Colonial Crimes Burdening the White Man’s Shoulders

We are witnessing some remarkable events. It is not something we’re used to seeing in a country like the Netherlands—tens of thousands of pro-Palestine supporters filling the streets and squares. Like many others, I’m closely following how ordinary people in European cities and on U.S. campuses, unlike their elites, are refusing to stay silent in the face of Israel’s war crimes. Their actions are undoubtedly sending powerful messages to the entire world. These ordinary people are one of the most important forces capable of restraining the British, American, and German elites. But we shouldn’t overlook a crucial point here. Protests that have spread across many European cities should have produced concrete results by now. No effective majority has emerged in the streets and squares strong enough to strike fear into the elites. We haven’t seen a widespread, powerful outburst of anger that could actually stop them.

Despite this, many have compared the reactions of ordinary people in Western countries to the relative weakness of mass protests against Israel in the Islamic world. Those making this comparison have expressed admiration for the wave of anger rising in Europe.

While pointing out that the anger of ordinary people in Europe and the U.S. has been slow to rattle the elites, we should also state clearly that Israel’s colonial crimes are being committed under the watch of Western societies. Similarly, comparing the scale or weakness of reactions to Israel’s colonial crimes in the Islamic world and the West will inevitably lead to flawed conclusions. Such comparisons trap us in the same vicious circle of “democracy,” “freedom,” and “authoritarianism.”

Of course, the level of support for Palestine in the Islamic world can and should be questioned without making such comparisons. I’m not against comparing the West and the Islamic world in different contexts. But Germany, France, the U.K., and the U.S. are directly complicit in Israel’s colonial crimes. These countries are among the perpetrators of genocide. And that fact should lead us to question their societies. Unfortunately, ordinary Germans, Britons, Americans, and French people have so far merely watched their countries’ colonial crimes unfold. These crimes were, in fact, committed under their supervision. If Islamic countries being criticized had participated in the same crimes, the situation would be very different. European societies are still struggling to reckon collectively with colonial crimes that will remain etched in memory for centuries. Meanwhile, racist ideas like xenophobia are spreading much more rapidly.

The emergence of a new public debate on colonial crimes committed under Western supervision is certainly a hopeful sign. But this new agenda has yet to find a deep and widespread response. Criticism that Israel’s colonial crimes have been committed under Western supervision is now coming from legitimate “insiders” like Francesca Albanese. There’s no need to dwell on Albanese’s representational value. She clearly knows the law well. At a time when figures like Habermas are rushing to side with Israel, assuming the “white man’s” role, the emergence of voices like Albanese points to a new sensitivity. This is, in fact, a gain for the West. But it’s also clear that people like Albanese face pressure. They too are placing importance on newly emerging crowds. Unfortunately, this doesn’t erase the fact that Western societies are overseeing these crimes.

I have no reason to be defensive about accusations aimed at the Islamic world. But we need to make a distinction. Today, we hear talk of rising racism in Europe. Not long ago, a group of white supremacists from the U.S. managed to gather a large, openly xenophobic crowd in England. They clearly wanted to challenge the world. Yet in their actions, there wasn’t a single criticism of colonial crimes committed with the active participation of the U.K., Germany, and the U.S. Instead, xenophobic slogans filled the air. It’s precisely this kind of mass action we should be comparing with tendencies in the Turkish and Islamic world.

Of course, there are those in Turkey and the Islamic world who remain indifferent to the Palestinian cause. The lack of interest or hesitation on the part of some governments is also a valid issue. But that’s a different problem entirely, one that must be discussed in a separate context. As stated before, meaningless comparisons inevitably lead to the conclusion that “the fault lies with us.”

Europeans and Americans are, in fact, reckoning with themselves—because Zionism places the burden of all these crimes squarely on their shoulders.