The 1979 Jerusalem conference reframed Palestinian armed resistance as terrorism

Evidence

The conference, held in Jerusalem, was organized by the Jonathan Institute, then headed by Benjamin Netanyahu. In his opening remarks at the conference, Netanyahu’s father Benzion sought to project Israel’s enemies—Palestinians who had taken up armed struggle for self-determination—as “terrorists” and to rally the rest of the world around the struggle against “terrorism.” The terrorist, Benzion continued, “speaks of ‘humanitarian’ and national causes, he pretends to fight for ‘freedom’ against oppression, he keeps speaking of ‘legitimate rights.’” To counter this, he argued that this terrorist actually has “no moral restraints” and “respects no code of law.” Instead, he belongs in the same camp as the Nazis: “In his genocidal attitude he takes toward the societies he assails, whether it is Ireland, Lebanon, or Israel, he is an offshoot of Nazi philosophy.” This equation of Arabs and later Muslims with the Nazis has a long history in Israel. … This conference was a response to various resolutions that were passed by the UN General Assembly that legitimated the use of armed struggle in ending colonialism and that validated Palestinian self-determination. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 453

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s MOC thread on how ‘the terrorist’ label historically launders imperial violence into self-defense — the conference inverts who counts as terrorist. — connects to: Israeli-organized conferences shaped the racialized terrorism narrative; The 1979 Jonathan Institute conference branded Palestinians as terrorists with Islam barely mentioned — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 453; Israeli anti-terrorism conferences framed Palestinian resistance as Nazi-like terrorism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 395 (+4 more)
• DEFINE: Shows the rhetorical move of narrating the target’s ‘pretended’ freedom rhetoric so its claims need no rebuttal — a template of enemy construction.

Broader Connections

• Israeli anti-terrorism conferences framed Palestinian resistance as Nazi-like terrorism #expands (0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 395
• The global war on terror ideology originated in Israeli religious-right domestic politics #expands (0.75) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 445
• US and Israeli conservatives jointly framed the global Arab terrorist threat #expands (0.75) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 237
• The 1984 conference fused Israeli, neocon, and Orientalist voices into a terrorism ideology #expands (0.72) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 443
• An intercivilizational quasi war between Islam and the West developed after 1979 #expands (0.72)