TEHRAN (FNA)- Tony Greenstein, a prominent activist, says Zionism is secular and it advocates racism by denying Palestinians and their religion.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with FNA, Greenstein said the incumbent Prime Minister needs the support of minor political parties to stay in power, however there is a possibility that Benjamin Gantz of the Blue and White party comes to the power, adding, “There might be some changes, but there will not be fundamental; they would be cosmetic. Political differences are not the matter of substance. All of them agree that Israel is a Jewish state and Palestinians do not belong to that land.”
Tony Greenstein is a Jewish anti-Zionist and a founding member of Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods. He is a long-standing anti-fascist activist and author of A History of Fighting Fascism in Brighton and the South Coast. He is a well-known blogger and is currently working on a book titled 'Zionism During the Holocaust'.
Below is the full text of the interview:
Q: The right wing has been on power in Israel. How have they affected the policies? Will there be any chances Likud fails to secure majority of the seats?
A: The legacy the right wing has left is the barrier to the so-called two-state peace process. I do not think anyone can pretend there is any more peace process or an ability to achieve a two-state settlement. Furthermore, the right has entrenched racism in Israeli society. Although racism was always there, it is now on the surface with the Jewish nations.
There might be some changes, but there will not be fundamental; they would be cosmetic. Political differences are not the matter of substance. All of them agree that Israel is a Jewish state and Palestinians do not belong to that land. The difference is over tactics and methods. The major concern of all of them is to annex Palestinian blocks to their settlements with as few as possible Palestinians in that land. But the ultimate goal of the far-right is to expel all Palestinians, which has always been the main Zionist goal.
Q: How do you view the political future of Netanyahu and Likud party?
A: Netanyahu gets to tiny parties which have one or two seats at the Knesset and tries to unite them to get their votes. So, it is clear that there is a broad consensus within the far-right which believe Palestinians do not belong to that land.
Maybe Benjamin Gantz of the Blue and White party can replace Netanyahu. Gantz’s party got one more seat in the Knesset, but he can only come to power with the support of Israeli Palestinian party, and only some of the members would support him. There is a contradiction, that no coalition government should rely on the support of the Arab parties, and it was former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s mistake in 1992 to rely on them and he paid a price for it when he was assassinated.
It is difficult to actually say what may happen. Zionism is secular to begin with; it uses religion as a way for legitimizing its colonial project. So, mostly Zionists were racist and they based their claim to Palestine on the God they denied. That contradiction has round through Zionism. In so far Zionism has based its claim on religion, then I suggest that the secular right will in long term lose out.
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