The Qibya blueprint – Zionism at work in 1953

JVL Introduction

Liberal Zionists, appalled at what has happened in Gaza, blame it on Netanyahu and the extremists who have captured and corrupted the “real” Israel.

Not so, argues US-based  activist Raphael Mimoun.

To make his point he describes the cold-blooded massacre at Qibya on 14th October 1953 carried out by an IDF unit commanded by the young Ariel Sharon, which left 69 dead, mainly women and children.

It was a revenge and deterrence attack, rooted in Ben Gurion’s announcement in April 1949 that Palestinians who had fled their villages in the war would never be allowed back. It simply shredded UN General Assembly Resolution 194 which supported right of return.

As Moshe Dayan, soon to be Chief of the General Staff of the IDF had made clear in 1950 already: “The method of collective punishment has up till now demonstrated its effectiveness.”

As Mimoun says:

“Qibya was not the first nor the last massacre committed by Israel in those years. But  it was the first time that mass murder had been perpetrated by Israel’s official armed forces following an explicit order from the political leaders of the state.”

It was also a turning point in Jewish relations to Israel. US Jews, initially appalled at the massacre, began to rally in defence of Israel laying the foundations of what was to become Aipac and the US pro-Israel lobby we know today.

This article was originally published by Vashti on Wed 24 Jun 2026. Read the original here.