As the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power 16 years ago, our guest in today’s episode warned of an “imminent nakba”… the Arabic term used to describe the expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland in 1948. Gilbert Achcar, Emeritus Professor at SOAS, University of London, described the convictions of Netanyahu and his right-wing allies in 2009 as:
“[It] is that coexistence is not possible with the Palestinians, and that Israel’s security will not be established without 'cleansing' most Palestinians of all areas close to where Israelis live, including Israeli settlers on the West Bank. This would be achieved by deporting the majority of Palestinians across the Jordan River and into the Sinai Desert after exterminating part of them to terrorize the rest in order to achieve that purpose.”
It is astonishing to contemplate how – 16 years later – this scenario seems to be unfolding to the letter in Gaza. In today’s episode of Middle East Talks we talk to Gilbert Achcar about this and more as we discuss his new book, “The Gaza Catastrophe: The Genocide in World-Historical Perspective”.
Guest: Gilbert Achcar, Emeritus Professor of Development Studies and International Relations at SOAS, University of London
Interviewer: Khaled Ezzelarab, Associate Professor of Practice, Journalism and Mass Communication Department, and Director of the Middle East Studies Program, American University in Cairo
Book: Achcar, Gilbert. Gaza Catastrophe: The Genocide in World-Historical Perspective. University of California Press https://www.ucpress.edu/books/the-gaza-catastrophe/paper
Intro Music: Festival of Eid Joy by Adiiswanto, licensed via Pixabay Music
This podcast was produced with the help of Nourhan Amer, Nouran Elian, and Judi Yassin
Get in touch via email mesc@aucegypt.edu
Disclaimer:
Views expressed in this podcast series are those of participants and do not reflect the opinions of The American University in Cairo. Copyright is held by the appropriate AUC school, office or department unless otherwise stated. Requests for permission to quote or use any content should be addressed to the appropriate AUC school, office or department directly.