The real problem with the debates about the rise of fascism in Israel is that it makes little sense what fascism in a settler colonial context even means. What do people refer to? As far as I can see it is mainly focussed on what these groups want to do to the Palestinians, and that really doesnt qualify as fascism. It is simply a strand of the colonial population that wants to accelerate the process of elimination of the Palestinians that has been ongoing for over 66 years. Now, alternatively people use it to describe the relationships inside the settler colonial population, that the attacks on the so-called left are reminiscent of fascist mobilisations against the left in other parts of the world. Again, this seems like a rather unconvincing attempt to read Israeli society outside of its colonial nature. The conflict between the hard settlers and the left (for lack of a better word) isnt based on political perspectives for the Israeli society, it is based on differences of perspectives for the expansion and speed of the realisation of the colonial project. The left is attacked because it is perceived (rightly or wrongly) as not being committed enough to the colonial project. This is not a classic class conflict (as one would expect from the growth of fascism as usually understood), it is an inter-settler conflict over the nature of their colonial domination. In effect, the hard settler movements - whose vanguard is the religious Zionist right- which is doing the job of expanding the colony in the WB is hitting back at what it sees as the comfortable members of the settler community, who dont do the dirty work and stand in the way of effective expansion. All in all, and if I may, this seems to me as a rather strange definition of fascism to use.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 12:01:12 +0000
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