British Palestinian academic predicts Zionism’s defeat in Israel-Palestine conflict

Department of Security and Military Strategic Research and Studies 15-09-2024

British Palestinian academic Azzam Tamim said akin to historical events like the US defeat in Vietnam and France in Algeria, Zionism is destined for defeat in Palestine, in an interview with Anadolu. 

He underscored a reluctance to learn from past geopolitical outcomes.

The British academic and activist of Palestinian origin, shared his perspective on the current Israel-Palestine conflict that has been unfolding for four months.

“They do not want to read what happened in history. They do not want to learn any lessons from the defeat of America in Vietnam or the defeat of France in Algeria or the defeat of racism in South Africa,” said Tamimi.

Tamimi discussed parallels between the current situation in Gaza and historical instances like apartheid in South Africa as he critiqued the international community’s stance.

He accused countries of arrogance and reluctance to learn from history.

By framing the events in Gaza as a new chapter in an unstoppable global struggle, he noted a rising global uprising against Zionism, even among Jews in the diaspora.

“The same thing will happen in Palestine. Zionism eventually will be defeated and these governments will be sorry for what they have done and what they are doing,” he said.

Tamimi, who is the Managing Editor and host of Al-Hiwar television, based in London, reflected on his family’s experiences during the Nakba, or Catastrophe, when Palestinians were forced from their lands in 1948, and offered insights into the current conflict.

Born in 1955 in Hebron in Palestine, Tamimi recounted how his family was displaced from Beersheba to Hebron following the establishment of Israel in 1948.

He emphasized that many Palestinians do not recognize Israel’s right to exist in any part of Palestine. “Most Palestinians would tell you they do not recognize that Israel has the right to exist on any part of Palestine,” he said.

Tamimi described the Nakba as an integral part of their history.

“From what my parents used to tell us, my grandparents used to tell us, from what we read in the memoirs of people who wrote about those experiences, it was indeed a catastrophe.

“My siblings and I guess all the Palestinians of my generation — we grew up hoping that one day the wrong that was done to our people will be corrected, and one day we shall return,” he said.

Tamimi shared stories of his family’s displacement and the symbolic nature of the keys to their homes in Palestine hanging on the wall. He highlighted the ongoing resistance, with his father actively participating in the war to prevent the establishment of a Zionist state.

He noted the period after World War I when the League of Nations granted the mandate for Palestine to the United Kingdom in 1922.

“They (the British Mandate) used some of the ancient Ottoman laws as well for their own benefits to favor Jewish immigrants over the indigenous population, giving them land and enabling them to have privileges that were not given to the Palestinians,” he said.

“So, the British Mandate was an opportunity for the Zionist movement to establish itself and move many of its institutions from Europe into Palestine,” he added.

Tamimi also drew attention to the influx of Jewish immigrants to Palestine, particularly from Europe, and he highlighted the abrupt displacement experienced by Palestinians and their struggle against an external force that claimed their land.