Zionism Behind the Ideological and Propaganda Curtain

Author: أنطوان شلحت

SadaNews - In 1975, Israeli chemist Yisrael Shahak (1933-2001), one of the first to characterize Zionism as a national-messianic, racist, and brutal movement towards those who do not belong to the "chosen people," published a booklet titled "Zionism in the Words of Its Leaders: Declarations of Intent, Positions, and Testimonies," in an attempt that can now be described as somewhat prescient regarding the consequences of what he focused on concerning the Zionist state and the conflict with the Palestinians.

Shahak divided the booklet into three chapters, each containing several sections: "War and Politics," "The Expulsion of Palestinians 1907 - 1973," "The Use of Zionism for Religious Ends." In the introductory words, he expressed hope that this collection of sources, primarily consisting of quotations and excerpts from the statements of prominent Zionist leaders and key figures in politics, journalism, and religious institutions, would help reveal the true essence of Zionism.

He also noted that this booklet aims to present to the reader the essence of the general Zionist policy as envisioned by its leaders, as they themselves conceived it behind the ideological and propaganda curtain, emphasizing that he felt no need to add any interpretation to the excerpts, as their meaning was self-evident. Nevertheless, he considered it worthwhile to point out the significant importance of one section of the chapter "The Expulsion of Palestinians," which includes a description of the planning for the expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland and the execution of that expulsion, where every reader, as he affirms, can understand and judge for themselves, not only on the essence of this expulsion but also on its planning and daily implementation, not to mention the desire to expel the remaining Palestinians after the Nakba of 1948 to Libya and Argentina, as well as all the lies he describes as deliberate in all official Israeli and global Zionist claims regarding the expulsion.

In the introduction to the booklet, Shahak mentioned that he avoided addressing important and dangerous topics in the practice of Zionism, due to the fact that much has already been written about them and should always be written about. Among these topics, he specifically mentioned: First, the daily practice of seizing the lands of landowners and forcibly expelling Palestinian farmers, which was a fundamental principle of the Zionist movement until 1948; however, it only resulted in the transfer of 5% of the country's land into the hands of Zionist settlers and the expulsion of the Palestinian farmers who lived and worked on it.

Second, the cleansing operations in the Galilee, the reduction of the population in the Triangle area, the displacement of villagers around Jerusalem, the expulsion of Arabs from the south and the Negev, and the cleansing of cities and erasure of villages—these operations were meticulously planned in advance and executed quietly, using psychological warfare, terrorism, and systematic and non-systematic military operations, both during the 1948 war and before and after it.

Third, the land confiscation policies followed by Israeli governments since the establishment of the Zionist state. This policy was based, in his opinion, on a rigorous series of laws, regulations, and orders, as well as on the use of the stick-and-carrot method and coercive expulsion. According to official data, Israel confiscated through all of this between 1948 and 1967 approximately one million dunams of land that belonged to Palestinians who remained after the Nakba.

No less significant at that time, and perhaps now even more so, was the conclusion Shahak reached from this examination of the essence of Zionism, which is that when Zionists speak of their aspirations for peace, they are lying in front of everyone. He concluded his introduction by saying: "Once the reader realizes this truth, the path to their liberation and to independent thinking becomes accessible, allowing each person to arrive at their own conclusions."

It is clear, of course, that Shahak seeks to raise the awareness of the Israeli public regarding the essence of Zionism. It is no exaggeration to state that he aims to mobilize this public not to change the official ideologically Zionist Israeli policy, but rather fundamentally to liberate themselves from Zionism altogether.