“For those who say that Hamas has its reasons, I say to study the history of the kibbutzim,” says Michela Serra

The two weeks that shocked the Middle East raise profound questions about the left: as if the patterns of the past were unable to contain the present. There are those who stop at slogans dating back thirty years, and there are those who do not want to raise the problem, now that an additional effort is needed to extricate themselves between the need to reaffirm Israel’s right to survive and the desire to stop the escalation. what I say? “The only serious answer is: I don’t know. I think even the so-called world leaders don’t know that,” says Michele Serra.Who wrote in Republica a few days ago that “the slaughter of children is the embodiment of Nazism.”

“I re-read UN Resolution 181, which was never implemented, and it was already written there, basically, ‘two peoples, two states,’” Serra says. “Furthermore, what seems unbelievable to think about today is that it was decided that Jerusalem would become a kind of “From the ‘Open City’ under UN control. Too good to be true, isn’t it? In fact: too true to be true. Jerusalem has never ceased to be a cause of war. For a holy city, that is a bloody irony.” Meanwhile, hesitation prevails, especially on the left. As for the left, condemning Hamas is the easy part: no one with a minimum of conscience can accept the inhuman principle that forms the basis of jihad, the faithful against the infidels, the purified against the impure. And those who do not understand what a terrible enemy religious fundamentalism is to freedom and rights in general, and Islamic fundamentalism in particular. What is more difficult for the left is the general view of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The left has Third World roots that influence it, for better or worse. For the better because it does not forget that, despite any right or wrong, the Palestinians are the oppressed party from the beginning. Refugees, starting with the seven hundred thousand who have fled their villages and homes since 1948. Poorer and weaker in the international balance of power. For the worse, it neglects to rule with the necessary harshness against the religious cliques and wealthy people that dominate much of the Arab world. “The left can never put aside the question of democracy; it risks losing its soul.”

However, it is as if there is some kind of knee-jerk anti-Israel reaction among a part of left-wing public opinion, which takes to the streets on Memorial Day, but struggles to recognize that Hamas’s target is the Jew himself. Where does this reflection come from? “Antisemitism belongs to a small and uncivilized section of the left, and dangerously threatens to conform to the idea of ​​wealthy Jews so dear to the fascists. The other thing is hostility to Israel’s policies, which is much more widespread. We must carefully avoid confusing the two matters: The Guardian’s historical pen dispensing Being mocked for a cartoon about Netanyahu is evil nonsense. The booing and insults directed at the Jewish Brigade on April 25 are instead a hateful insult against freedom fighters. What do we say to the group of New York Jews who demonstrated against Netanyahu, the anti-Semites?”.

There is also the issue of misinformation or manipulation: in some schools and squares Hamas and Palestine overlap. “The problem of false information is interesting. I wonder with fear what tools are available to the Arab masses to form their opinion? But it is not as if things are going well here. “The extremist cannot corrupt his ideas with reality,” wrote Paolo Giordano. The truth of things is hated by many because it conflicts with their prejudices. And their sin. Social media has greatly helped in the radicalization and simplification of opinions. This cannot be remedied by banning student demonstrations. We need to do desperate but stubborn work to provide good information. I am starting school again these days and I am almost 70 years old. We have to We tell everyone to start studying again. And to those who say: “Even Hamas has its reasons,” I would say to study the history of the kibbutzim, The germ of socialism and democracy has been slaughtered and raped by young militiamen who know nothing about anything, only that God wants to exterminate the Jews. For those who say that Israel is a beacon of democracy in the midst of barbarism, I suggest they read about the history of the Nakba, the displacement of seven hundred thousand Palestinians from their homes. Many of them, from father to son, keep the keys to the lost house. House keys are an easy to understand code. “Easier than Jerusalem.”