“Evacuate Israel instead!” – Norman Finkelstein | Useful Idiots 10/5/25

"Evacuate Israel instead!" – Norman Finkelstein | Useful Idiots - Summary:

- 0:00-0:55 - Discussion begins on alternative to evacuating Gaza: removing Israeli government or evacuating Israelis instead. Finkelstein criticizes Bernie Sanders for blaming only Netanyahu when "the problem is not Netanyahu"

- 0:55-1:23 - Finkelstein argues this is not a "state project" but a "national project" - the entire Israeli Jewish society is responsible, not just the government leadership

- 1:23-1:53 - Poll data from two years shows 95% of Israeli Jews believed Israel was using either "not enough force" or "sufficient force" in Gaza; only 5% believed too much force was used

- 1:53-2:19 - Cites Haim Bresheeth-Zabner's characterization of this as "the most democratic genocide ever" and Finkelstein adds it's also "the most shameless"

- 2:29-3:22 - Contrasts with Nazi Holocaust: Nazis required "fog of war" to hide their crimes, operated behind walls, and destroyed extermination centers as they retreated to hide evidence

- 3:38-4:01 - Unlike Nazis, "Israel broadcasts it" - posts genocidal content on social media, very proud and flagrant with no shame about their actions

- 4:08-5:16 - References Himmler's 1943 Posen speech showing self-pity ("poor us") but at least understanding the task was criminal; Israelis lack any cognizance that their actions are horrible

- 5:16-5:55 - Personal anecdote: encounters young Israelis at Coney Island Beach who genuinely believe "Israel is the greatest country in the world" - not protesting too much, but truly believing it

- 5:55-7:09 - Addresses the "real moral dilemma" of evacuation: Finkelstein will follow the lead of humanitarian organizations on the ground (World Food Program, UNRWA, UNESCO, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders)

- 7:09-7:54 - These organizations haven't called for evacuation despite being "acutely aware every minute of every day of that moral dilemma" - he won't presume moral superiority over them

- 7:54-8:12 - Notes that Israel's apologists use tongue-in-cheek arguments claiming "if you believe it's genocide" while knowing full well it is

- 8:12-8:41 - Addresses apologist argument that Nazi genocide was worse because extermination was the goal itself, not a means to an end - questions whether "never again" means "never again exactly as badly as the Nazis"
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Original Source Attribution:

'“Evacuate Israel instead!” – Norman Finkelstein | Useful Idiots
Fundraiser' | Useful Idiots | Oct 5, 2025 | https://youtu.be/ccCOoljlftE?si=RlfZ1xj_groIbdgn

Useful Idiots: Let’s talk about what’s happening on the ground in Gaza. Israel bombed a food distribution site. Doctors at Al-Shifa Hospital in North Gaza are warning of total collapse. And this follows Israel destroying high-rise buildings in the last livable area left in Gaza. So amid all the atrocities that it’s currently committing, what is Israel’s strategy in Gaza right now?

Norman Finkelstein: It’s perfectly obvious. It’s gotten the green light from the White House to try to empty out Gaza. The UN report that just came out two weeks ago did the right thing by [dispensing with] the language of the laws of war. The problem in Gaza is not that Israel is committing “disproportionate attacks.” The problem has not been that Israel is in even an egregious breach of the laws of war...

The problem is that Israel is acting out the logic of genocide. And that’s very different because ultimately, if you use the framework of the laws of war, then what’s tacit in using that framework is that Israel ultimately wants to achieve a military victory.

If you take, for example, the period from March 18th of this year, when Israel terminated the ceasefire, until the end of August, do you know how many Gazans have been killed in that period? The estimate is 12,000. You know how many Israeli soldiers were killed in that period? 50.

The ratio is 1 to 240. Does that sound like a war, or does that sound like an extermination?

Useful Idiots: That makes it striking how ridiculous it is to call this a war.

Norman Finkelstein: Israel’s apologists have a funny argument right now. They say, ‘If you really believe there is a genocide in Gaza, then why don’t you advocate opening up the border [which would be ethnic cleansing]?’

Well, I have another idea. How about if I really believe there’s a genocide in Gaza, how about taking out the…
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