Finkelstein: Israel Is a “Lunatic State” and Worse Than the Nazis

Finkelstein: Israel Is a “Lunatic State” and Worse Than the Nazis

In a shocking and unvarnished interview, Professor Norman Finkelstein presents a grim yet realistic picture of the current situation in Gaza. Throughout the conversation, he attempts to strip away diplomatic rhetoric and media propaganda to lay bare the true nature of what is unfolding on the ground.

1. Gaza No Longer Exists: A Scorched Earth Strategy

The central message Finkelstein conveys is that discussions of a "ceasefire" or a return to the status quo are misleading. He believes Israel has achieved its fundamental objective: making Gaza uninhabitable.

Citing the reduction of Gaza to 50 million tons of rubble mixed with toxic substances and unexploded ordnance, Finkelstein argues that Israel has placed two options before the Palestinians: "Stay and starve, or leave." He asserts that by completely destroying infrastructure, Israel has effectively eliminated the possibility of reconstruction for decades (perhaps until 2050) to force a gradual population transfer.

2. The Myth of the War on Hamas

Finkelstein categorically rejects the Israeli argument that the war’s goal is the "destruction of Hamas." Referencing statements made by Israeli officials in the early days of the conflict (such as Netanyahu’s biblical allusion to "Amalek," which commands the killing of all men, women, and children), he argues the goal from the outset was population clearance.

Presenting shocking statistics, he notes that the ratio of Israeli to Palestinian deaths is currently around 1 to 225. He asks: "Is this a war or a slaughter?" In his view, the Israeli military operation is not a classic war but an operation of extermination, where Hamas serves merely as a pretext for implementing racist policies.

3. The Role of the US: From Trump the "Real Estate Developer" to Biden the "Accomplice"

In analyzing US policies, Finkelstein draws little practical distinction between Biden and Trump.

Donald Trump: Finkelstein describes Trump not as a politician, but as a "real estate developer" who thinks only of personal interests and profits from construction contracts with Saudi Arabia. He believes Trump’s peace plans are essentially business deals, with Arab nations playing along merely to appease the US.

Joe Biden: He holds the Biden administration directly responsible for enabling this genocide. According to Finkelstein, the US allowed Gaza to be razed to the ground to restore Israel’s "deterrence capacity," which had been humiliated on October 7.

4. Israeli Society and Moral Collapse

One of the most bitter parts of Finkelstein’s analysis is his view of Israeli society. Rejecting the claim that Netanyahu is an outlier, he emphasizes that the Prime Minister reflects a society gripped by "Jewish Supremacy."

He points to polls showing that a vast majority of Jewish Israelis support the attacks on Gaza and take no issue with starving civilians. Finkelstein describes Israel as a "Lunatic State" intoxicated by power and vengeance.

5. Comparison with the Nazis: Crimes in Broad Daylight

Finkelstein, whose parents were Holocaust survivors, makes a controversial but precise comparison. While acknowledging that the death tolls are not comparable to the Holocaust, he argues that in one aspect, Israel has acted "worse than the Nazis": the brazen and public nature of the crime.

He argues that while the Nazis attempted to hide their crimes and pretend nothing was happening, Israel commits genocide before the eyes of the world—with its Defense Minister officially announcing the cutting off of food and water (deliberate starvation) and the open targeting of aid workers and journalists—while the world merely watches.

6. The Future of Palestine: Absolute Despair and the Death of the Two-State Solution

Finally, Professor Finkelstein dismisses any hope for a "two-state solution," calling it political theater and a "Potemkin village" (a deceptive facade). He believes there is no will within Israel or the US to establish a Palestinian state.

His final prediction is painful: given the total destruction of Gaza and the lack of effective intervention by the Arab world or the international community, Palestinians in Gaza will have no choice but to find ways to leave, just as millions of Syrians were forced to flee their homeland.

Conclusion

In summary, Norman Finkelstein attempts to convey in this interview that we are witnessing a complete and concluded tragedy. His message is that the world allowed Gaza to be destroyed, and what we are seeing now is the management of a genocide's aftermath, not an effort to stop it. With utter candor, he places the moral responsibility for this catastrophe on the US, Israeli society, and the silence of world governments, though he sees faint glimmers of hope in the shifting public opinion of the world’s people (rather than its states).