Voices from the Margins Are Expanding

Author: أنطوان شلحت

Israel has witnessed remarkable efforts over two years of war on the Gaza Strip, efforts that can be described as bold concerning refining the reasons that led matters to this current state, alongside proposing viable options to escape the prevailing situation. These efforts encompass several implications that are difficult to address here with sufficient detail and clarity.

In my opinion, particularly regarding Israel's policies, the reservations held by some towards these policies, rooted in skepticism towards Zionism both as an ideology and as a practice since its inception, are the most noteworthy.

These voices are still marginal but are expanding. The majority still believes that any substantial criticism of Zionism constitutes a violation of "the essence of the state." However, the repeated massacres in Gaza, the unprecedented deterioration of Israel’s international image, coupled with internal division, have prompted Israeli writers and journalists to reconsider the question: Was Zionism ever a valid "moral foundation" for a state? A question primarily rooted in a perspective that sees total destruction in the Gaza Strip, the reduction of Palestinians to refugees, and their starvation as forms of genocide. Some have drawn parallels between what has been happening in Gaza for the past two years and the Nakba of 1948, indicating the continuity of the Zionist policies that led to that disaster.

Among these voices, there are those who attempt to claim that what is occurring is a tarnishing of the "Zionist dream," behind which is a call to return to a commitment to that dream. However, at the same time, there are voices within it that consider those who adopt this call to be living in deep self-deception, asserting that Zionism has reached its current state because of its origins, and there is no alternative from within it, nor will there be.

Moreover, as recently confirmed by historian Avi Shlaim and writer Kobi Niv, it is a repressive and violent system, and anyone who identifies as a Zionist declares their belonging to this reality. The author of these lines has previously pointed out that Niv described what is happening in Gaza as a continuation of the Nakba, considering that Israel is on a path to losing its humanity, and that Zionism, which promised Jews salvation, has turned into a tool to justify killing and dominance.

What has resulted from this stance is the raising of a question that had been nearly taboo: "Can we free ourselves from Zionism?" This involves interrogating the foundational idea itself: Zionism as a doctrine, not merely as a political movement. Although this remains limited, it reflects a crisis in the structure of Israeli identity.

It is essential to note two conclusions reached by most who posed this question: First, that the Zionist doctrine has become fundamentally, based on its origins, a perpetual excuse for violence against Palestinians. This suggests, in Jewish understanding, a loss of the liberating meaning promoted since its establishment, not to mention its transformation into a burden for its adherents.

Second, the call to liberate oneself from Zionism is not necessarily a call to dismantle Israel as its adversaries accuse, but rather a call to liberate from involvement in a long-standing colonial project. In this context, Israeli writers and historians discuss the need for what they describe as a "New Israel" that does not rest on animosity towards the Palestinian, nor on denying their history, but on a human and political partnership after acknowledging the ongoing historical injustice since 1948.

These advocates may not constitute an organized political trend today, but their approach represents an intellectual spark that could develop over time, especially if moral awareness continues to rise among more Israeli factions. Perhaps the most significant revelation over two years of warfare in Gaza is that military power does not provide security as it failed to provide salvation, and the path to ensuring both begins with liberating oneself from the doctrine that has justified and continues to justify violence against Palestinians.