Imperialism has a long history of destruction and theft of cultural property, which has played a key role in realizing its genocidal intentions for imperialist purposes.
Consider, for example, the German colonial period. It is still unclear how many artifacts were brought to Europe during this period, many of which were brought by German troops. German museums hold more than 40,000 artifacts from Cameroonian territory, more than anywhere else in the world, and 6,000 artifacts were taken from Yaoundé, the Cameroonian capital. Also, the Nazi book burnings of 1933 were the deliberate destruction of literature contrary to National Socialist ideology.
The history of the Zionist state of Israel’s occupation of Palestine is also marked by the targeted eradication of cultural knowledge, such as the looting of books during the Nakba in 1948, and when Israeli archaeologists, under military protection, plundered the site of Deir el-Bala in the heart of the Gaza Strip in the 1970s and 1980s. Canaanite artefacts dating back more than 3,000 years were brought to Israel and are still on display in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, serving Zionist purposes.
According to the Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh, since October 7, 2023, with the help of US and German weapons, at least 60 percent of all culturally significant sites in Gaza have been destroyed or severely damaged. This includes religious sites, monuments, museums, archaeological excavations, etc. Additionally, numerous educational institutions, archives, libraries, and contemporary art venues have also been affected.
In a report on Israeli damage to archives, libraries and museums in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Association of Librarians and Archivists stressed that the amount of unreported destruction of cultural property is likely to be high as a result of the brutal bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Screenshots of two Instagram stories from Eli Ekozid, director general of the Israel Antiquities Authority: the first shows an IDF soldier in an archaeological warehouse in the Gaza Strip, and the second shows a display case inside the Knesset that displays archaeological finds from the Gaza Strip.
For example, at the end of November, the Gaza City Archives was completely destroyed by Israeli shelling, along with thousands of documents dating back more than 150 years that documented Gaza City’s historically significant buildings and more. On November 25, 2023, the Tamari Sabbagh Library was destroyed. In addition to hundreds of Palestinians who had taken refuge in the library building, tens of thousands of books also fell victim to Israeli bombing. Also at the end of November, the Gaza City Library was destroyed by Israeli air strikes.
Gaza is rich in archaeological sites, which are an important source of information on the region’s history and provide global context. The oldest ruins date back to antiquity. For example, in the Greek city of Antedon, about two kilometers north of the Gaza port, all that remains are pits dug in the ground, according to Palestinian archaeologist Fadel Al-Otl. This is just one of at least 200 archaeological sites that have been completely destroyed by Israeli air strikes.
Gaza’s oldest mosque, the 7th-century Omari Mosque, along with a collection of manuscripts dating back to the 14th century, was also almost completely destroyed on December 8, 2023. An Israeli attack on the Church of St. Porphyrius, built in the early 5th century, killed at least 16 people and injured many who had taken shelter in the building.
The Shababeek Contemporary Art Center, the last contemporary art center in the Gaza Strip, was completely destroyed in an Israeli attack on Al-Shifa Hospital in April, destroying more than 20,000 works by contemporary Palestinian artists. It was one of the most important meeting points and exhibition venues in the region.
Art therapy programmes for psychological responses to the war and occupation have always been part of the centre, and one of its co-founders, artist Basel El Maqousi, now lives in a tent in Rafah, running art workshops for women and children.
On January 18 of this year, Israeli forces deliberately blew up Al-Isra University and the National Museum, which housed more than 3,000 archaeological artifacts. After a video was released in January showing the Israeli army looting archaeological artifacts, Eli Escozid, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, posted photos of some of the looted artifacts on Instagram, which were subsequently put on display in the Knesset.
“This is a deep humiliation to the Palestinian people and is reminiscent of colonial practices, when stolen artifacts were proudly displayed as booty in government buildings, national museums and the private chambers of the empire. History and current figures show that the destruction of cultural property is never collateral damage, but a targeted, historically proven and established tactic. The purpose of the removal and destruction of culturally significant materials is the destruction of historical knowledge, the application of psychological torture and humiliation, and an attempted sustained erasure of cultural memory.
The tens of thousands of victims of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians and the widespread destruction of their infrastructure, as well as the massive and irreparable destruction of their cultural heritage, show that appeals to the ruling classes will not produce any results. As an effective weapon of war, the destruction or deprivation of historical materials allows the occupying power to win against them not only militarily but also culturally, depriving the victims of its war of annihilation of their history and therefore of any possibility of lasting reconstruction.
The aim of the imperialist countries and the Israeli government is to exterminate or expel the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip for geopolitical purposes. Only by building an international mass movement of workers and students opposed to war and fascism, guided by a socialist perspective, can the ongoing genocide and the accompanying destruction of cultural heritage be stopped.
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