Morrison for Morris
After a famous revisionist historian condoned the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948 during an interview, the Israeli press took up the issue. Emad Gad reports
The Israeli media took up dozens of domestic and foreign issues over the last week, focussing on last Thursday's suicide bombing in Jerusalem, the prisoner exchange deal with Hizbullah, and the impending proceedings on the separation wall at the International Court of Justice. In spite of all these issues, however, revisionist historian Benny Morris's controversial Ha'aretz interview with Avi Shavit on 16 January still drew attention.
In that interview, Morris said that Arabs were the barbarians of the modern age, and defended the ethnic cleansing of 1948. In the wake of the interview, Morris was attacked by both Arab and Jewish writers as the new ideologue for war criminals.
One of the most noteworthy commentaries was written by Sami Shalom Chetrit entitled "Another exciting interview with Professor Barney Morrison: a proud neo-Nazi". The questions in Chetrit's satirical interview are virtually the same questions posed to Benny Morris in his Ha'aretz interview -- Chetrit just substitutes the words Jews, Gypsies, and communists for Palestinians and Arabs.
Chetrit begins his commentary saying, "We should all read the important, interesting interview with Benny Morris in Ha'aretz. We must thank him for honestly exposing the racist ideas embedded in the mainstream of Zionist-Ashkenazi politics, and even among the so-called Zionist Left -- and all backed up with academic research. Morris is well-known for his hatred of Oriental Jews, which, of course, dovetails nicely with his general view of the East."
Chetrit adds: "When I read the interview, I was immediately reminded of another, very similar interview given by Barney Morrison a few days ago to the weekly Der Spiegel. Morrison is a professor at the Institute of Contemporary History at Munchenhausen. In that interview, Morrison, a neo-Nazi, justifies once more the extermination of Europe's Jews. He even claims that future extermination of the Jews and other minorities is possible, if they once more threaten the continent's calm. The astonishing thing is that no one took Professor Morrison to court -- he's still teaching at the university. I think the university must be condemned and boycotted as a neo-Nazi institution. But, since it is a very interesting interview, I translated excerpts into Hebrew for visitors to our Web site. Coincidentally enough, the Hebrew translation often contains exactly the same words spoken by Benny Morris in his interview... is it only a coincidence?"
The following are excerpts from Chetrit's commentary, posed in question and answer form:
"Question: Professor Morrison, for 30 years you have been researching the dark side of Nazism. You are an expert on the atrocities committed by the Third Reich. But I seem to detect a justification for this in your tone. Do you, in effect, justify all this? Are you an advocate of the final solution? The extermination of Europe's Jews, Gypsies, communists, and other minorities? These were war crimes, according to international courts.
"Answer: Hitler was right. If he had not done what he did, a strong Germany would not have come into being. That has to be clear. It is impossible to evade it. Without the extermination of the Jews and the suppression of the communists, a new Germany, and of course the European Union, would not have arisen. The Nazis did not commit war crimes. In certain conditions, exterminating a people like the Jews, with all we know about the character of this people, is not a war crime. You can't make escalope panné without breaking eggs. You have to get the frying pan dirty.
"Question: But we're talking about the killing of millions of people, the destruction of an entire people.
"Answer: You must exterminate a people who aim to exterminate you. When the choice is between exterminating or being exterminated, it's better to exterminate. That's certain.
"Question: You do not condemn them morally?
"Answer: No.
"Question: They perpetrated ethnic cleansing.
"Answer: There are circumstances in history that justify ethnic cleansing and genocide. I know that this term is completely negative in the foolish discourse of the 21st century, but the only choice was ethnic cleansing, in order to avoid racial pollution. That was the situation. That is what the German people faced. The strong Germany in which we now live would not have come into being and Europe would not have been able to recover without exterminating two or three million Jews.
"Question: Are you saying that Hitler did not kill enough?
"Answer: If he was already engaged in genocide, maybe he should have done a complete job. I know that this saddens the Jews and the liberals and the politically-correct types. But my feeling is that this place would be much better if the matter had been resolved once and for all. If Hitler had carried out more genocide and cleansed the whole country of Jews and homosexuals who are now coming back to take over our civilisation, we would be better off now. It may yet turn out that his fatal mistake was that he did not fully do away with an element that might defile the Aryan and European nation.
"Question: And today? Do you believe it is necessary to finish the job of genocide that Hitler started?
"Answer: If you are asking me whether I support the genocide of the Jews, homosexuals, and communists from all parts of Europe, I say not at this moment. In the present circumstances it is unrealistic, and perhaps immoral. In addition, Jewish satellite communications that cover the sky would not allow it. But I am ready to tell you that in other circumstances, if the German or European economy again collapses due to the control of the Jews -- who are basically the same as homosexuals and communists -- in a terrifying situation like this that will again lead to the humiliation, starvation, and impoverishment of the Aryan people, acts of genocide against the Jews will be entirely reasonable. They may even be essential.
"Question: What should we do with them, then?
"Answer: We have to build a new ghetto for them. Fine, I know that the word 'ghetto' hurts the ears these days. So let's say a cage. It must be a big cage that we can supervise."
A complete file on the responses and consequences of the Benny Morris interview, including the letter he sent to Ha'aretz on 21 January, can be found on the Web site of Arabs Against Discrimination (www.aad- online.org).
