"Golda Meir’s comments were and remain inflammatory, as they contribute to the effort to erase Palestinians and their identity. Rather than try to explain away her remarks or whitewash them, Mr. Levine should face them plainly and make clear their unacceptability."
October 6, 2023
Allan Levine’s adulatory column — on the “courage” of Israeli soldiers during the 1973 Arab–Israeli War and the “tough” and “humble” Golda Meir — makes an odd claim about what Palestinian scholar Edward Said described ironically as “her most celebrated remark.” Mr. Levine explains that Meir’s 1969 comment that “there was no such thing as Palestinians” is taken out of context and instructs the reader to see Wikipedia for evidence.
Indeed, after looking at the complete transcript, the quote is even more alarming. Meir added that Palestinians “did not exist.” Her whole argument mirrors the infamously inaccurate pronouncement that Palestine was “A land without a people for a people without a land.”
Palestinians existed. Full stop. Despite existential threats, they still do.
Golda Meir’s comments were and remain inflammatory, as they contribute to the effort to erase Palestinians and their identity. Rather than try to explain away her remarks or whitewash them, Mr. Levine should face them plainly and make clear their unacceptability. Echoes of Meir’s quote continue in Israel as far-right Israeli politicians clamour to suppress Palestinian national rights today.
Jason Toney
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
Address: 580 Sainte-Croix, Suite 060, Montreal, QC H4l 3X5
T: 438-380-5410
C: 438-530-6567