‘Destructive’ Israel leadership razed all hopes for peace: Stanford scientist Sapolsky

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) – Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and the “destructive” leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has wrecked any chance of peace in Palestine, according to famed American academic Robert Sapolsky.

Sapolsky, an eminent neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University, has dedicated years to his study of the intersectionality of racism, inequality, and persistent conflicts through the lenses of psychology and behavioral biology.

He once believed the Israel-Palestine issue could be resolved through talks and dialogue, but is now “pessimistic” about that possibility.

Netanyahu’s decisions and actions are driven by “emotional vengeance,” Sapolsky said in an interview with Anadolu, adding that “the International Criminal Court’s decision about him is justified.”

“And the strategic fact that when the war is over, he is facing criminal charges for corruption. The longer the war goes, the longer he can evade his day in court,” he said.

“What could be worse? He (Netanyahu) invokes a biblical precedent for genocide, and he has tremendous personal investment in this continuing, because he’s corrupt and he’s facing consequences when this is all over. You could not ask for a more destructive leader at this juncture.”

Sapolsky’s extensive study of neurobiology and history suggests that any path to true reconciliation is long and fraught with deep-seated historical grievances, with the death and destruction Israel has rained down on Gaza further exacerbating the challenge.

“It is going to require rebuilding the lives of 2 million people in Gaza. That is the starting point,” he emphasized.

However, he expressed skepticism about the emergence of visionary leaders capable of initiating transformative changes, “something as … extraordinary as (former Egyptian President Anwar) Sadat.”

Even if that happens, it would take “one or two generations for the two sides to realize they’re better off living with each other than not,” and possibly “three or four or 10 generations before they actually see each other as real people,” said Sapolsky.

- European colonialism

Reflecting on the historical context, Sapolsky said the roots of hatred and animosity were laid down by European colonialists.

He described the Israel-Palestine issue as “two underdogs being pitted against each other by European colonialism.”

“One of them is not an underdog anymore, but nonetheless the roots are still the same, that they were set up for hatred,” he said.

Drawing historical parallels, Sapolsky said the British colonialists inflicted similar brutalities other people around the world, particularly in Ireland, Africa and Asia.

The British “hated the Irish for 400 years,” a sentiment dating back to Roman times, and this deep-seated animosity, he argued, parallels what we see between Palestinians and Israelis.

“The Europeans ... came with a mindset already centuries old: that the people around you are really scary and really dangerous,” Sapolsky explained.

He criticized the way Palestinian land was occupied and given away by Britain, saying that intensified hostilities and entrenched a psychological barrier between the groups.

Despite the currently bleak outlook, Sapolsky cited examples of reconciliation from other conflict zones, such as Northern Ireland, but also emphasized that the Israel-Palestine dispute is far more complex.

“You can still see the olive grove that your grandfather had planted, and you still remember the stories of Hitler that your grandparents told you. This one cannot be solved easily,” he said.

- ‘For average Americans, history about four-and-a-half years old’

On the global student solidarity movement with Palestine, Sapolsky said young university students are rightly outraged by the suffering inflicted on Palestinians.

He criticized the indirect involvement of universities in the arms trade, drawing parallels to his own activism during the apartheid era in South Africa, where he protested for divestment from companies profiting from racial segregation and exploitation.

Despite their limited knowledge of history, these young Americans are moved by the ongoing injustices and “feeling somebody else’s pain,” he said.

Highlighting the ignorance of history prevalent in American culture, Sapolsky argued that many Americans are unaware of the circumstances that have shaped current events.

“For average Americans, history is about four-and-a-half years old,” he said.

This ignorance, he said, allows for a superficial understanding and often leads to misguided media narratives.

“The whole point of American power and American success is you don’t have to learn from history. You can forget history. You could change your name. You could take lessons on changing your accent. No one will ever know where you came from,” said Sapolsky.

“It’s not a culture that’s really big on history. It’s very happy to be quite ignorant about historical circumstances that made things what they are.”​​​​​​​