Dominique Vidal: Gaza, Israeli propaganda, media and the failure of French diplomacy

Oumma receives one of the strongest, most experienced and most enlightening voices on the Middle East: Dominique Vidal. Historian, journalist and eminent specialist in the region, he is one of those rare experts who know in depth the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, its actors, its ruptures and its continuities. Author of numerous works, several of which are references on the subject, he brings expertise nourished by several decades of work, research and analysis.

A skill that has become all the more valuable as it is paradoxically little in demand on major television sets. And that’s unfortunate. Because at a time when 24-hour news channels give considerable space to omnipresent editorialists, polemicists and sometimes self-proclaimed “experts” whose knowledge of the Middle East appears approximate to say the least, the words of true specialists like Dominique Vidal deserve to be heard much more. Even more serious: some of these so-called experts no longer content themselves with analyzing events, but relay, without any real critical perspective, the elements of language of the Israeli government, to the point that their interventions sometimes resemble more of a propaganda exercise in favor of Israel than serious work of information and analysis.

In this interview given to Oumma, he provides a straightforward analysis of the war in Gaza, French policy, the media treatment of the conflict, Israeli propaganda and the decline in support for Benyamin Netanyahu in part of Western opinion. A documented, historical and deeply political look, which contrasts with the hot comments and certainties asserted daily on the sets.

Gaza: “I used the term genocide very early on”

On Gaza, Dominique Vidal fully assumes the use of the word “genocide”. He recalls having used this term very early, given the level of violence exerted against the Palestinian population and the declarations of Israeli officials announcing the deprivation of water, electricity and food.

For the historian, these remarks are not simple slip-ups: they reflect a political logic which, according to him, allows us to speak of a genocidal project.

France: diplomacy without direction

Dominique Vidal is particularly critical of Emmanuel Macron. What he criticizes the French president is not only this or that decision, but above all the absence of a clear line.

In his eyes, Paris is moving forward through hesitations, reversals and contradictions. He contrasts this fluctuating policy with a French diplomacy that was once more readable, quoting Jacques Chirac in particular. He also denounces the way in which certain accusations, notably that of “apology of terrorism”, have been used against activists or supporters of the Palestinian cause. For him, certain people prosecuted had only expressed positions long defended by French diplomacy itself.

Western media far from uniform

Dominique Vidal, however, does not put all French media in the same bag. If he considers certain coverage to be deeply biased, he emphasizes that other editorial staff have gradually evolved in the face of the magnitude of the facts. He cites in particular The World and also salutes journalists who try to resist political and editorial pressure.

According to him, “Hasbara”, the Israeli communication strategy, no longer manages to impose its narrative as before. The images from Gaza, but also from Lebanon and the West Bank, have profoundly changed the perception of the conflict in part of international opinion.

In the United States, support for Netanyahu is cracking

For Dominique Vidal, the most important change is undoubtedly occurring in the United States. He observes a growing distance from Benjamin Netanyahu, first among some American Jews, then among Democrats and now even in certain Republican sectors.

A development that he considers profound, even if he refuses to predict how far it could go.

West Bank: when the word “pogrom” takes hold

Dominique Vidal also discusses the violence committed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. He underlines the extent to which the vocabulary used in Israel itself has evolved. The term “pogrom”, historically associated with anti-Jewish violence in Eastern Europe, is now used by certain Israeli media and observers to describe attacks against Palestinians.

For the historian, this evolution of language is not trivial. It reveals an awareness even in part of Israeli society of the seriousness of the violence perpetrated against the Palestinians.

“Equal rights must be the starting point”

On the political future of the conflict, Dominique Vidal finally refuses to lock himself into the classic alternative between one or two States. Two states, a common state, a confederation: several scenarios remain possible. But for him, the prerequisite lies elsewhere. The only truly unavoidable basis is that of equal rights between Palestinians and Israelis, whether Jews, Muslims or Christians. And above all, he insists, it is not up to Western observers to decide for the peoples concerned.

A conviction thus runs through the entire interview: no lasting solution can emerge without political justice, without equality and without full recognition of the rights of the Palestinians.