𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐬’𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞

 –Nasir Khan

American academic Prof. Bruce Robbins has done some good work by presenting his view on war crimes by using some historical data in his article. He refers to the destruction of German cities and the indiscriminate killing of German civilians by the Allied armies during WWII, which are mostly ignored by or not given much attention by Americans. He asks whether atrocities can be justified for a noble cause, such as the war against German fascism during the war. Those events can be contrasted with the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza.

The writer refers to the Hamas attack of October 7 as ‘unforgivable,’ but without considering the historical context of the control and siege of Gaza by Israel. To enhance his perspective, he could have presented the historical evidence of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land in 1948 and the appropriation of additional Palestinian land in violation of international law and flagrant disregard of UN resolutions. He could have added more relevant information to put the narrative in a proper historical context.

The destruction of Gaza and the genocide of its non-combatants did not start on October 7. Since Israel relinquished its direct occupation of Gaza, it has kept Gaza under total siege since 2007. It unleashed many destructive military attacks on the enclave in the last 17 years. For example, the Israeli war on Gaza in 2014 and 2021 turned Gaza into a scene of savage destruction. The colonisers aimed to turn the enclave into a desolate area from which it could never again arise, and thus keep it under the virtual domination of Israeli power, with the full support of Washington. It is no secret that Israel, with the help of the United States, wanted to keep a firm lid on the besieged and ostracized people of Gaza and thus maintain a status quo by reducing the enclave to the largest prison on earth. In this way, the preparation for the final solution to the Palestinian problem was not a distant possibility. It was all part of the Zionist plans for the occupied Palestinian land and its people to create Greater Israel. As a last resort against these imperial schemes, the resistance movement of Palestinians, led by Hamas, initiated a move to challenge the present situation. Its militants attacked the occupiers of their land.

The issue of dealing with the history of colonized people by some simple generalities does not advance the truth or the behaviour of a criminal entity and its military power in the Middle East. However, I appreciate the general discussion that the author has undertaken, which is positive and informative for American readers. His views on ending Israel’s bombing of Gaza with American weapons and support are positive and meritorious.

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https://www.thenation.com/article/society/bombing-germany-gaza-atrocities