We should not have to choose between Hamas terrorists and Israeli hardliners

The article titled 'We should not have to choose between Hamas terrorists and Israeli hardliners' discusses the atrocities committed in Israel, which should be unequivocally condemned. The acts of violence, including massacres, rapes, and abductions, confirm Hamas' objective to annihilate the state of Israel and its inhabitants. However, it's crucial to understand the historical context of these events, not as a justification, but to gain clarity on the path forward. The despair that engulfs the lives of most Palestinians is a significant factor to consider. A decade ago, Jerusalem witnessed a series of suicidal attacks by ordinary Palestinians. These acts of violence were not part of a larger plan or organization but were individual acts of violent despair. The situation deteriorated when Benjamin Netanyahu formed a new government in alliance with far-right, pro-settler parties advocating for the annexation of Palestinian territories in the West Bank. The new national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, believes his and his family's rights supersede those of the Arabs. He was previously barred from army service due to his affiliations with extremist anti-Arab parties. Israel, once proud of its democratic status, is transforming into a theocratic state. The government's 'basic principles' state that the Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel, making it unreasonable to blame Palestinians for refusing to negotiate. The official government program eliminates the possibility of negotiations. It's evident that both Hamas and Israel's ultranationalist government are against any peace option, each committed to a fight to the death. The Hamas attack occurred amidst a significant internal conflict in Israel due to the Netanyahu government's attempts to undermine the judiciary. The country is divided between nationalist fundamentalists aiming to abolish democratic institutions and a civil society movement aware of this threat but hesitant to ally with more moderate Palestinians. The impending constitutional crisis has been temporarily halted, and a government of national unity has been announced. The question arises whether an external enemy is required to achieve peace and unity at home and how to break this vicious cycle. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert suggests combating Hamas while also reaching out to Palestinians who are not anti-Semites and are willing to negotiate. Contrary to what Israeli ultranationalists claim, such people do exist. On September 10, over 100 Palestinian academics and intellectuals signed an open letter vehemently rejecting any attempt to diminish, misrepresent, or justify antisemitism, Nazi crimes against humanity, or historical revisionism concerning the Holocaust. Recognizing that not all Israelis are fanatical nationalists and not all Palestinians are fanatical anti-Semites allows us to acknowledge the despair and confusion that lead to outbursts of evil. We can begin to see the uncanny similarity between the Palestinians, who are denied their homeland, and the Jews, who have a similar historical experience. The term 'terrorism' also has a similar homology. During the Jewish struggle against the British military in Palestine, 'terrorist' had a positive connotation. In the late 1940s, American newspapers ran an advertisement titled 'Letter to the Terrorists of Palestine', wherein Hollywood screenwriter Ben Hecht wrote, 'My Brave Friends. You may not believe what I write you, for there is a lot of fertiliser in the air at the moment. The Jews of America are for you. ' Today, beneath the polemics about who qualifies as a terrorist, lies the mass of Palestinian Arabs living in limbo for decades. Their identity and their land remain ambiguous. Are they inhabitants of 'occupied territory', the 'West Bank', 'Judea and Samaria', or the state of Palestine, recognized by 139 countries and a UN non-member observer state since 2012? Israel, which controls the territory, treats Palestinians as temporary settlers, an obstacle to the establishment of a 'normal' state with Jews as the only true natives. Israel has never extended a hand of hope or clearly outlined their role in the state they inhabit. Hamas and Israeli hardliners are two sides of the same coin. The choice is not between one hardline faction or the other; it is between fundamentalists and those who still believe in peaceful coexistence. There can be no compromise between Palestinian and Israeli extremists, who must be combated with a robust defense of Palestinian rights that goes hand in hand with an unwavering commitment to the fight against antisemitism. As utopian as it may sound, these two struggles are interconnected. We can and should unconditionally support Israel's right to defend itself against terrorist attacks. But we also must unconditionally empathize with the truly desperate and hopeless conditions faced by Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied territories. Those who perceive a 'contradiction' in this stance are the ones effectively blocking a solution. The article is written by Slavoj Žižek, a professor of philosophy at the European Graduate School, international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, and the author of 'Heaven in Disorder'.