I hestiated to post it to the list when I read it for the same reason - very good analysis of Israel as a belated settler-colony but his conclusion, despite his denial, also struck me as more wishful thinking than evidentiary. In fairness to Pappe, as Hari notes, he believes Israel's internal contradictions are so intractable that sooner or later it will compel secular Israelis to opt for a binational democratic state with like-minded Palestinians also opposed to the fetters religious fundamentalism places on social and economic development. Pappe does not consider the possibility that Israel will finally succeed in crushing the resistance of its indigenous population and suppressing it save for a thin aspiring bourgeois layer which it will integrate, as former colonial-settler societies have done.
In fact, he has "no doubt" that his optimistic scenario will prevail. I share the doubts expressed by Hari and Michael, extrapolating from the current relationship of forces. That said, I also remember scoffing at 60's Soviet dissident Andrei Amalrik's prediction that the USSR would not survive past 1984. He was essentially engaging in guesswork as Pappe appears to be doing in relation to Palestine today. But the preciptious implosion of the Soviet Union did illustrate that when historic change does occur, it's often abrupt and unexpected, and ever since then I've been more inclined to hedge my bets about its direction. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#28934): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/28934 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/104396423/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
