After what he has read in the newspapers, after the images he has scrolled through, and after speaking with people who have been on the ground, the term imposes itself. “Genocide.” In an interview with the Italian daily la Repubblica, the renowned Israeli writer David Grossman – whose works have been translated into numerous languages, including French, English, and Italian – states that “while he refused for years to use this term,” he can no longer “avoid using it” to describe the situation in the Gaza Strip.
He asserts that he has a duty to “observe what is happening before [his] eyes, with immense pain and a broken heart.” And this, even if the term “genocide” is “overwhelming,” because “once pronounced, it only grows like an avalanche, and it brings more destruction and suffering.” “I want to speak as a person who has done everything they could not to have to call Israel a genocidal state,” continues the 71-year-old Israeli pacifist left-wing activist.
According to him, “the curse of Israel originates from the occupation of the Palestinian territories in 1967.” “We became very strong militarily and we fell into the temptation generated by our absolute power and the idea that we can do anything [...] The occupation has corrupted us,” he laments.
“Dealing with a real state”
David Grossman then tells the Italian daily that he is “deeply attached to the idea of two states, mainly because [he sees] no alternative.” He adds: “It will be complex and both Palestinians and we will have to behave in a politically mature manner in the face of the inevitable attacks. But there is no other plan.”
In the rest of the interview, the Israeli writer also commends Emmanuel Macron's recent announcement that France would recognize the State of Palestine in September. “A good idea,” judges David Grossman, who states that he does not understand “the hysteria” triggered in Israel by this declaration. For Benjamin Netanyahu in particular, Emmanuel Macron's decision “rewards terror” and constitutes an existential threat to Israel.
On the contrary, for the writer, “dealing with a real state, with real obligations, and not an ambiguous entity like the Palestinian Authority, may have its advantages.” But this recognition, which goes against the current Israeli government, must be “subject to very precise conditions”: “No weapons,” and “guarantees of transparent elections,” he concludes.
Source : Libération, 01/08/25