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

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“They Came Home Broken":The Brutal Truth Behind the October 2025 Palestinian Releases

  They walked free —yet came home with broken bodies , shattered spirits , and scars that cannot be erased. On October 13, 2025, nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were released from Israeli custody in return for hostages freed by Hamas. Many rejoiced; families wept with relief. But behind those scenes, a darker story surfaced—one of systemic abuse, medical neglect, and a betrayal of human dignity. The Faces Behind the Numbers Among those finally returned was Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya , a beloved hospital doctor in Gaza, whose ordeal reveals the brutality that many are still too afraid to speak about. He arrived having lost more than 20 kg in just two months , with fractured ribs from interrogation , a worsening heart condition denied proper medical attention , and the scars of solitary confinement and torture. He is not alone. In the landmark “ Welcome to Hell ” report, 55 formerly held Palestinians shared chilling testimonies : starvation diets, savage beatings, r...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Oppose Annexation Without Actually Opposing It: The Trump Doctrine of Elegant Hypocrisy

  The Art of Saying No While Handing Over the Keys: Trump’s De Facto Annexation Gift to Israel Ah yes — the era of “ principled diplomacy.” The Trump administration, that self-proclaimed guardian of “fairness” in the Middle East, will forever be remembered for its masterclass in political double-speak — a rare performance where the United States verbally opposed Israel’s annexation of the West Bank while physically laying down the red carpet for it. It’s like saying, “ Please, don’t steal the car,” while quietly tossing over the keys, disabling the alarm, and complimenting the thief’s driving skills. The Great Paradox — or Just the Great Performance? Let’s call it what it was: a paradox of diplomacy , or perhaps more accurately , a farce performed for global consumption . In words , the Trump administration urged restraint — telling Netanyahu that annexation should be “coordinated,” “negotiated,” and “timed wisely.” In reality , it was busy dismantling every legal and dip...
Post a Comment
Read more

The World as Gaza: Necropolitics and the Calculus of Survival

  “ The ultimate expression of sovereignty resides in the power and the capacity to dictate who may live and who must die.” — Achille Mbembe, “Necropolitics” There are philosophies that dissect history, and there are philosophies that bleed through it. Achille Mbembe’s Necropolitics belongs to the latter — it is not an academic exercise, but a diagnosis of the world’s moral decay. In his words, modern sovereignty is no longer about governing life — it is about managing death . It decides who is allowed to breathe, who must suffocate, and who will exist in the space between. Nowhere is this calculus of death more visible, more technologically refined, and more ethically bankrupt than in Palestine . The siege of Gaza has transformed necropolitics from theory into geography — a place where the architecture of control and the arithmetic of survival intersect. The Right to Kill, the Duty to Let Die In Necropolitics , Mbembe extends Foucault’s biopower — the power to “...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Science of Fear: How Islamophobia Became a Campaign Strategy

  When Zohran Mamdani stood before a roaring crowd and declared, “ No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election,” he wasn’t just celebrating victory — he was delivering a eulogy for a long, poisonous political playbook. Because let’s face it — Islamophobia has never just been about prejudice. It’s been a strategy — polished, funded, and weaponized into one of the most successful vote-getting formulas in modern politics. The Machinery of Fear The arithmetic is simple — and sinister . Take a minority that makes up barely 2% of the U.S. population . Turn them into the symbolic threat for the other 98%. Feed that fear with millions of dollars , wrap it in the flag , and sell it as “security. ” According to a 2021 CAIR report , more than $105 million was funneled to just 26 anti-Muslim organizations between 2017 and 2019 — money laundered through “ mainstream charitable ” institutions. That’s not democracy in action. That’...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Leak That Broke the Mirror: Israel’s Moral Collapse at Sde Teiman

  n R It was not the torture that shocked Israel. It was the fact that someone leaked it. Welcome to Sde Teiman — the desert detention camp that became a mirror to Israel’s moral decay, and to the world’s selective blindness. The Scene of the Crime The story begins, like most horror stories do these days, with a camera. On July 5, 2024, security footage inside the Sde Teiman military base caught what it was never meant to record: a Palestinian prisoner, blindfolded, bound, and dragged across the floor by Israeli soldiers. Moments later, the soldiers raised shields to block the camera — and behind that human wall, the real Israel revealed itself. When the shields dropped , the man lay broken: seven fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and a torn rectum so severe it required surgery and a colostomy. The anatomy of cruelty was complete. The Scandal That Wasn’t You would think such a crime would set off national outrage. But in Israel’s political universe , torture is an...
Post a Comment
Read more