Fintan Drury on his new book 'Genocide: Sponsoring the Destruction of Palestine'
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Pat Kenny Show. With Timber Living Log Cabins. Saturday and Sunday from 10am. On Newstalk. Conversation that counts.
After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace, a land and a region that will live, God willing, in peace for all eternity.
And that was Donald Trump, not recently, but on the 13th of October 2025 in an address to the Knesset. And it's an important date. And that speech is an important aspect of a new book, which is called Genocide, Sponsoring the Destruction of Palestine. And it's written by Fintan Drury. And it's a companion piece to his original book about Gaza and Palestine, which was called Catastrophe, Nakba 2.
What prompted Fintan Drury to write Genocide: Sponsoring the Destruction of Palestine?
Fintan is with me now in the studio. Fintan, good morning. You say this book is written through the prism of that date. Explain.
It was just a few days after that speech was delivered to the Knesset that I was doing some further research on what I was hoping to do, which was to look in more detail at the West's complicity and in some cases the sponsorship of the genocide, which I had referred to in a little bit of detail in the first book, but which I really wanted to investigate more thoroughly. And I came across a news report I had known of Trump's trip on the 13th of October, but I came across a news report that had a number of clips or a number of quotes from his speech, including the one that you've just played. And, you know, I'm a cynical old hack. I was stunned. I was stunned even by his standards, by the language.
I was stunned by the inappropriateness of it, given that he was in close proximity to Gaza, where there were 60 billion tons of rubble and at least 100,000 people dead already. And that yet again, yes, this was a piece in inverted commas plan that he was bringing forward, that the president of the United States was bringing forward. And every single president of the United States that has attempted to do so has done so through the prism of Israel and through Israel's interests and has been fronted by Israel's interests. But as I read more, I realized that actually this was different. This was completely different because essentially what he was doing was airbrushing Israel. In his speech, he was airbrushing out the Palestinians.
There is one reference in his one hour and four minutes of speech, of his speech in the Knesset. There is one reference to the Palestinian people where he refers to the need for them to lay down their arms as if they're the aggressor and the sole competent here. lay down their arms, and if they embrace peace, they can look forward to a return to the basics of life. Meantime, throughout his speech, he refers to a new economic boon in Gaza. billions and billions of dollars coming in from the United States, from rich Arab states, to support the rebuilding of Gaza. And he portrays Gaza in the future similarly to what he had done when he was first in office, where he talked about the potential for a Riviera of the Middle East.
How did Donald Trump’s October 13 Knesset speech shape the book’s framing?
Now, some people might quibble with your title, genocide, but you offer compelling evidence that that's exactly what's been going on.
I think it's reasonable to quibble with it in the sense that it's a definite point being made in the title. The decision was made after consultation with the publishers because what we wanted to do was be accurate in the title of the book. And those who quibble say, but there has been no such legal ruling. And there hasn't been because, as everybody knows, to... to get to a point where there can be a definitive ruling on genocide takes many years. But what there has been is a decision by the court that there is a plausible case of genocide. That, plus the manner in which Trump on that day, and others, not just in the United States, but other leaders, have talked up the future of a greater and bigger Israel, gave us confidence
Confidence that this was something that was appropriate and accurate. And I do think the point is that throughout his speech, as you will have seen from reading it, I'm sure, is that he essentially tells the Israelis that today is a day to celebrate.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:57
2
What prompted Fintan Drury to write Genocide: Sponsoring the Destruction of Palestine?
0:57–3:19
3
How did Donald Trump’s October 13 Knesset speech shape the book’s framing?
3:19–7:20
4
Why does Fintan argue the Knesset speech was ‘airbrushing’ Palestinians and Israel?
7:20–15:52