To understand genocide as a class of calculated crimes, such crimes must be appreciated as goal-oriented acts from the point of view of perpetrators: genocide is rationally instrumental in their ends.
Helen Fein, Accounting For Genocide: National Responses and Jewish Victimization During the Holocaust (p.8)
Unfathomable that US President Donald J. Trump – surrounded by well-educated, well-informed, well-positioned Jewish advisors and insiders in his administration such as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, nominee Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and son-in-law / advisor Jared Kushner, to name but a few – would be ignorant of the historical parallels between his policy goals for the Palestinians and Nazi Germany’s infamous Madagascar Plan for the Jews.
Before Hitler settled on the “Final Solution” for Jews in Germany and the occupied territories, a plan was devised after France’s fall in June 1940 to deport them to Madagascar, then a French colony. According to historian Peter Hayes in Why? Explaining the Holocaust (a compelling read that I highly recommend):
German planners actually began to work out how many ships would be needed over how long a time to deport 3.25 million Jews now in Hitler’s hands, and the Gestapo compelled several German Jewish leaders to find out whether American Jewish organizations would help finance the exodus. But the failure in the aerial Battle of Britton made transportation impossible, so a fourth destination gained prominence as 1940 turned into 1941: Siberia above the Arctic Circle, after victory in the impending invasion of the Soviet Union. (p.86).
Nazi Germany had hoped to ethnically cleanse the Jews of Germany and occupied Poland by shipping more than two million of them to the Soviet Union. Stalin balked, so nothing came of it. Madagascar seemed the most obvious choice – “a destination for Jews favored by European antisemites since the late nineteenth century.” A similar plan had been endorsed in 1937 by Prince Janusz Franciszek Radziwill, the Polish Conservative Party leader, resulting in the Polish government sending a delegation to Madagascar to “explore the possibility of sending Jews there.” Hayes explains:
The Polish foreign minister even discussed the idea with his French counterpart the following year and tried to lease roughly a million acres of land on the island to support the emigration of 30,000 Jewish families per year during the next five years, some 500,000 to 600,000 people in total. Shortly thereafter, the Polish ambassador in the United States opened talks with a group of wealthy American Jews about purchasing the Portuguese colony of Angola as a “supplemental Jewish homeland.” (p. 245)
Critics will argue that I am making a false comparison, engaging in a false equivalency – the seemingly in-vogue go-to refrain in response to any criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza or to condemn the ICC as an institution, and Prosecutor Karim Khan, KC, for issuing the Netanyahu and Galant arrest warrants. Yet, the objectives in conceiving the Madagascar Plan and the Trump-Netanyahu Gaza-Riviera Plan are remarkably similar: ethnic cleansing.
For argument’s sake, let’s assume that Trump was utterly uneducated on and uninformed of the Madagascar Plan, that his knowledge of history and world affairs remains confined to that of a sixth-grader, and that his indisputably educated and informed coterie of advisors were not given the opportunity to counsel Trump before he arrogantly announced his out-of-the-box “vision” (as exhorted by Netanyahu) for Gaza. A bit much to assume regarding the leader of the most powerful state in the world; but let’s give it a try. After all, Trump does come across as poorly educated, poorly informed, and poorly motivated to know or adhere to facts (historical or current) before spouting out opinions and proclamations. But what of Netanyahu – Israel’s longest serving prime minister? The causes and excuses for the two plans may differ but the objectives correspondingly match. Netanyahu’s irrepressible grin of smugness and elation, captured on camera while meeting with Trump and when Trump unveiled his/their plan during the joint press conference, speak volumes: finally, a US President simpatico to his solutions for the Gazan Palestinians.
Their plan mirrors that of the Israeli hardliners who openly call for ridding Gaza of the Palestinians and making it part of Israel – just as their (un)declared aim for the West Bank. Disguising ethnic cleansing as a humanitarian mission – to alleviate the Gazan Palestinians’ misery should they remain (a consequence of inevitable wars to follow this one) – is as deceitful as it is unlawful.
Gaza is rubble. Over 90% of the Gazan Palestinians are without housing, without social services, without sanitation, without medical facilities, without access to food and medicine – save for what little has been arriving since this latest ceasefire. According to the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies May and June 2024 reports (here and here) Israel’s bombardments in Gaza has had a devastating humanitarian and environmental impact on the civilian population, causing among other things, the release of toxic dust, the breakdown of waste management, the destruction of water treatment facilities, and water-borne illnesses – all with long-term consequences.
Objectively, the extent to which Gaza was demolished and the extent to which the civilian population suffered and have seemingly been deliberately deprived of humanitarian assistance (not all facts are known, hence seemingly) lead to a plausible conclusion that the means employed were designed to achieve an ulterior pre-determined result beyond eradicating Hamas and freeing the hostages.
The Netanyahu government’s policy and Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) approach in prosecuting the war against Hamas (and in fulfilling their unstated goal of de-Palestinianization of Gaza) is reminiscent of the 1995 Directive of the Drina Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska – just substitute Srebrenica and Žepa with Gaza:
By planned and well thought-out combat operations, create an unbearable situation of total insecurity with no hope of further survival or life for inhabitants of Srebrenica and Žepa.
Netanyahu has never accepted the notion of a sovereign State of Palestine as envisaged by the United Nations when Israel was also mapped out and created in 1948. He is not alone, a significant segment of the Israeli population harbor similar views. Some go so far as to claim that all land allocated for a Palestinian state historically belongs to Israel, and therefore it is rightful and lawful to rid the Palestinians by annexing their land and forcing them to emigrate.
Historical claims going back thousands of years are attractive for advocating the taking of land and expanding the territorial boundaries of a state, but where do you draw the line. And who draws it. Indecently, there is a significant – perhaps overwhelming – segment of the Palestinian population that harbor similar views, calling for the extinction of State of Israel. They are just as wrong and misguided. And when those radicalized engage in terroristic acts against innocent Israelis (as opposed to lawful resistance to occupation), they need to be surgically eliminated (as opposed to resorting to indiscriminate collective punishment).
Gaza is not a golf course to be snapped up by Trump for his own personal and political ends. Like it or not, Gaza and the West Bank belong to the Palestinians. Discussing where the actual borders are or should be is an issue best left for another time. However, the time has come to establish an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza, and to do so in a way that fosters, not undermines, peace, mutual respect and security.
But enough of geopolitics. The absolute, immutable, eternal truth is that over 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza are the rightful owners of that land and constitute a part of the Palestinian national group as a whole. Ditto, incidentally, for the West Bank Palestinians. These are facts beyond change. No amount of wishful thinking can alter this reality, this truth. Yet, from action and rhetoric it has increasingly become obvious that Netanyahu’s plan all along has been to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
The harsh reality is that Hamas remains organized and armed and poised to continue. There is no getting rid of them – not militarily. Like the Greek mythological serpentine lake monster Lernaean Hydra, with every Hamas fighter killed or Hamas-like organization destroyed, multiple will sprout. The war is likely to drag on despite the current ceasefire. The IDF will not win – if the stated goal as Netanyahu has indicated is to eradicate Hamas (and presumably other radicalized resistance fighters willing to indulge in terroristic actions against innocent Israeli civilians). Friend-to-friend straight-talk: this is the inescapable reality which hardline Israelis supporting the expulsion of the Palestinians need to accept.
While I have staunchly supported Israel’s right to defend itself and to go after Hamas (and others) for the terroristic acts of October 7 and to free the hostages, I have also cautioned restraint (see here, here, and here). Regrettably, the absence of restraint has been demonstrable from the very start of Israel’s response. Guardedly, the images on TV and social media, and the factual arguments made in the various cases against Israel before the International Court of Justice, tell an unwelcomed narrative.
Recognizing how hazardous it is to draw conclusions without all the facts, the optics alone (which generally form public perception) have shaped the predominant narrative that has emerged. And it is not a good one for Israel, its founding principles, its standing. Sadly, the narrative is that the IDF has used excessive and indiscriminate force against claimed legitimate military targets with callous disregard for the safety and wellbeing of innocent civilians caught in the middle with no place to escape. The truth is much more nuanced. Sadly, with the facts being elusive as they are during any conflict, and with all sides wittingly engaging in fair amount of mendacity, misdirection, and blame-gaming, based on what is perceived to be known – accurate or not – Israel is being labeled a pariah state.
Despite the horrific events of October 7, Israel did not and does not have a right to prosecute the war in a way that deliberately reduces Gaza to rubble and purposefully makes life unbearable to the Gazan Palestinians so as to essentially force them to choose between two untenable options: stay and risk perishing, or “voluntarily” (coercively) abandon their land and relocate to a foreign land, permanently. “Voluntary” emigration is a deceptive euphemism for forcible transfer.
Trump who views himself as the greatest negotiator, is being played by Netanyahu and his far-right government, and in no small measure, the US Christian far right “Zionists” (Trump’s nominee US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who supports the annexation of the West Bank by Israel, fits the mold). Trump has become their patsy, used to do their dirty work.
The Trump-Netanyahu Madagascar/Riviera Plan is a non-starter. Israel does not own Gaza and thus Israel cannot give it to Trump for his/their development scheme of turning the Gaza strip into a Middle Easter Riviera for the [rich] peoples of the world, as he puts it. Mind-bogglingly, Netanyahu and his hardliners suffer from grandiose delusions in thinking that were the Palestinians to be removed from Gaza (and eventually the West Bank, as seems to be their plan) that the Palestinians will forgo their aspirations for a sovereign, independent homeland where they and their forefathers have lived. This toxic self-deceiving hubris is the allure, the sustenance that will keep Israel in a perpetual cycle of war (about to be in war, in war, just finished being in war).
Aside from the impracticalities and resistance and condemnations for executing this plan, there is something else that you would think Netanyahu, his hardliners, and the large segment of the Israeli population (reputed to be upwards of 70%) that support of the plan would be sensitive to: the risk of committing genocide. It is not as improbable to conceive how what starts as planned forceable transfer (the correct name of the crime when referring to ethnic cleaning) can evolve in a genocide.
Genocidal intent can be inferred from evidence of other culpable acts systematically directed against the same group, with forcible transfer – while not per se constituting a genocidal act, is a relevant consideration in the overall factual assessment. (Prosecutor v. Blagojević and Jokić, Appeal Judgment, (para. 123).
When you consider how the Netanyahu government and the IDF have prosecuted the war, their treatment of the innocent civilian population, their weaponization of humanitarian aid, and now their encouragement of the forceable transfer of the Palestinians from Gaza and the de facto annexation and de-Palestinianization of the West Bank, it has all the marking of a slow-burning genocide in the making. I am not saying that conclusively genocide has been or will be committed. The risk, however, exists. In Raphael Lemkin’s cautionary words:
Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings of all members of a nation. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. The objectives of such a plan would be disintegration of the political and social-institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups. Genocide is directed against the national group as an entity, and the actions involved are directed against individuals, not in their individual capacity, but as members of the national group. (Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, p. 79)
The only rational solution to stop the war and to bring back Israel from the ethnic cleansing-genocidal brink is to heed the prescient words of Ami Ayalon, former head of Shin Bet (Israel’s domestic security agency), and a former commander of the Israeli Navy with various governmental roles:
The only way to defeat Hamas is to create a political horizon for the Palestinian people.
I highly recommend you check these two fascinating interviews here and here with Ami Ayalon. He makes lucid and compelling arguments why war will not bring security to Israel, but rather it will bring more war, followed by war, followed by war, in perpetuity. A political horizon for the Palestinians means a homeland, a sovereign state founded on liberal democratic principles. Not easy, but not impossible. Regrettably, that is not on the horizon for Netanyahu and like-minded far right members of his government and supporters who advocate the extinctions of Palestinians from Palestine – however fragmented, occupied, dysfunctional, or unoccupiable it may be.
Let me end by suggesting to both US President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and all their concurring advisers, devotees, and sycophants to reflect on Bertrand Russell’s sage counsel in his History of Western Philosophy:
What seems like sudden insight might be misleading, and must be tested soberly, when the divine intoxication has passed. (p. 124)
Best to abandon the madness, illegality and inhumanity of this Madagascaresque plan and focus on defeating Hamas by offering the Palestinians a genuine, viable, and achievable political horizon – a state of their own. Anything less is doomed to fail, doomed to perpetuate war, doomed to create more, not less, insecurity for Israel.
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