NOAM CHOMSKY ON GAZA BY NORMAN FINKELSTEIN

So much of what happens in Queen Solomon is sparked by the activities of the state of Israel, from the covert military action, Operation Solomon, that airlifted thousands of Ethiopian Jews into Israel to the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. In Gaza: An Inquest into its Martyrdom, Norman Finkelstein takes a deep dive into one such aspect: the Israeli sea and air blockades of Gaza. Steeped in a wealth of research and reporting, the author reveals the humanitarian crisis with investigative rigor and verve, never allowing readers to dissociate from the truth.

To plumb the depths of human savagery is a formidable task, and not a pleasant one. The task is undertaken with rigorous argument and scrupulous scholarship in Norman Finkelstein’s monumental “inquest into Gaza’s martyrdom.” And with undisguised passion. As he writes, “this book rises to a crescendo of anger and indignation.” It is hard to see how anyone with a shred of humanity could react differently to the bitter record unraveled here.

There have been evocative, often shattering, accounts of the tragedy of Gaza. Some of the most infuriating are live testimony from the scene during the periodic escalations of the crimes: among them the reports by the remarkable Norwegian surgeon Mads Gilbert from the trauma wards of al-Shifa hospital and the painful daily reports by the courageous Palestinian journalist Mohammed Omer. There have also been studies by prestigious commissions of inquiry and by the major international human-rights groups, all mined in Finkelstein’s inquest. Understanding has also been enriched by work of fine journalists and scholars. But in its comprehensive sweep, deep probing and acute critical analysis, Finkelstein’s study stands alone. [. . .]

The truly crushing blow against Gazans, as Finkelstein emphasizes, is the protracted siege, designed to prevent any normal life or recovery from the repeated episodes of mowing the lawn. There have been courageous and honorable attempts to bring desperately needed aid to the victims by sea; another flotilla is on the way in summer 2018. Each is blocked by Israeli violence. Finkelstein devotes a long section to the most disgraceful case, the attack on the Mavi Marmara, a particularly ugly display of brutality and cowardice, followed by cover-up and whitewash under U.S.-Israeli pressure.

In an appendix, Finkelstein carefully reviews the record of legal precedents, particularly concerning South Africa, to establish his conclusion that the occupation itself, not merely its implementation, “has become illegal under international law,” an original and substantive contribution on its own.

Concluding his inquest, Finkelstein recalls Helen Hunt Jackson’s remarkable 1881 chronicle of “the destruction of the Native American population by conscious, willful government policy,” dismissed and forgotten, rediscovered almost a century later under the civilizing impact of popular activism. “The present volume was modeled after her searing requiem,” Finkelstein writes. He anticipates that, like Jackson’s requiem, his own searing inquest will be dismissed and perhaps rediscovered someday, inspiring outrage at the fate of people “betrayed by the cupidity and corruption, careerism and cynicism, cravenness and cowardice of mortal man.”

There still is time to act, but if his prognosis is correct, “the black record of Gaza’s martyrdom” may soon be beyond repair.