'Pirates and Emperors' by Noam Chomsky
“St. Augustine tells the story of a pirate captured by Alexander the
Great. "How dare you molest the sea?" asked Alexander. "How dare you
molest the whole world?" the pirate replied. "Because I do it with a
little ship only, I am called a thief; you, doing it with a great
navy, are called an emperor."[1]
This extract from Noam Chomsky’s book ‘Pirates and Emperors’
highlights the relativity of terms and labels, showing how different
viewpoints result in different interpretations of the same incident.
Chomsky uses the passage to discuss terrorism in its most literal
sense as referring
“…to the threat or the use of violence to intimidate or coerce
(generally for political ends), whether it is the wholesale terrorism
of the emperor or the retail terrorism of the thief.” [2]
To discuss the existence and morality of ‘retail’ and ‘wholesale’
terrorism using the above definition, the very cogent example of
Israel will be used, firstly, to discuss its roots in pre-1948 action
against the British in order to set a framework for comparison with
present day Israeli actions and the reactions it faces as a result, in
the Occupied territories of the Palestinians.
Palestinian military activity is quickly dismissed by Israeli media
and politicians alike as terrorism, but using the same formula, the
innumerable Israeli campaigns cannot be classed as anything short of
state terrorism for example the use of F-16s and Apache helicopters to
bomb Palestinian townships or the bulldozing of refugee camps.
The essay seeks to explore the morality of...
... middle of paper ...
...ovember 3 2000, Accessed 15 March 2005 from
http://www.phrusa.org/research/forensics/israel/Israel_force_2.html
[18] Marcus, J, ‘The politics of Israel’s security’, International
Affairs 65(2) 1989,
[19] Beaumont, P, ‘A Nation Made For War’, News Statesman, November 19
2001, p.32.
[20] Begin, M, Revolt, p. 60.
[21] Rantisi. AA et al, ‘Interviews from Gaza: What Hamas Wants’,
Middle East Policy 9( 4), 2002, 105.
[22] For an eyewitness account see Reynier, J.D. ‘Deir Yasin’ in
Khalidi. W. (eds) From Haven To Conquest : readings in Zionism and the
Palestine problem until 1948 (Beirut : Institute for Palestine
Studies, 1971)
[23] Begin, Revolt, p. 59.
[24] Counterpunch, ‘The crimes of Ariel Sharon’, Counterpunch,
February 7, 2001 accessed March 15 from
http://www.counterpunch.org/sharon.html
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