The Banality of Evil
In her seminal book Eichmann in Jerusalem. A report on the Banality of Evil, Hannah Arendt described the court case of Adolf Eichmann, one of the main organisers of the Jewish Holocaust that took place during World War II. Six million Jews were systematically killed, almost entirely by Germans, between the years 1939–45. In the elite SS (Storm Troopers), Eichmann was a Lieutenant Colonel. Despite achieving such a high rank, throughout his court trail he exonerated himself as a simple bureaucrat with a desk job, who meekly carried out what his superiors demanded. After the war he fled to Argentina where he was subsequently hunted down and captured by the Mossad (Israel’s Intelligence Agency) and spirited to Jerusalem, where he would face legal justice. Similarly, the German Nazi Brass during their International trial in Nuremberg, Germany, claimed that they were not guilty as they only followed orders. Suddenly nobody had any agency in the actions they perpetrated. Arendt, observing the utterly remorseless behaviour of Eichmann during his trial, came up with the term; ‘Banality of Evil’.
Following their traumatic experiences during World War ll, Jews made a collective pledge that “lt would never be allowed to happen a second time”. “Never Again!“. How wrong was everyone when on the 7th of October 2023, Gazans invaded Israel and carried out the most heinous crimes in a single day against the Jews since 1939-45. While the Germans during WW II did their best to cover up their nefarious deeds, the Hamas (Party in control of Gaza) terrorists (also known as the Qassam Brigades), did the opposite. They wanted to commit to immortality their bestiality, filming depravity as if it was a cause for pride. On that day hundreds of young people from Israel were out enjoying themselves at the Nova Music Festival. They were amongst the first to be targeted by Hamas, who came down on the festival using motorised paragliders and mowed down with machine guns anyone within their reach. Women were subjected to gang rape before being shot. The attacks on the nearby Kibbutzim (collective communities) were equally cruel. Knives and machetes were used as well as firearms. Toddlers and children got murdered. As were their parents. Entire families got burned alive in their houses. A CCTV video and terrorist’s body camera shows a father trying to protect his two sons but a Hamas operative throws a grenade and kills him. One of the boys with blood streaming out of his eye screams that he also wants to die. Instead the terrorist calmly walks over to the fridge, opens it, picks a Coca Cola and drinks it. The depths of this diabolical massacre is best illustrated by a Gazan who animatedly makes a phone call to his family and he excitedly shouts to his father to also get his mother as he wanted to let them know that he had killed ten Jews. All by himself. Women in Gaza joyously handed out cakes and candy as a sign of victory. A scene that was screened around the world shows Israelis, lying in a pickup in Gaza and the populace spitting, and banging them with boards. In another video a bloodied and barefoot Israeli woman, Naama Levy, with hands tied behind her back is roughly bundled into a jeep. Then, there’s the image of a frightened Jewish boy being prodded and beaten with sticks by Gazan children. But the most ‘lconic’ images from that day are those of the abducted Bibas family. A terrified mother, Shiri, is clutching to her bosom her 9-month baby Kfir and 4-year son Ariel, both red haired. She clearly doesn’t know if this is their end, or beginning of something worse. The most horrific videos have not been made public as they are too graphic when it comes to the violence and barbarity depicted in them.
In all 1069 Israelis were killed and 70 foreigners, 630 people hospitalised and 1370 nursing injuries. 251 persons were abducted and this included the bodies of the dead, a hallmark of the macabre nature of Hamas. And this happened in one day.
In what way did the majority of the world react to all of this is equally telling, best epitomised by reactions on USA campuses. Dr. David Hirsh commented on this; “They glorified, denied, trivialised and victim blamed”. While the orgy of killing was still ongoing, Russel Rickford, a history lecturer at Cornell University, celebrated these atrocities as “exhilarating” and “energising”. When professors are debased it’s no wonder that their poison seeps deep into the minds of impressionable young people. Soon thousands marched all across the Western World waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Free, free Palestine, from the river to the sea”. Most of them, when asked by the Press had no idea which river or sea they were referring to. Equally they did not understand they were calling for the erasure of an entire nation. Printed placards and flags were mass produced from the same blueprint and it did not matter whether it was in Sydney or London. These marches were obviously centrally controlled and funded, not spontaneous as the public would be made to believe. At that stage the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) had as yet to fully mobilise to enter Gaza.
How can humans be conditioned to display savagery towards others? Yahya Sinwar who was the main mastermind of October 7th, was paradoxically saved years earlier by top Israeli surgeons when he developed brain cancer and was completely healed. Quite a number of Kibbutzim residents would regularly pick up Gazans at the border and drive them to some of the most advanced hospitals in the world, which are in Israel. They were convinced that by being at the forefront of building personal relationships, bonds of friendship would go a long way towards creating a peaceful environment. Others were employed in the Kibbutzim and treated like family. Instead, numerous Gazan employees made detailed plans of the places they worked in, for use during the attack. As a reward for their kindness, employers were brutally murdered, even though a majority of them lived as avowed pacifists. It’s not precise to place all the outrageous acts at the feet of Hamas alone, as other militant groups also followed in their wake, as well as thousands of civilians on a looting spree.
The German anti-Hitlerian pastor Martin Niemoller, famously said that those who keep silent in the face of blatant injustice are complicit in it. Did many raise their voices? Once again this was a litmus test for humanity. And most of it was left wanting. ls what we are witnessing a part of an existential showdown between Civilisations? On one hand an affirmation of life while on the other a subjugation to death by any means. When the conscience of a people is subsumed in ideologies of hatred, where the ‘other’ is demonised on a daily basis, they are desensitised to the extent that they no longer see in front of them another human being. At that moment anything and everything is made possible. Each monstrosity is justified. Evil becomes a mere banality.
(Hat tip to Hannah Arendt and Douglas Murray)
