Article by Daniel Szeftel

Daniel Szeftel continues his investigation into the origins of the discourse that portrays Israel as an intrinsically genocidal entity. In this second part, he describes the post-war efforts of Arab nationalism to reformulate its discourse for Western audiences. This highlights a fundamental phenomenon in the accusations that characterize the discourse of settler colonialism: the concealment of racist and fascist elements at home and the projection of these onto the Jewish state.

What are the origins of the discourse that portrays Israel as an intrinsically genocidal entity, bent on the destruction of the indigenous Palestinian people? In the first part of his historical investigation, Daniel Szeftel examines the revival of Arab nationalism from the 20s to the 40s, highlighting the influence of fascism and European antisemitism on its structuring. The second part of his text will show how, from these ideological coordinates, the discourse of settler colonialism and the accusation of genocide against Israel developed in the second half of the twentieth century.