‘Israeli Society Has Become Completely Genocidal' - B'Tselem Head Yuli Novak

Quick Overview

Yuli Novak, Executive Director of B'Tselem, asserts that Israeli society has become completely genocidal due to a deeply instilled blindness fostered by growing up under apartheid, necessitating a fundamental regime shift in the political system.

Key Points: Yuli Novak describes growing up in what she now understands as apartheid, which instilled a blindness that led Israeli society to become what she views as "completely genocidal." B'Tselem, Israel's leading human rights organization, recently labeled Israel's actions as genocide, a step that required significant conceptual and security groundwork because it puts Israeli and Palestinian staff at risk. Novak's political journey involved realizing that trying to fix the system from within was impossible after B'Tselem decided to stop filing complaints within the Israeli legal system around 2014/2015 due to the facade of legality and resulting impunity. The experience of leading Breaking the Silence, which collected testimonies about the occupation, culminated in a nationwide smear campaign after they published a report on the 2014 Gaza operation, which killed over 500 children. Novak compares her experience leaving Zionism to leaving a paradigm like heterosexuality, noting that Zionism acts as limiting glasses, and recognizing the system as a regime of occupation, not just a state with an occupation, was a profound shift. Novak's journey to understanding apartheid was catalyzed by a trip to South Africa, where meeting Afrikaners helped her deeply understand how the system works on the mind of the 'superior group' by fostering a belief in being the 'only democracy'. B'Tselem's genocide report aims to challenge the Israeli narrative that the conflict began on October 7th by explaining that genocide is a process enabled by decades of settler-colonial apartheid.

Context: The interview features Simone Zimmerman speaking with Yuli Novak, the Executive Director of B'Tselem, Israel's leading human rights organization, which was the first in Israel to label the state's actions as genocide. Novak previously directed the group Breaking the Silence, composed of former Israeli soldiers who testify about violence in the occupied territories. The discussion centers on Novak's painful personal and political journey away from Zionism, how growing up under what she calls apartheid shaped her worldview, and the rationale behind B'Tselem's decision to use the term 'genocide' regarding the situation in Gaza.