The End of Zionism? Seven Takeaways from Floodgate’s Interview with Prof. Al-Arian

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐢 𝐚𝐥-𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐳𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰. (𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧: 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞)

In a compelling episode of the FloodGate podcast on Wednesday, March 5, Dr. Ramzy Baroud—Palestinian intellectual, journalist, and editor of The Palestine Chronicle—features Professor Sami Al-Arian, a prominent Palestinian scholar, human rights activist, and director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Zaim University.

The conversation delves into the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, the geopolitical dynamics of the conflict, and the role of key players like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump.

Professor Al-Arian provides a critical analysis of Israel’s military failures, the resilience of Palestinian resistance, and the broader implications for the future of Zionism and Palestine.

The discussion also explores the ceasefire negotiations, the erosion of Israeli military doctrines, and the enduring struggle for Palestinian rights under international law.

𝟏. 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩’𝐬 𝐏𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞

Netanyahu and his government were unwilling to stop the war, aiming to achieve their political and military objectives in Gaza, according to Professor Al-Arian.

“Netanyahu and his fascist government did not want to stop this war. All along, they had this agreement in hand since at least last May, but they had always rejected it,” he said.

However, Trump, seeking to avoid inheriting the conflict, pressured Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire, marking a significant shift in the dynamics of the war.

=====
“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙥. 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙥, 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙧… 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙖𝙝𝙪, ‘𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙗.'”
=====

“Trump basically ordered Netanyahu to stop this war and embrace some sort of agreement… this agreement was available during Biden’s time, but Netanyahu reneged on it,” Al-Arian explained.

This, however, does not imply that Trump cares about the Palestinian people. To the contrary, according to Al-Arian, the U.S. president “gave (Netanyahu) this new doctrine that now you have a free hand to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians of Gaza.”

𝟐. 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐢 𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

According to Al-Arian, despite prolonged military efforts, Israel has failed to achieve its stated goals in Gaza, including defeating Hamas, freeing captives through force, and dislodging Hamas from power.

The only successes have come through negotiations, not military action.

“After 15 months of continuous war, all the objectives of the Israelis—to defeat, eradicate, eliminate, crush Hamas—they were not able to do that,” he said, adding:

“𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬—𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐬, 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐆𝐚𝐳𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬—𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬.”

“Despite 470 days of continuous genocide, war, and destruction, Israel could not achieve its goals,” Al-Arian concluded.

𝟑. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐒 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

Netanyahu is currently trying to prolong the first stage to recover more Israeli captives without committing to further negotiations or a permanent end to the war.

According to Al-Arian, “Netanyahu wanted to get as many hostages back as possible… but he needed the green light from the Americans, which Trump did not give.”

=====
“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡𝙞 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨, 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙞𝙙, 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙖𝙯𝙖, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚.”
=====

Al-Arian thinks that “Netanyahu was trying to convince Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, to accept his interpretation that he could ‘finish the job’ without committing to a full ceasefire.”

𝟒. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐚𝐰

Al-Arian reiterates that the Palestinian resistance is exercising its right to armed struggle under international law.

“The right to armed struggle, the right to military resistance, is enshrined and protected by international law,” he said.

The resistance’s strategic planning and execution on October 7 are, in his view, significant blows to Israeli military doctrines.

“What happened on October 7th was a complete surprise to (Israel)… they did not think the resistance was able to do what it did,” Al-Arian added.

=====
“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚’𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙊𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙧 7𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡’𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚.”
=====

𝟓. 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞

Professor Al-Arian explained how the ongoing war has disrupted regional geopolitical plans, particularly the normalization deals between Israel and Arab states like Saudi Arabia.

The Palestinian issue demonstrated that it remains central and cannot be bypassed in any regional order.

“October 7th destroyed the illusion that you can bypass the Palestinian issue… the Palestinians cannot be overlooked,” he said.

=====
“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙢, 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙯𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙊𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙧 7𝙩𝙝.”
=====

“Netanyahu stood before the United Nations with a map showing no Palestine… he boasted about Israel controlling the region, but October 7th shattered that vision,” Al-Arian added.

=====
“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙧𝙖𝙗 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨, 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞 𝘼𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙖, 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙊𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙧 7𝙩𝙝.”
=====

𝟔. 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐢 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐄𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

Even more important, in the eyes of Al-Arian, is the ability of the Palestinian resistance to undermine key Israeli military doctrines, including preemptive strikes, early warning systems, effective deterrence, strong defense, quick resolution, and escalation dominance.

“For the first time, the resistance launched a preemptive strike on Israel’s own land, military bases, and settlements,” Al-Arian said, explaining that the Israelis “were taken by surprise.”

“Despite all the escalation—bombings, assassinations, and massacres—the resistance did not surrender,” he also stated.

=====
“𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡’𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙… 470 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙖𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙣𝙤𝙣-𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙨.”
=====

Despite the killing of resistance leaders, Israel could not restore its deterrence.

𝟕. 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐙𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞

According to Al-Arian, the Zionist project is untenable in the long term due to demographic challenges, internal contradictions within Israeli society, and the persistent resistance of the Palestinian people.

In his view, the possibility of a one-state solution with equal rights for all is a potential future outcome.

“Zionism is a settler-colonial, racist, supremacist movement… it has failed to establish a Jewish majority in the land,” Al-Arian explained, adding that “after almost a century of Zionism, there are 7.1 million Jews and 7.2 million Palestinians between the river and the sea.”

=====
“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙙 𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜… 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙.”
=====

Moreover, “as long as the Palestinians resist, and as long as free people around the world support them, the Zionist experiment in Palestine will crumble.”

=====
“𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡’𝙨 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙋𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙂𝙖𝙯𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝘽𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙… 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚.”
=====

The demographic reality on the ground, with Palestinians outnumbering Jews in historic Palestine, “makes Zionism’s goals impossible to achieve.”