Palestinian solidarity activists asserted their place in mainstream politics and demanded the dismantling of Israeli settler colonial projects. But this raises a very elementary question: “What is settler colonialism?”
Some commentators were quick to dismiss this charge of settler colonialism against Israel as “just another form of anti-Semitism.” Some suggested that “settler colonialism” was just a trendy academic theory dreamed up by left-wing academics and activists.
But settler colonialism is not just an academic fad. This is a real political project that has hurt the past and present of indigenous communities around the world.
A central feature of this project is the attempt to erase the indigenous population in order to establish a settler society. Ideologically, for settlers, this erasure is seen as justified and inevitable because Indigenous peoples have no distinct ethnicity or historically-based rights to the lands they inhabit. Thus, when faced with the civilizational, technological, and military superiority of the settler state, it is almost expected that “savage'' indigenous societies would simply surrender and “go away.''
This can be seen in American folklore's depiction of conflict between western settlers and indigenous communities. They usually end with the latter's death. I saw a similar story at the apartheid-era Voortrekker Monument, dedicated to Boer pioneerism, on the outskirts of Pretoria. Exhibits there celebrate the white settler as bringing “the light of civilization” to the unexplored southern African hinterland.
Israel and Palestine are no exception. The ideology of erasure was written into the myth of Israel's founding, that Israel was built “for a landless people, on a land without a people.” A popular slogan among Zionists perpetuates the belief that the “Holy Lands” are uncivilized territory and portrays Palestinians as not a “people” with a distinct identity and therefore lacking legitimate rights to their land. It was useful to characterize the
Theodor Herzl, the father of political Zionism, outlined his utopian vision for a modern Jewish state in his novel Altneuland (The Old New Country), in which he wrote: . It must be demolished before it can be built. ” Here again, the insinuation is made that all traces of Palestinians and their presence and connections on the land will inevitably be erased by the settler state.
Israeli geographers also worked from the understanding that Palestinians were “not a people” when creating their own maps of Palestine.. Convinced of their indisputable right to their “ancestral lands,” they redrawn the map of Palestine in a way that completely erases all evidence of the presence of indigenous Palestinians.
After the October 7 Hamas attack, Israeli politicians were heard calling Palestinians “human animals.” They also demand that Palestinians “leave” Gaza and settle elsewhere. Clearly, the settler-colonial ideology of erasure is alive and well today.
But settler colonialism is more than just an ideological force. This ideology of erasure often motivates efforts to essentially overturn every pillar of Indigenous life and existence.
We are witnessing this today in Gaza, and not just in terms of the devastating loss of life. The urge to erasure is self-evident, given the targeting of institutions of all kinds, including universities and hospitals. Israel's war on Gaza appears to be an effort to make it impossible for Palestinians to maintain their survival in the Gaza Strip.
The similarities with the 1948 Nakba are unmistakable. Oral histories and declassified Israeli government documents reveal that there was a systematic effort to erase all evidence of the Palestinian presence. Israeli military leader and politician Moshe Dayan made a similar admission, saying: “Jewish villages were built in place of Arab villages. “You don't even know the names of these Arab villages. Geography books no longer exist, so I don't blame you. Not only are there no books, there are no Arab villages.'' Of course, such genocidal violence is common in settler-colonial contexts, and indigenous peoples in settler nations such as Australia and Canada. This accounts for a significant portion of the population decline.
However, the surrender of indigenous communities is also the result of a process of cultural genocide. This includes how, through the Christianization of indigenous peoples, churches in settler countries played an active role in erasing indigenous cultural identities and heritage. This includes separating Indigenous children from their families in Canada and Australia. The official purpose was to “protect” children. But in reality, it was a “civilizing” mission aimed at destroying the cultural identity of generations of indigenous children.
Palestinians also face settler projects aimed at destroying their cultural heritage. This includes deliberately targeting ruins in the Gaza Strip. Civil society groups insist this is not an “empty gesture”. Rather, it is an attempt to strip Palestinians of their “essence''. [ie, culture] This is the basis of their right to self-determination. ” The wholesale appropriation of Palestinian cuisine as Israeli cuisine similarly erases important evidence of a distinct Palestinian cultural heritage. And when Israeli forces destroy or steal olive trees, they are not just attacking a vital source of income. They are also stealing an important symbol of Palestinian resilience. Just like the olive tree that grows in harsh conditions but still bears fruit, the Palestinian national struggle continues despite the harsh conditions of occupation and siege.
Ultimately, it is important to think about settler colonialism as a tool to better understand what is happening in Gaza and across Palestine today. In part, it is my personal opinion that it is the deeply entrenched structures and institutions of the settler-colonial state that justify and rationalize the various forms of erasure that we are currently witnessing in Gaza. This tells us that what we are witnessing is structural. But equally, it helps connect Palestine to the global history of settler colonialism. This history may explain why indigenous communities around the world have stood in solidarity with the Palestinians, while settler states like the United States, Canada, and Australia have always seemed to waver in their positions. . Supporting Palestinian rights.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.
