Western guilt over Holocaust informs its support for Israel

The attacks on Jews in Arab countries – ranging from the Al-Farhud incident in Iraq to events in the Levant, Egypt, and Morocco – share similarities with the pogroms incited by Tsarist Russia and others for political reasons.

Different historical contexts

These parallels in no way diminish the seriousness of the injustices suffered by Jews in Arab countries. But they have a different historical context from the crimes of the Holocaust, especially in light of the Nazi leadership's adoption of what it called the "Final Solution" in 1942.

Some Arab and Palestinian factions failed to fully appreciate the profound impact of the Holocaust on shaping Israeli identity, and its role in justifying Israel's existence as a Jewish state.

They also did not fully understand the strong commitment of the right wing of Israeli politics to the Jewish character of the state, which amounts to a matter of faith.

These factions – either by lack of awareness or by deliberate intent – inadvertently lent support to what is known as the Holocaust Industry, the title of a widely known book by Norman Finkelstein, which defines the exploitation of the historical suffering of the Jews.

And however it came about, this factor has contributed to the deadlock in the Arab-Israeli conflict, perpetuating extremism and obstructing opportunities for political resolution or peaceful settlement.

Shifted struggle

The Arabs and Palestinians have observed that their struggle has shifted –seemingly without their full understanding – from being a national liberation movement fought by those who had their land taken and were forced into exile to becoming part of a campaign for salvation, also along religious lines, with no clear prospect of resolution, at least at present.

To grasp the differing perspectives of the West and the Arab world on the situation in Gaza, considering the distinct historical backgrounds is important.

The West – which has a dark history of committing massive crimes through systematic ethnic cleansing against Jews as a religious and cultural group – seeks international support for its stance on approving Israel's imposition of illegal collective punishment on 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Despite some Arabs not fully comprehending the significance of the Holocaust – and others avoiding politically costly propaganda related to it – they view the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a distinct issue, separate from the Western view of history, rooted in the World War II era and the long period of anti-Semitism in the West.

Relevant comparisons

But the reason the West backs Israel, and its limited context on the Hamas attacks as defined by Benjamin Netanyahu, is because wartime history, in effect, overlaps with current events: modern-day support for Israel can be traced to regret at Europe's role in the Holocaust. It is a defining factor in the West's response, and so a relevant part of the context.

This comes at a significant cost to the Palestinians of today, in terms of civilian casualties, the destruction of their cities, and the displacement of their people from their lands once again.

The hysterical reaction to the United Nations Secretary General's statement that "the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum" fits into the broader strategy of preventing any narrative that contextualises the events in the Middle East separately from the European and Western relations with Jews.