Yuval Noah Harari’s odyssey into a parallel Zionist universe
Yoav Litvin 05/25/2024
The New Arab ) – In the vast expanse of the intellectual cosmos, there exists a luminary whose brilliance outshines even the brightest stars.
Professor Yuval Noah Harari, a name whispered with reverence among the learned denizens of the galaxy, is a beacon of knowledge, whose canon traverses the celestial planes of history, philosophy, human psychology and beyond.
Informed by years of contemplative transcendence and prodigious mastery of the written word, his concepts, like cosmic dark matter anomalies rippling through the fabric of reality, challenge our understanding of existence and propel us toward the final frontier of enlightenment.
“A playlist of Zionist apologia, Harari’s rhetoric perpetuates the shallow canards of “liberal” Zionism, ensconced in fake notions of human rights, in a facile attempt to salvage a crumbling Western narrative”
It is within these boundless realms, with Enterprise captain boldness and sage wisdom, that Harari recently journeyed into his nuanced quagmire imaginary version of Zionism.
In a twist of revisionism as astonishing as his repurposing of “humanism,” Harari embarked on a fantastical odyssey, gazing balefully at those who weaponise “Zionism” as a slur, likening it to a sinister form of tribalism or even racism.
For in the great beyond of Harari’s philosophy, nothing about Zionism suggests any hint of superiority toward native Palestinians. Certainly not Israeli discriminatory laws and inconvenient evidence embedded in Israel’s Basic Law: Knesset, Article 7(a), which erects Zionism as a gatekeeper to participation in the facade of Israeli “democracy.”The gospel according to Yuval Noah Harari
How mundane to concern oneself with the musings of figures like the obscure Ukrainian Vladimir Jabotinsky, a mere blip on the Zionist radar, albeit Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s ideological guru, who said:
“If it is immoral to colonise a country against the will of its native population, the same morality must apply equally to the black man as to the white. Of course, the blackman may not be sufficiently advanced to think of sending delegations to London, but he will soon find some kindhearted white friends, who will instruct him.”
And:
“There will always be two nations in Palestine – which is good enough for me, provided the Jews become the majority.”
And:
“We are seeking to colonise a country against the wishes of its population, in other words, by force.”
Perhaps we can forgive Harari, as he has been preoccupied, hobnobbing with the esteemed German and Austrian Chancellors, engaging in discourse with the luminous French President and exchanging algorithmic pleasantries with his fellow apostle, the social media Meta marvel Mark Zuckerberg, rather than reminiscing on musings of Theodor Herzl, who said:
“We must expropriate gently the private property on the estates assigned to us. We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries, while denying it employment in our own country. The property owners will come over to our side.”
Cogitating in this hallowed sanctum, Harari pays homage to the ancient Zionist rite of denialism, where truth is supplanted by a labyrinthine puzzle wielded deftly for the purpose of gaslighting Palestinians and their allies. Yet, in his orchestration of the numinous, Harari also upholds another sacred tenet of Zionism: the doctrine of white supremacy.
“Settler colonialism, slavery, the plunder of the global south, the annihilation of indigenous peoples—these are topics too gauche for Harari’s highbrow celestial discussions”
Behold, in his TED Talk of 2018, aptly titled “Why Fascism is so Tempting”, Harari, assuming his digital avatar visage, extols the virtues of nationalism, proclaiming:
“If you look today at the most prosperous and peaceful countries in the world, countries like Sweden and Switzerland and Japan, you will see that they have a very strong sense of nationalism. In contrast, countries that lack a strong sense of nationalism like Congo and Somalia and Afghanistan tend to be violent and poor.”
In another oration, Harari paints a portrait of “the culture war” as a force cleaving asunder the very fabric of Western civilisation. Fear not, for he proclaims that if we, esteemed burgesses of Europe and the United States, stand as one, all shall be well in our earthly realm. What a marvellously convenient solution to our existential quandaries!
Close your eyes and ears
Hark to the melodious hymns of Harari, bard of the primal Zionist saga!
In each verse, he sings the sacred Hasbara handbook as divine scripture bestowed upon him at the hallowed gates of Ben Gurion airport, flown in with the latest shipment of US/UK weaponry.
From the Partition Plan to the Oslo Accords, to the conflation of Zionism and Judaism, his dulcet tones dance with the rhythm of McCarthyistic anti-communism and Islamophobia, a fascistic symphony of propaganda orchestrated to lull the masses into an hypnotic acquiescence to genocide.
He wields the myth of Israeli “democracy” like a shimmering shield against arrows of truth, casting blame upon Netanyahu, the scapegoat for all of Zion’s woes.
Not a whisper from Harari is there on the UN ESCWA report of March 2017, exposing Israel’s apartheid practices toward Palestinians, spanning every inch of land under its dominion, and the plight of Palestinians scattered in the Shatat (diaspora), left to suffer in the shadow of exclusion.
His neglect extends to Israel’s ongoing and escalating genocide in Gaza, alongside relentless campaigns of settler terror in the West Bank, drowning out the cries of the oppressed.
Settler colonialism, slavery, the plunder of the global south, the annihilation of indigenous peoples — these are topics too gauche for Harari’s highbrow celestial discussions, as he detours around capitalism’s sordid sins.
A playlist of Zionist apologia, Harari’s rhetoric perpetuates the shallow canards of “liberal” Zionism, ensconced in fake notions of human rights, in a facile attempt to salvage a crumbling Western narrative. By conveniently blaming Netanyahu while promoting an ahistorical alternative, he constructs a duplicitous wormhole, leading away from deeper examination of Zionism’s origins as a fascist, white supremacist ideology. Thus, we are left with Harari’s facade masking the true visage of oppression.
Reprinted with the author’s permission from The New Arab ).
N.B. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Informed Comment.