How privileges for Zionists are sustained through oppression of Palestinians

By Xavier Villar

After more than three months of protests that have paralyzed the Zionist entity with highway blockades, general strikes, and other acts of civil disobedience, the Benjamin Netanyahu regime has been forced to temporarily postpone its so-called “judicial reform”.

The situation turned chaotic when the Israeli minister of military affairs, Yoav Gallant, was briefly dismissed for urging a pause in Netanyahu’s controversial move.

As a result, shopping centers, universities, hospitals, and factories in the occupied territories were closed, as well as the only airport, along with kindergartens and schools,

The “judicial reform”, now halted, aims to limit the power of the regime’s apex court and place it under the control of the parliament, i.e., the ruling far-right coalition.

If passed, this would mean that the decision to appoint judges would lie with the parliament, while the court's rulings could be overridden by a parliamentary majority. 

Further, it would have a direct impact on Netanyahu and his corruption trial. The new judicial legislation would provide protection for the incumbent premier against a possible indictment. 

It is surprising that, for liberal discourse, the current situation in the Zionist entity is seen as a threat to "democratic values". The protesters demand an immediate halt to the regime's “judicial reform”.

However, these protesters, dubbed "defenders of democracy," have not bothered to mention at any point the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people and the desecration of the al-Aqsa Mosque.

The prevailing idea in the mainstream corporate Western media is that a group of fanatics, led by Netanyahu, has corrupted the regime’s democratic institutions.

This liberal view attempts to conceal the true history of the illegitimate Zionist entity, which has been nothing more than a predatory colony that grants racial privileges to illegal settlers. 

Trying to present the protests as a “democratic struggle” against the authoritarianism of a few people avoids questioning the racial foundations of the Zionist entity, which grants privileges to illegal settlers, whether progressive or otherwise.

In addition, the presence of an openly racist regime in Tel Aviv has a clear political function. All Zionists benefit from oppression against Palestinians, although some more than others, and the existence of extremist positions contributes to perpetuating such extremist violence. 

The so-called "progressive Zionists" may believe that they have nothing to do with the racist regime of Netanyahu and that they would never say things like "Palestinians don't exist," as the regime’s current finance minister Bezalel Smotrich did.

However, the clear function of Netanyahu and his regime is to aid and abet daily violence against Palestinians and their constant oppression and racialization to remain invisible to most Zionists.

"Progressive Zionists" can continue to believe in the myth of an endangered “democracy” without having to think about Palestinians and, even more importantly, without having to question their own privileges. These privileges are sustained through the oppression of others. 

The current situation in the Zionist entity does not jeopardize “democracy” if it means fair political participation. What we are seeing is simply an internal struggle among colonizers, and the distinction between "good" and "bad" colonizers lacks political sense, as both groups benefit from the oppression of Palestinians.

The so-called “progressive Zionists”, who distance themselves from Netanyahu's racist regime, also benefit from the oppression of Palestinians and can continue to believe in the myth of endangered “democracy” without questioning their privileges.

The presence of extremist positions in Netanyahu's far-right regime helps to keep violence against Palestinians invisible to most Zionists. In short, the internal struggle among colonizers does not endanger “democracy”, but serves to maintain and promote the oppression of Palestinians and sustain the privileges of occupying Zionists. 

As Joseph Massad, professor of Arab political history, points out, the protest movement should not be seen as a struggle for the preservation of “democracy”, but as a struggle to continue enjoying rights that are based on the deprivation and oppression of the Palestinian people. 

We are witnessing a new iteration of liberal hypocrisy, which is not a deformation of the original liberal thought, but a constitutive part of liberalism itself. This hypocrisy can be summarized in the political vision that proposes democracy for the dominant race and despotism for those considered "barbarians." 

There is no authoritarian drift in the Zionist entity, nor a threat to its imaginary “democracy”. It is simply a colony in which all colonizers, without exception, benefit from daily incidents of brutality and violence against the Palestinians.

The fact that protesters aim to protect the occupying regime without questioning the racial foundations upon which it was built, speaks volumes about their concept of democracy and justice.

Neither Netanyahu nor the so-called "progressive Zionists" can offer a just and non-racist response to oppressed Palestinians. Both continue to uphold the myth of "indigenousness," which is constructed on the physical and ideological elimination of any Palestinian vestige.

Based on these arguments, it can be concluded that the rights that these protesters fear losing are based on the oppression of the Palestinian people.

This exposes the movement as one that seeks to preserve racial privileges.
 

Xavier Villar holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies and is a researcher who divides his time between Spain and Iran.

(The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)

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