How is Israel affected by the war? 'Gaza is a laboratory'

Born in Boston, USA, and living in Israel since 1973, Jewish anthropologist, author, and activist Jeff Halper evaluated comments suggesting that the war Israel has been waging in Gaza for over 11 months, which amounts to genocide, will lead to the country's economic collapse and that Zionism is nearing its end.

Regarding reports that Israel's economy will collapse due to the war it is waging in Gaza, Israeli activist Jeff Halper stated, 'Maintaining a low-intensity conflict with Palestinians in Gaza is beneficial for the Israeli economy because these regions are like a laboratory where they perfect and develop weapons systems, technologies, and population control tactics that they later export to other countries.'

Speaking to an AA reporter, the Jewish author shared his assessments on how Israel is affected by the war.

'ISRAELIS ARE NARCISSISTIC'

Before evaluating whether the destruction in Gaza means the end of the Israeli economy, Halper argued that it is necessary to understand the nature of the Zionist ideology that forms the country's fundamental mindset. Halper stated the following:

'Zionism is a settler-colonial movement. Settler colonialism means you come to someone else's country with the intention of 'taking over,' and genocide is an inseparable part of that. You cannot take over someone else's country, take their land, dispossess them, erase their existence, and turn Palestine into Israel without committing genocide. Zionism was a story entirely unique to Jews. Israelis are narcissistic. To them, Palestinians don't matter; the issue was only us. It's still entirely about us; it has nothing to do with what is being done to Palestinians in Gaza, with the genocide.'

ISRAEL AS THE 'ULTIMATE VICTIM'

Emphasizing that the world views Jews as the 'ultimate victims,' Halper explained how Israel defends itself through this narrative with the following words:

'Colonialism criminalizes resistance because the colonial state, especially a settler-colonial state like Israel, presents itself as normal. Israel is a normal country. We are part of the UN. We are normal people. We live normal lives. Therefore, this is not political resistance because there is no Palestinian. This is our land, our country, our claim. Who are the Palestinians attacking? They are attacking the victims. We are the victims. Therefore, if you are attacking the victims, then you are the bad one.'

Noting that as part of this rhetoric, Israel does not feel guilty for the crimes against humanity it has committed in Gaza, Halper continued:

'Genocide is an inseparable part of this structure, and the world accepts this in some way because, you know, 'Jews deserve their own country.' Israel is seen as European; I think there is a racist, white European subtext behind this. Israel not only thinks it will get away with this, but it also doesn't believe in the idea that genocide will destroy Israel or that genocide cannot be committed in this day and age. If Zionism had accepted this as true, it wouldn't have set out in the first place.'

Arguing that there is no international structure that will stop Israel, Halper spoke as follows:

''Look, they think, 'We are getting away with genocide.' There are no sanctions; they are not worried about the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the United Nations General Assembly, or the Security Council. There may be criticism, resolutions may be passed, there may be courts, but as long as there are no sanctions, as long as the US and Europe support it, there is no problem. Israel believes it will get away with genocide and apartheid rule.'

HOW DOES THE WAR AFFECT THE ISRAELI ECONOMY?

Stating that he does not find the reports that Israel's war in Gaza is leading the country's economy to collapse realistic, Halper conveyed the following:

'This situation affects the economy, but what we must not forget is that the economy was affected by judicial reforms long before October 7. Before October 7, there were mass protests as large as they are today, people were leaving the country, businesses were closing, and people were not investing. Israel's credit rating had been downgraded. Therefore, October 7 made things even more difficult, but this is not the source of the economic problems in Israel. Most of the economic problems stem from the instability brought by Netanyahu and his government.'

Stating that economic problems are temporary, Halper continued his words:

'The Israeli economy is built on high technology. It was built on areas such as the military, security, and surveillance, and it is very strong in these areas globally. Therefore, I don't think the economic decline is a long-term thing for Israel. On the contrary, maintaining a low-intensity conflict with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza is even beneficial for the Israeli economy because these regions are like a laboratory where they perfect and develop weapons systems, technologies, and population control tactics that they later export to other countries.'

Anthropologist Jeff Halper

WILL THE WAR BRING AN END TO ISRAEL?

Expressing that he does not agree with the idea that the war Israel is waging in Gaza will bring an end to the country, Halper said:

'I don't want to completely ignore the war as a factor. There is a constant conflict. People are mentally exhausted by this and say, 'Why should I stay here?' Israelis don't see a way out; this is an endless conflict for them. Well, who wants their children to live in constant conflict? That's why many are leaving the country. However, I don't think this means the end of Israel. Unfortunately, what we call the conflict with the Palestinians has not been a factor that determines Israel's economic success.'

Touching upon the comments made by some writers that 'Zionist ideology is nearing its end,' Halper concluded his words as follows:

'Zionism succeeded. You could say that Zionism ended when Israel became a state in 1948. There is now a state, and this state continues the goals of Zionism to take the remaining Palestinian lands. In a sense, as long as the state of Israel exists, Zionism cannot be considered ended. About 30 years ago, the famous Israeli writer Amos Oz said, 'The last person to leave Ben Gurion Airport, please turn off the lights.' This idea has always existed in the Israeli mindset.'

News Source: AA