Skip to main content

"Violent Settler Colonialism Caused This War" Rashid Khalidi. Detailed overview of this interview.

.                Rashid Khalidi 

Rashid Ismail Khalidi (Arabic: رشيد خالدي; born November 18, 1948) is a Palestinian-American historian specializing in the Middle East. He is the Edward Said Professor Emeritus of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University and a renowned scholar of Palestinian history and identity.

Academic Career

Khalidi retired from Columbia University on October 8, 2024. At Columbia, he served as Chair of the History Department, Director of the Middle East Institute, and co-founder of the Center for Palestine Studies. He also served as editor (2002–2020) and later co-editor (2020–present) of the Journal of Palestine Studies. Previously, he taught at the Lebanese University, the American University of Beirut, Georgetown University, and the University of Chicago, where he directed the Middle East Center and the Center for International Studies.

He holds a B.A. in History from Yale University (1970) and a D.Phil. in Modern History from Oxford University (1974), where he was a member of St. Antony’s College.

Contributions and Recognitions

Khalidi has been a pivotal figure in Middle Eastern studies. He served as President of the Middle East Studies Association and was an advisor to the Palestinian delegation during the Madrid and Washington Arab-Israeli peace negotiations (1991–1993).

He has received numerous fellowships and grants from prestigious institutions, including the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation. He was also awarded a Fulbright research fellowship.

As an academic mentor, Khalidi has supervised or co-supervised over 50 Ph.D. dissertations and served as a second or third reader on more than 50 others. 

Publications

Khalidi is the author of eight acclaimed books, many of which have been translated into multiple languages. Notable works include:

The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: 

A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 (2020), a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, winner of the MEMO Palestine Book Award.

Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East (2013), 

winner of the Lionel Trilling Book Award and MEMO Palestine Book Award.

Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness (1997),

winner of the Middle East Studies Association’s Albert Hourani Prize.

Other notable works include:

Sowing Crisis: American Dominance and the Cold War in the Middle East (2009)

The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood (2006)

Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America’s Perilous Path in the Middle East (2004)

Under Siege: PLO Decision-Making during the 1982 War (1986, 2nd edition 2014)

British Policy towards Syria and Palestine, 1906-1914 (1980)

He has also co-edited works like Palestine and the Gulf (1982), The Origins of Arab Nationalism (1991), and The Other Jerusalem: Rethinking the History of the Sacred City (2020).

Scholarly Impact

Khalidi has published over 120 scholarly articles and book chapters on Middle Eastern history and politics, alongside numerous opinion pieces and op-eds. He is a frequent commentator on radio, television, and podcasts, offering insights on Middle Eastern issues.

Rashid Khalidi’s scholarship and public advocacy have solidified his reputation as one of the foremost historians and intellectuals of the Palestinian experience and modern Middle East.


Key points from Rashid Khalidi's interview, titled "Violent Settler Colonialism Caused This War":

1. Roots of the Conflict

Khalidi traces the origins of the current conflict to over a century of settler colonialism, where land dispossession and ethnic cleansing have been central strategies.

He views the Israeli state as a continuation of a settler-colonial project that began with figures like Theodor Herzl and was openly acknowledged by early Zionists.

2. Protests and Antisemitism

Khalidi differentiates between legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies and antisemitism, arguing that many protests, even those led by Jewish groups, are wrongly labeled antisemitic.

He rejects the notion that terms like “intifada” are inherently antisemitic, emphasizing that the term refers to resistance against occupation.

3. Historical Legitimacy of Israel

Khalidi questions the historical legitimacy of Israel as a settler-colonial state, comparing it to other colonial projects like the United States and Canada, which displaced indigenous populations.

He recognizes a historical Jewish connection to the land but rejects its use to justify displacement and occupation.

4. Scale of Current Violence

Khalidi highlights the unprecedented scale of the recent violence in Gaza, noting that the death toll surpasses earlier conflicts such as 1948 or the 1982 Lebanon war.

He links this violence to the Israeli government’s long-term strategy of demographic transformation.

5. Hamas and Resistance

Khalidi explains Hamas’ rise as a response to the perceived failures of the PLO, particularly after the Oslo Accords, which he argues strengthened Israeli control rather than enabling Violent Settler Colonialism Caused This War": sovereignty.

He emphasizes that continued colonization inevitably generates resistance, regardless of the methods or groups involved.

6. Global and Western Involvement

Western nations, especially the U.S., play a critical role in perpetuating the conflict through military and political support for Israel. Loo

He criticizes the international community, particularly Germany, for transferring historical guilt for the Holocaust onto Palestinians by supporting Israeli policies.

7. Shift in Discourse

Khalidi notes a shift in global discourse, with terms like "apartheid," "genocide," and "accountability" gaining prominence.

While Western powers resist these narratives, he sees the current openness as unprecedented in the history of the conflict.

8. Future Resolution

For Khalidi, resolving the conflict requires:

Reorganizing the Palestinian national movement.

Recognizing both peoples’ rights to self-determination.

International accountability, particularly from Western nations, to cease enabling the violence.

9. Hamas as a Negotiation Partner

Khalidi compares potential negotiations with Hamas to past resolutions involving groups like the IRA and the ANC, suggesting that a genuine peace process must include all major stakeholders, even those labeled as "terrorist organizations."

This interview offers a comprehensive critique of settler colonialism and its role in shaping the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Khalidi advocating for systemic changes to address longstanding injustices.

Source:

https://jacobin.com/2024/05/rashid-khalidi-settler-colonialism-palestine


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Famine by design, Silence by Choice: 90,000 children are dying and still the UN can't find it's Spine.

  ✍️ By Malik Mukhtar | July 22, 2025 📍 From the graveyard of global morality: Gaza Let’s be clear. If a three-month-old baby named Yehia dies of starvation in his mother’s arms at Nasser Hospital, that should be enough for the world to say: “Enough.” But in today’s U.N., apparently 90,000 malnourished children, daily starvation deaths, and food rotting at the Gaza border still don’t meet the “technical ” threshold for famine . Welcome to the age of data-driven genocide , where unless a corpse is tagged with the right IPC Level 5 barcode , it's not really dead enough to matter. 📉 No Data? No Problem. Just Ignore the Bones. Let’s break this down. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) — a bureaucratic tool forged in the fires of humanitarian intention — tells us that famine exists when: 20% of households face extreme food shortage, Acute malnutrition in children exceeds 30%, Deaths exceed 2 per 10,000 per day. But wait — Gaza’s under siege, aid...

💔 A Broken Heart Speaks: David Grossman and the Genocide in Gaza

.            David Grossman  📍 By Malik Mukhtar – blogger “ With immense pain and a broken heart —I now call it what it is: a genocide .” — David Grossman, interview in La Repubblica, August 1, 2025 When Israel’s conscience finally shouts genocide. Grossman— son lost to Israel’s wars , laureate of literature, beacon of moral clarity—has shattered his silence . He describes how he refused to use this word for years, until: “ What I’ve read… the images I’ve seen… speaking with people who were there” left him no choice. “ This word is an avalanche… it just keeps growing … and it brings even more destruction and suffering.” He also reflects: “ The occupation has corrupted us . I’m absolutely convinced that Israel’s curse began with the occupation of the Palestinian territories in 1967.” And yet the false savior complex persists: “ Had they [Palestinians] been more politically mature … reality could have been completely different....

🏗️ Corporate Complicity in Genocide: The Global Economy Behind Gaza’s Ruin.

📅 July 5, 2025 “We are witnessing not just genocide in Gaza—but a genocide made profitable.” — UN Special Rapporteur, A/HRC/59/23 “This report is written from the heart of darkness . It is penned with a broken hand from a broken land for a broken people . But its words are not broken . They are the words of law and of longing . They are the words of those who are not yet silenced . It is written for Palestinians , first and foremost. It is also addressed to those who remain silent , indifferent or complicit . And it is a call to action for those who are not.” — Introduction, UN Report A/HRC/59/23 In an unprecedented and unflinching report to the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory has laid bare the truth that much of the world’s corporate, academic, and financial architecture is actively complicit in Israel’s occupation, apartheid, and now, genocide in Gaza. This isn’t just about military aggression . This is about the mac...

“Starving to Death, But Very Politely” — Gaza’s Famine and the Theater of Moral Collapse

📍Blog: ainnbeen.blogspot.com ✍️ By Malik Mukhtar | July 25, 2025 Let us all pause and thank the New York Times . After 21 months of bombing , blockade, and bullets , we finally have permission — no, confirmation — from America’s journal of record that yes, Gazans are, in fact, dying of starvation. The paper even sent reporters to Haifa, Jerusalem, and London — not Gaza, of course — to deliver the news. Skeletal toddlers, lactating mothers without milk, IV drips rationed like treasure — all neatly documented, sanitized, and wrapped in diplomatic passive voice. But fear not. The famine is not the fault of any one side. It's simply the result of “human failings , ” the report says. Ah yes, the tragedy of equal blame . A little siege here, a little looting there — and voilà! Starvation appears like a natural disaster . Like a famine tsunami . No perpetrators. Just poor little victims. Meanwhile, Israel, the world’s most moral occupier™ , is gallantly uploading videos of...

🩸 "If It Were Really Genocide, Wouldn’t More People Be Dead?" — The Cruel Logic of Bret Stephens

  ✍️ By Malik Mukhtar | July 23, 2025 So let’s all take a moment to appreciate the cold brilliance of Bret Stephens , New York Times columnist and self-appointed moral compass for the apocalypse. In his latest masterstroke of ethical reasoning , he argues that the claim of genocide in Gaza rings hollow — not because tens of thousands haven’t been killed , but because not enough have. “It may seem harsh to say, but there is a glaring dissonance to the charge that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.” “If the Israeli government’s intentions and actions are truly genocidal — if it is so malevolent that it is committed to the annihilation of Gazans — why hasn’t it been more methodical and vastly more deadly?” Ah yes, the ol’ “ not genocidal enough” defense — a timeless classic. You see, according to Stephens, genocide must be more “ methodical ,” more “ deadly .” A mere 60,000 deaths (as reported by Gaza’s health ministry) over two years of war doesn’t meet the qu...