Turkey-Based Academic Sami Al-Arian: Afghans, Iraqis, And Others Have Suffered More Than The Palestinians; Our Cause Is Not To Establish A Palestinian State But To Dismantle Israel

Turkey-based Kuwaiti-Palestinian academic Sami Al-Arian said in a July 30, 2023 interview on Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) that the Palestinian cause is not about establishing a Palestinian state, but rather about dismantling Israel and uprooting Zionism from the region. He said that foreign influence does not allow democracy to take hold in the region and that the "greatest blow" to this foreign influence would be to "dismantle" the State of Israel. Al-Arian said that Israel seeks to keep the entire region divided and subjugated and that whoever dismantles Israel will get to decide what will come next. He added that this would also save Judaism because "Zionism has changed the meaning of Judaism", and it is important to keep the Jews religious "rather than aggressors."

Sami Al-Arian, a former professor at the University of South Florida, was a political activist in the U.S. and was invited to the White House several times during both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush's administrations. In 2015. Al-Arian was deported to Turkey following criminal proceedings involving links to Palestinian terror groups.

Sami Al-Arian: "In my view, democracy will not be allowed in our region, before the foreign influence is uprooted. There is a veto on democracy, and it is not allowed in our region. Therefore, until Western and foreign influence is expunged from our region, democracy will not be allowed to be practiced."

Interviewer: "So this conflict is deeply rooted."

Al-Arian: "It is deeply rooted, essential, and pertains to our very existence."

Interviewer: "But Israel exists and it spearheads this [Western] enterprise which is no longer foreign. It has become part of the region."

Al-Arian: "Therefore, I believe that uprooting of this Western, foreign, influence will culminate in the dismantling of the State of Israel. In my view, the Palestinian cause is not about creating a [Palestinian] state, like everybody says. It is not about a one-state solution of a two-state solution. The Palestinian cause has to do with the very presence of Zionism in the region.

"Therefore, our greatest strategic goal... In the meantime, we can take [smaller] steps, but greatest strategic goal is to dismantle the State of Israel, which means uprooting Zionism from Palestine. This would be the greatest blow to foreign influence.

[...]

"Our problem with the Jews is not a religious problem. This should be understood and beyond debate. I have no problem with a person being Jewish. He can stay here, live with me, and I will protect him, no problem. It is not a problem in terms of Islamic jurisprudence – neither in the past, nor in the present. For me, the problem is that they are aggressors.

[...]

"Israel wants to keep the entire region divided, subjugated, weak, exhausted. This is the danger of Israel, and this is why Palestine is so important – not because the suffering of the Palestinians. Let me tell you, the Syrians, Afghans, Yemenis, Iraqis, and Libyans have suffered more than the Palestinians.

"The importance of Palestine has nothing to do with the Palestinians. It has to do with the nature of the enemy. The enemy does not want this nation and this region to be advanced and united and play a pioneering role.

[...]

"Honestly, I do not care about whether it is a one-state or a two-state solution. Whoever dismantles the State of Israel will get to decide what will come next. This way, I am saving Judaism, by the way because Zionism has changed the meaning if Judaism. I will not throw Jews into the sea, as part of my struggle. It is my responsibility to keep them religious Jews rather than Jewish aggressors.

"In other words, if Europe does not accept the Jews because of its racism and fascism, they are welcome to come to us, but they can have no sovereignty or country and they cannot live in Palestine, and take away [our] holy places. They can come to us – anywhere from Tangier to Jakarta – and love wherever they like. They can come as immigrants and live like citizens."

Interviewer: "Like the Jews lived in Islamic countries, and the last example is the Ottoman state."