A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #361 - Culture - Read: Joseph Daher, "Gaza: A Genocide in Progress" (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr) [machine translation]

A title as striking as the book itself. In a compact 168 pages, Joseph 
Daher [1] first provides a provisional assessment of the disaster the 
people of Gaza are experiencing. The situation goes far beyond the lies 
disseminated by the Western press. Without providing a complete review, 
here is the scale of the horror the author states: "61,709 dead, 111,588 
injured." But unfortunately, the figure is probably much higher... An 
article in an English medical journal dated July 2024 suggested 186,000 
deaths. Another source put the figure at 335,500 possible deaths in the 
long term... 875,000 people are in an emergency situation and 345,000 in 
an absolute emergency situation.

Having completed the gruesome inventory, the author focuses in a second 
part on the forces present in Gaza and those of Hamas. His speech is in 
no way a plea for the latter, but he distinguishes Hamas from the 
Palestinian people, to whom, like any people, belongs the right to 
resist an invasion that has lasted far too long. He dissociates the 
attack of October 7, 2023, from the legitimization of the massacre, 
showing that it is part of a coherent, long-established imperialist 
project. Today, the actions of the Israeli government confirm its 
expansionist ambitions. Seizing Gaza and the West Bank remains its 
objective.

To help frame the issues, the author develops a third part on the 
specific phenomenon of Lebanon, the forces present, Hezbollah, and 
neighboring states: Iran and Syria. The analysis is succinct and 
precise. Once again, the writing gets to the point with numerous references.

The fourth part of the book is devoted to geopolitical reflections on 
the entire region and the issue of interventionism on both sides. Here 
again, the author uses pedagogical methods to support his analysis and 
highlights the lack of real support from neighboring or friendly states, 
which most often opt for their own interests by entering into agreements 
with Israel. The text clearly and lucidly establishes the facts, 
intelligently separating the peoples and their leaders. While the former 
support the Palestinian cause, the latter tend to filter it through 
their own interests.

The fifth and final part questions the future of Palestine and our 
actions and responsibilities. It raises the issues of antisemitism and 
freedom of speech and writing in discussions where immediate emotions 
and ideology distort and prevent any calm analysis. The author does not 
forget to examine social relations within Israel, the potential for 
resistance and the emergence of support from the Israeli working class 
and from other countries.

Without going into further detail, this is a book worth discovering, 
easy to read, a text to be read to form an opinion and not to be 
subjected to it, a wealth of information and a powerful tool for 
learning to unlearn the media constraints that bind us.

Dominique Sureau (UCL Angers)

Joseph Daher, Gaza, a Genocide in Progress, Syllepse, Arguments et 
Mouvements collection, April 2025, 168 pages, €12.

Validate

[1] Joseph Daher is an academic and internationalist anti-capitalist 
activist. He teaches at the University of Lausanne and Ghent University.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Lire-Joseph-Daher-Gaza-un-genocide-en-cours
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe https://ainfos.ca/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en