Alwaght- Noam Chomsky, well-known American historian and Philosopher, says situation in occupied Palestinian territories "is much worse than Apartheid", arguing that Israeli regime's policy towards Palestinians is not simply discrimination rather Tel Aviv "basically wants Palestinians to disappear".
In an interview with the Shahid Center and the “themfadhel.com” blog that asked the American thinker if the Palestinian struggle for national rights was akin to the struggle of people of South Africa against the Apartheid regime, Noam Chomsky explained:
There are some similarities, but important differences too. The analogy is imperfect. Within Israel, there is severe discrimination, but it is not Apartheid. In the occupied territories, the situation is much worse than Apartheid. Israel basically wants Palestinians to disappear, the norm for settler-colonial societies (like the US, for example).
Noam Chomsky also said that the administration of US President Donald Trump, despite all its talk about the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’, has no solution for the Palestinian cause.
" They (Trump administration) haven’t given any indications, but their record suggests that if there is a plan at all – which is uncertain – it will probably be grotesque. The strategic goal of the administration, to the extent that one can extricate one from the chaos, is to firm up the developing coalition of Israel and Arab states and to join in confronting their common enemy, Iran, which is perceived as threatening US hegemony in the region and Israel’s freedom to resort to violence."
Touching on American public opinion towards Palestinian cause, Professor Chomsky said:
It seems on the surface as though US support for extremist Israeli positions is solid, but that picture is misleading. Israeli actions in recent years have alienated public opinion among more liberal sectors and the young (including many Jewish Americans). Self-identified Democrats are now more sympathetic to Palestinians than to Israelis. Increasingly, support for Israel is based mostly on Evangelical churches and the nationalist and often racist (anti-Muslim) right. Major institutions, notably the Presbyterian Church, have adopted boycott-divestment programs, also focusing on US corporations involved in the occupation. Major human rights organizations have called for an arms embargo against Israel – and in fact, under US law (the Leahy Law) a strong case can be made for that. Much the same is true throughout the world. For some years, Israeli strategic analysts have recognized that Israel can no longer count on support from countries where there is some concern for human rights and must ally itself more closely with more reactionary and authoritarian sectors. That is a major change from not many years ago. The situation in the US is fluid, and there could be positive changes ahead."
