When Western politicians are asked about Israel’s attacks on Gaza, they tend to start off by talking about October 7th. But as Palestinian foreign policy analyst and Zeteo Contributor Rula Jebreal writes in her new book, Israel’s actions are actually an extension of a decades-long campaign of violence against Palestinians. An ongoing Nakba, Rula writes.
In this special episode of Unshocked, Rula joins Naomi Klein to discuss her new book, out in Europe and in Italian only (for now), “Genocidio: Quello Che Rimane Di Noi Nell'era Neo-Imperiale” (Genocide: What Is Left of Us in the Neo-Imperial Era). Rula’s book delves into Israel’s attacks on the United Nations, the Western media’s handling of the war, and her childhood experience of growing up in a Jerusalem orphanage.
Rula wrote this book, she explains, because "Our memory is not written in history books. Our memories are written in refugee camps, on the walls and the streets... What remains of us in this moment is to document this history."
Rula and Naomi also discuss what her book says about Europe’s response to Israel’s war on Gaza, and how it is intertwined with the crimes those countries committed during the Holocaust.
“Europe tries to cleanse its guilt for genocide by offering blanket support to Israel and Zionism and that requires the dehumanization of Palestinians, which then leads to the ongoing genocide now,” Naomi says to Rula.
“Not only are governments complicit – the Western media establishment created the consent, sadly, for genocide,” Rula says to Naomi.
Paid subscribers can watch the full timely conversation between Rula and Naomi, including how people in Europe have reacted to Rula’s book so far.
Free subscribers can watch a 12-minute preview. To watch the full conversation, consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
You can find the book, in Italian, on various European sites, such as here or here.
Check out Zeteo’s other stories from the past week: