-by Dr. Stephen Frantz
Who would have “thunk” it? Today’s Palestinians are the “Jews of yesteryear,” and today’s Israeli government has become the “Nazi Germans of the 1930s and 40s.” How is this possible?? Some of the tenants of fascism with comparisons follow.
LEADERSHIP OF A DICTATOR OR SMALL GROUP OF ASSOCIATES WITH RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT INTERTWINED: As many of us are aware, the Nazis did this quite effectively. And what else might we call Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his administration who extol Zionist ethno-nationalism? Cronyism and corruption are extensive with Netanyahu fomenting war in order to avoid criminal trial and incarceration. Palestinians are forcibly suppressed through racist, apartheid and genocide policies.
IDENTIFICATION OF ENEMIES AS A UNIFYING CAUSE: Nazi’s had many “enemies,” including intellectuals, Jews, Roma, etc. In the case of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Hamas is the targeted enemy even though Hamas (and others) have been fighting 100+ years of Palestinian suppression. Hezbollah in Lebanon is targeting Israel in their support of Palestinians in Gaza and provides another IDF target. It’s worth noting that thus far, Hezbollah has only targeted military sites whereas the IDF has targeted highly populated areas causing vast civilian casualties.
SUPREMACY OF THE MILITARY: Germany had several levels of their
military, including the much feared SS troops. The IDF (Israeli Defense
Forces (called by many the Israeli Offensive Forces) is touted as
“Safeguarding the State of Israel,” a charge that might be disputed
considering the history of the region since the late 1800s; and the reality of
Israel being the aggressor in this war. The barbarous IDF is one of the
world’s supreme fighting machines… all with massive help from U.S.
taxpayers (billions of dollars in munitions, intelligence, U.N. vetos, and
most recently 100 troops). This supremacy is reinforced through endless,
vicious military actions in Palestinian territories, and now in Lebanon,
Syria, and, increasingly, in Iran.
CONTROLLING MASS MEDIA: Germany had Joseph Goebbels as the
mastermind of Nazi propaganda and was generally accounted responsible
for presenting a favorable image of the Nazi regime to the German people In Israel, propaganda flows constantly and government has full censorship
of what is allowed on Israeli media. The message is that the war is right
and justified. Israelis do not see on their TVs: medical workers handcuffed
and shot; people buried alive; children burned to death; whole families
massacred; men, women and children with multiple amputations; and
people dying for lack of essential or advanced medical services and
starvation. Independent media is forbidden in IDF war zones where at least
173 journalists and media workers have been killed (many directly
targeted) by IDF forces since 07 OCT 2023. The U.S. corporate media has
basically forgotten about Gaza and focuses on the ‘next best thing’, what’s
happening in Lebanon.
STATELESSNESS: In fascist Germany, people were kept stateless on the
basis of ethnicity without the rights that come from a direct relationship to
a state of their own. Hitler’s National Socialist government took citizenship
from Jews, Roma, and persons of color. Netanyahu keeps about 5 million
Palestinians in the IDF-occupied territories under cruel control, stateless
and without citizenship. In most cases, Palestinians are not allowed to
freely pass from one area of Gaza to another or will be shot. At times,
massive numbers of people are forced to move from one area to another,
often multiple times. According to the U.N., this is a war crime.
ELIMINATION OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS: Another feature of fascism is the
elimination of individual rights; Germany eliminated the rights of its
“enemies”. Approximately 11,000 Palestinian men, women (and even
children) have been arrested, many without charge or trial or habeas
corpus, and can be held without charge for months or years. The
treatment of detained Palestinians, includes a myriad of horrific torture
methods. Israel is guilty of the gross violation of human rights (the U.S. is
aware, but does nothing significant).
CARELESS DISREGARD OF CIVILIAN LIVES: The Nazis had their death
camps and extermination centers in which many Jews, Roma and people
of color perished. Netanyahu’s military campaign in GAZA has
demonstrated a reckless disregard for the lives of approximately 43,000
Palestinians killed (and approximately 98,000 wounded and maimed) -
largely civilian children, women and men. Survivors have been denied
places to shelter (refugee camps, tent encampments, schools, hospitals
and other “safe” places are regularly bombed), starvation is used as a
weapon, there’s largely no potable water or electricity, no sanitation services, nearly no essential medical care nor freedom from infectious
disease. Again, Israel is guilty of a gross violation of human rights.
DISDAIN FOR INTELLECTUAL AND THE ARTS: The IDF has destroyed
essentially every university, school, mosque/church in Gaza with many
professors and teachers and their students murdered via snipers, drones
and bombs. This has all occurred with knowledge of the U.S.
administration, and violates U.S. and international laws.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Historically, this totalitarian form of government and waging war is typical
of fascism due to its final elimination of the distinction between
combatants and noncombatants as the IDF and Israeli government
officials have amply demonstrated in Gaza, and now in Lebanon.. At the
end of January of this year, the International Court of Justice (IJC) charged
that Israel is waging a “plausible” war of genocide against the people of
Palestine. That plausibility has become reality, but arrest warrants for
Israeli and Hamas officials have not been issued. Thousands of
Palestinians in Gaza (now Lebanese too) are being wantonly killed whether
they are combatants or not, typically under IDF’s guise of targeting
combatants. Even humanitarian aid workers, medical staff and U.N.
workers are targeted! UNICEF has reported that a steep rise in
malnutrition among children and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in
the Gaza strip poses grave threats to their survival. Acute malnutrition
(starvation) puts already traumatized children at highest risk of medical
complications and the worst of outcomes, death.
Partially due to Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Lebanon, Ireland,
Spain and France have suspended arms shipments and/or have called for
suspension of the EU free trade agreement with Israel. They have asked
the European Commission to reconsider relationships with Israel due to its
breach of the human rights algorithms embedded in the agreement.
Related to this, twenty-two countries now ban direct flights and overflights
to and from Israel. These are Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman,
Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and
Yemen. At least eleven countries, including Jordan, Bahrain, Turkey,
Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras, Chile, Belize, Brazil, South Africa and Chad,
have recalled their ambassadors to Israel or severed ties, or suspended
trade, altogether. The U.S. administration continues to blindly support
Israel with full impunity for whatever it choses to do.
Clearly, access to humanitarian aid and security are urgently needed.
UNICEF, WFP (World Food Program), UNRWA (U.N. Relief and Work
Agency) and WHO all call for safe unimpeded and sustained access for
urgent delivery of multi-sectorial humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza
strip, including nutritious food services for at-risk children and women as
well as advanced medical services (e.g., mechanical ventilators, dialysis
equipment and CT scanners). Hospitals and health care workers all must
be safe from attack, snipers, drones, missiles and bombings so they can
safely administer critical treatment and care. This also holds true for
Lebanon where Israel has been internationally condemned for repeated
attacks on U.N. peacekeepers.
All of that said, of course, Netanyahu is not Hitler per se but his policies
are Fascistic as described herein, he is trying to eliminate a people
(Palestinians) because of who they are and the ancient history they
represent. Obviously, though not acknowledged by the Biden
administration (that is fully complicit in Palestinian and Lebanese deaths),
an immediate humanitarian ceasefire with exchange of prisoners/captives
would end the war almost immediately. It would provide the best chance
to save lives and end suffering on both sides in Netanyahu’s abhorrent
self-serving war. In addition, Israel must restore all human rights, with full
dignity, to Palestinians and reverse the occupation of Palestinian territories
if Palestinians and Israelis are to ever live side-by -side in peace.
These physical and mental damages of death and destruction everywhere
will likely accompany survivors, especially children, for the rest of their
lives. These all represent the many scars of fascism and I think Americans
in general do not want this war as their legacy— what about the upcoming
U.S. presidential election; does fascism have a place in American society?