bartov did more than simply apply the word genocide to Israel’s actions: he shouted it from the establishment-media rooftops, making the case in a lengthy July 2025 essay in the New York Times titled: I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It. (He had addressed some of the arguments in a Guardian essay the year prior.) Bartov’s declaration cost him several close relationships, he told me, even though subsequent events have not only validated his analysis but further demonstrated the lack of concern for Palestinian suffering that has become prevalent in Israeli society.

His new book, Israel: What Went Wrong?, is an attempt to explain that indifference. The book, which was published on Tuesday, is a detailed account of how Israel was transformed from a hopeful nation that in its founding document promised “complete equality of social and political rights to all its citizens irrespective of religion, race or sex” into one intent on what he bluntly terms “settler colonialism and ethno-nationalism”.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Gorilladrums@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

But this is precisely the losing mentality that leads countries to their demise. There is a reason why throughout history, weaker nations pursue peace with their stronger neighbors. It's not because they want to, its because they have to do in order to survive. Palestine, egged on by the other Arab state, bought into the idea that the one and only acceptable solution is the complete destruction of Israel, the removal of Israelis, and the establishment of an Arab Palestinian state that is ruled by Arabs. However, Palestine is very clearly outmatched by Israel, and so every attempt at pursing this goal ended up in them being further away from it.

The question then becomes, what's the end goal? To keep trying until Palestine is fully destroyed? We're quickly heading down that path and I don't want to see it happen. Palestine is very clearly outmatched by Israel and there's no realistic way for a Palestinian state over the entire region to be established. No country will intervene on their behalf and Israel isn't going anywhere. I think it's wise to do what other countries in a similar position have done in the past.

I think Palestine needs to do what Armenia did with Turkey or what Mongolia did with Russia and China or what Ireland did with the UK. I think it's the pragmatic thing to do.

this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2026
264 points (100.0% liked)

World News

55775 readers
1385 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world

Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
NewsAutoMod@lemmy.world
Tenthrow@lemmy.world
little_cow@lemmy.world
lemmyAtom@lemmy.world
jordanlund@lemmy.world