Is Israel fascist? That’s what we have to ask after publication of this article by NY Times journalist Nicholas Kristoff. It documents the systematic rape of Palestinian men, women and even children prisoners by Israeli soldiers and prison guards. Frankly, I started not to read it because I felt it would just be one more horror story of Israeli crimes against humanity, but I had to. Kristoff writes:

“Palestinians have recounted to me a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence against men, women and even children — by soldiers, settlers, interrogators in the Shin Bet internal security agency and, above all, prison guards….

“There is no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes. But in recent years they have built a security apparatus where sexual violence has become, as a United Nations report put it last year, one of Israel’s “standard operating procedures” and ‘a major element in the ill treatment of Palestinians.’….”

Here is a description of this “standard operating procedure”:
‘“They were all hitting me, and one stepped on my head and neck,” he said. “Someone pulled my pants down. They pulled down my boxers.” And then one of the guards pulled out a rubber baton used to beat prisoners.

“They were trying to force it into my rectum, and I was bracing myself to prevent it, but I couldn’t,” he said, speaking with increasing anxiety. “It was so painful.” The guards were laughing at him, he said. “Then I heard someone say, ‘Give me the carrots,’” he recalled, adding that they then used a carrot. “It was extremely painful,” he said. “I was praying for death.”

“Al-Sai was blindfolded, he said, and heard someone say in Hebrew, which he understands, “don’t take photos.” That suggested to him that someone had pulled out a camera. One of the guards was a woman who, he said, grabbed him by the penis and testicles, and joked, “these are mine,” and then squeezed until he screamed from pain.’”

As opposed to many others, I don’t use the term “fascist” lightly, but what other term applies? How does the behavior of these soldiers and guards differ from Nazi concentration camp guards? Nor is this just the aberrant behavior of a crazed few. Kristoff documents that this is the officially sanctioned behavior; it is government policy.

So you have widespread officially sanctioned fascist behavior.

On the other hand, Israel still has somewhat democratic elections and, more important, there still is a somewhat limited right to stage public protests. But the protests are regularly attacked by police.

One of the main protest groups is Israel’s “Peace Now”. I recently contacted them after seeing some of their protests. I wanted to interview one of them. Then I saw a message from one of them saluting another member for having a son who was allegedly defending Israel by serving in the Israeli army in Lebanon! On looking more closely, it seemed “Peace Now” is more of a loyal opposition than anything else.

So, to answer the question: It seems Israel is sliding towards fascism, but it isn’t there all the way… yet. Whether it will get there we don’t know, but the very fact that we can say so much is immensely significant.

What does that say about US politics, where support for Israel is still a matter of faith within all wings of bourgeois politics? Kristoff entitles his article The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians. If silence means assent, then all wings of US bourgeois politics is assenting to fascism in Israel. How will that affect US politics? Won’t assenting to Israeli fascism tend to lead towards strengthening fascistic tendencies in the United States?

No, the United States is not about to become fascist, but we’d better think about that question.