‘Concentration Camp Inmates’: Norman Finkelstein Questioned By Piers Morgan On Hamas Terror Attack
Appearing on TalkTV’s Piers Morgan Uncensored Thursday, Jewish scholar Norman Finkelstein said the Hamas perpetrators of the October 7th terror attack were “concentration camp inmates… who burst the gates of Gaza.”
Finkelstein, a long time critic of Israeli policy toward Palestinians, rationalised that members of Hamas had been “born into a concentration camp.” He said, “they had no past, they had no present, they had no future, they had no jobs.”
The analogy was prompted by host Piers Morgan who posed two key questions, inquiring whether Finkelstein would categorise recent atrocities as a terror attack and whether he would condemn Hamas for their actions.
Finkelstein’s response was multifaceted. He acknowledged the occurrence of atrocities, emphasising that while the full extent of these horrors, including reports of beheadings and rapes, was still unconfirmed, their classification as atrocities was clear. He further argued that such atrocities inherently qualify as a terror attack.
Regarding the legal implications, Finkelstein suggested that those responsible for these atrocities would likely face prosecution and conviction. However, he advocated for a degree of mercy.
“It seems unquestionable that the people who perpetrated these atrocities would be prosecuted and convicted in the court of law,” he said. “However, I would say, on the legal question, I should think that there would be some mercy shown because those who carried out the atrocities were concentration camp inmates.”
The moral dimension of the issue was where Finkelstein’s perspective was most nuanced. He expressed reluctance to condemn those who have endured extreme hardships, such as the young men of Gaza.
Raised in what he described as a concentration camp environment, these individuals have lived with severe deprivation.
He continued: “My basic precept is that there, but for the grace of God go I. That is to say, I’m very reluctant to condemn people who are in a position or in a condition such that were I in that position or condition, I’m not sure what I would do now. The 1,500 young men who burst the gates of Gaza. They were born into a concentration camp. They lived for two decades in a concentration camp. They had no past, they had no present, they had no future, they had no jobs. Half of them, according to humanitarian organisations, suffered from what’s called severe food insecurity.”
Finkelstein also said he believed the actions were a result of the recurring trauma of military operations by Israel, which he referred to as “mowing the lawn” – a term used by the Israeli Defence Forces for regularly conducted military operations in Gaza.
“Periodically,” Finkelstein concluded, “Israel goes into Gaza and it mows the lawn and you know what mows the lawn means. It means a high-tech massacre in Gaza. In 2008/9 Operation Cast Lead. In 2012, Operation Pillar of the Fence, 2014 Operation Protective Edge and on each of these [occasions] high-tech massacres visited on the people of Gaza. In some cases, hundreds, in some cases, thousands of Palestinians are killed.”
Watch the full interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored via YouTube.
