Oct. 7, 1944

 Last month, I read "Hamas Contained: A History of Palestinian Resistance," by Tareq Baconi. I have been participating enthusiastically and with all the strength I can muster in protests for a Free Palestine since October 7. I have heard folks recommend this book a handful of times in activist circles and I finally got around to reading it last month. I figured I would give myself a small break from traumatizing myself on social media to dig deeper into some of the history of Palestinian resistance to Zionism.

Overall, I would give this book 5/5 star review. It's not necessarily the most fun read, but it's an indispensable and exhaustive history of Hamas, and it also puts the differences between Hamas and their counterpart, the Palestinian Authority (the PA) (formerly the PLO), into stark relief. The book shows very clearly the deeply problematic nature of the PA, led in most recent years by Mahmoud Abbas, as the PA is largely a shell-organization for Western interests. Baconi's history shows the way Hamas has dissented from the PA's conciliatory moves, as the PA has consistently conceded on many of the most key Palestinian demands: the right to armed struggle, as well as key territorial concessions. Reading the correspondences between Hamas and the PA reminds me of watching current online disagreements between left-liberal AOC fans and more hardline people on the internet: you give up key demands in order to be respectable and have a seat at the table, but then once you're at the table you no longer have any leverage, so what's the point of being at the table if you have no power?

Individuals in the West are very quick to dismiss Hamas as a terrorist organization. In the New York Times, for instance, Hamas is always described as terrorists, while the Israeli military is referred to as the Israeli *Defense* forces. Even in left-wing circles who protest against the genocide, Hamas and their tactics are frequently dismissed as the actions of blood-crazed Islamists who cannot be reasoned with. I don't think that analysis really withstands the minimum of critical analysis. 

One of the really interesting points that comes up in Baconi's book is the dilemma of how Hamas should deal with the Salafists and Islamic Jihad -- two groups in Gaza who are even more keen on armed resistance than Hamas is. One key defining feature of Hamas is their insistence on the right to armed struggle, but they still sit down to negotiations from time to time with Israeli factions, and need to be able to hold their word when they agree to ceasefires. So when groups such as Salafists and IJ plan attacks without Hamas approval, they find themselves in a dilemma as to how to maintain their credibility as a group that insists on armed resistance without going along with every single armed strike that IJ or Salafists seek to carry out, which Hamas correctly recognizes as non-strategic and escalatory with no benefit. ("Vote for the lesser evil! Vote Hamas! Harm reduction against the Salafists!)

The TLDR is most people in the west, certainly the majority of people associated with the Democrats or Republicans, really have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to middle east politics, or how they would respond if they lived under a 75 year occupation. I am grateful for this book, for the clear-eyed account it offers of the history of Palestinian resistance. So many authors who covers these topics in the west are blinded by an incomprehensible level of racism and ignorance, and tacitly assume that the only good Palestinian is one who goes quietly to his grave. 

Another thing that really struck me reading this book is how many founders and significant figures in Hamas are doctors. Che Guevara was a medical student as well, prior to becoming an armed revolutionary. It is not surprising to me that individuals who take for themselves the task of healing the sick determine that there is no way to heal individuals without demolishing the structural forces that cause so much misery as well. Seeing all the doctors in the ranks of Hamas goes further to disrupt the notion that Hamasniks are simply crazed Islamic fundamentalists. I think that the attacks of Oct. 7, no matter how painful they were to observe for individuals who have loved ones living in Israel, are best likened to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. I challenge anyone - especially individuals among the Western left - to think about how they would have responded to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, and to calibrate their response to Oct. 7 accordingly. While it's true that we as individuals can understand multiple narratives and perspectives towards events at the same time, if you can't see the parallels between Oct. 7 and the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, you probably will not really get anywhere at all in your analysis. Personally, you won't find me calling Mordecai Anielewicz counterproductive, irrational or naive.

Anyway, this was a very good book, and very necessary reading, especially for anyone seeking to understand why Hamas does what it does. 

I titled this post Oct. 7, 1944. A friend of mine pointed out to me that on that date a prisoner revolt erupted in Auschwitz (okay so not Warsaw ghetto). I suppose many Zionists would agree with me that a response to Oct. 7 2023 should begin with its parallel in 1944, though I share that date for obviously different reasons.