Most Western governments assist Israel’s blatant ethnic cleansing in Gaza with unflinching logistical support and diplomatic cover. What leads them to disavow democracy’s universal and unconditional moral principles?
Introduction:
1. Gaza
a. Defeating Hamas
b. Sweet, sweet propaganda
c. The banality of evil
2. Israeli Mindset
a. Zionism
b. Cultural genocide
c. Holocaust survivors
3. Saving Democracy
a. Us vs. them
b. The seduction of authoritarianism
c. The call for universality
Conclusion: Moving together
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Introduction
When a femicide is perpetrated, the murderer’s heartfelt excuse is always something to the effect of “She made me do it!” Glossing over his relentless abuse and harassment, he is totally dishonest and entirely sincere at the same time. In his mind, he is the victim. The self-reinforcing pattern of reactive emotions he has regularly indulged in has shaped the reality of his life—or what seems like it to him.
All war propaganda efforts in history rely on this powerful capacity for self-delusion. If people are convinced of their righteousness or victimhood, the most brutal violence will soon appear legitimate. This is why a country’s alleged right to defend itself must answer a clear aggression and respect proportionality between military targets and collateral civilian damage. If a government does not conform to this bare minimum, its behavior is akin to that of a psychopath unable to relate to anyone but himself.
Israel’s supporters and allies argue that since it is a democracy, the country necessarily fights the good fight and merely defends itself against its aggressors. This is forgetting that Zionism—Israel’s foundational principle—runs at the exact opposite of the democratic ideal. Settlers logically enjoy full citizenship from the state that represents them, but natives are either second-class citizens or live under apartheid while their land is continuously stolen from them. Whether at a low or high level of intensity, war is thus inherent to Zionism’s colonial endeavor, whose violent history did not start with the massacre perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th, 2023.
Since that fateful day, Gazans have been the target of an avowed genocidal intent. In the West Bank, Israeli settlers, backed by the army, feel emboldened to harass, kill, and steal Palestinian properties at an unprecedented rate. In Lebanon, more than a million people were displaced in November 2024 due to heavy bombardments by the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). And yet, Israel is the innocent one, allegedly fighting for its very survival.
Founded upon universal and unconditional moral principles, democracy is not meant to survive through the indefinite and exclusive use of violence. By that token, one would expect Israel’s friends to forcefully push the country into building peace rather than letting it wage war with no discernable end in sight. Like the helpless partner of a violent psychopath, on the contrary, Western officials accept being bullied into ever more destruction and suffering for a vast majority of innocent people. Asking why is asking about the extent to which these officials have fallen prey to Israel’s Zionist war propaganda. Since Gaza epitomizes what the vicious use of overwhelming violence can look like, it is a privileged starting point to answer this question.
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Philippe Roussel used to teach philosophy to high school students in France and train professionals in written communication. His passion for empowering people through the practice of critical thinking eventually led to the creation of this website.