Israeli Writer: 77 Years of Expulsion, Historical Anxieties, and the Cry of Memory

SadaNews - In an article published by Haaretz, Israeli activist and writer Haggai Elad presented a harsh condemnation of Zionism as an ongoing project for 77 years aimed at expelling Palestinians and uprooting them from their land.

The article begins its arguments from the statement made by the Israeli army spokesperson about two weeks ago, declaring that "the evacuation of the city of Gaza is inevitable," placing it in a historical context that traces back to the Nakba of 1948 and the forced displacement of Palestinians that accompanied it.

Elad stated that one does not need to be a professor of history at one of the universities in Gaza, which have been destroyed by Israel, to realize that the issue of expulsion resonates in the collective consciousness filled with scars, memories, nostalgia, and sadness.

He added that this is not the first time Jews have expelled Palestinians from here, pointing out that historical memory is not merely a narrative of the past; "it is the continuous present and the future extending to the horizon."

The writer believes that the essence of Zionism has been linked from its beginnings to one idea: the disappearance of Palestinians.

As David Ben-Gurion - the first Prime Minister of Israel - once articulated, the only remaining option for Arabs was: to flee.

Elad reviews a continuous series of policies that have not fundamentally changed; from the demolition of houses, uprooting of trees, destruction of universities and libraries, to erasing Palestinian memory and identity, a policy they call "leveling the roof to the ground," thus completely destroying the future.

The article highlights that Palestinians practice resistance wherever they are, even in the details of their daily lives, which transforms them – in the logic of the Israeli state – into a threat that must be eliminated. Every house in Gaza is a "military site," every tree is an "ambush," and every Palestinian is a "terrorist."

In a poignant expression, Elad summarizes what brews in the minds of Israelis: "It seems that since the dawn of Zionism, we have only been able to imagine one thing: their disappearance.

We, a people without land, came to a land that has a people. Thus, we, the Jews of the Land of Israel, have only one function left: to expel them."

However, he also acknowledges the weakness of the opposition within Israeli society, which has largely surrendered to the idea that there is no meaning to its culture or history except through the continuation of expulsion and destruction.

Nevertheless, he emphasizes that rejecting this horror begins with recognizing the victims as human beings with more than one function in life.

Source: Haaretz