Original Sin with an acknowledgement: “I was shocked by the brutality of Hamas’s attack but not surprised by the attack itself.” How long could Israel sustain the status quo? Or, perhaps more crucially, how long could Palestinians endure the occupation in silence?
More than a historical account, Original Sin is a masterfully argued, analytical exploration of why “history did not begin on October 7” as the author dissects the cyclical violence of the region. Johny’s analysis is richly textured, seamlessly interweaving his observations and on-ground experience from years before and in the fraught months following October 7. The result is a sobering, incisive examination of why the region remains ensnared in its “Original Sin.”
Hamas’s October 7 was not merely a moment of rupture but a watershed event—one that crystallised decades of simmering tensions, entrenched occupation, and cyclical violence. Through his many visits to Palestinian territories, he brings to life the heart-rending realities of daily existence under Israeli rule, painting a portrait of a people whose fate is dictated by a vast engineered apparatus of control.
The book opens with a striking firsthand account of his 2018 journey from Ramallah to Tel Aviv. He details the Israeli military checkpoints that punctuated the journey. For the ordinary Palestinian, this is not an isolated experience but a daily sentence, an existence shaped by turnstiles, permits, interrogations, and the gaze of occupation.
Johny dissects the geopolitics of West Asia with razor-sharp clarity and a flawless command of historical and strategic depth. His examination of the so-called ‘axis of resistance,’ comprising Iran, Hezbollah, and various other actors, offers a nuanced understanding of how these forces operate within the broader architecture of regional politics.
At the heart of his analysis lies Iran, a power whose influence, Johny argues, has metastasised across West Asia like a ‘strategic octopus,’ its tentacles extending into Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. He details how Tehran, once marginalised, has transformed itself into a formidable force, leveraging its alliances with Hezbollah, the Houthis, and various militias to challenge both Israel and American interests.
However, Johny’s mastery of geopolitical currents does not come at the expense of historical rigour. He meticulously traces the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict from 1948, charting how successive military engagements—whether in 1956, 1967, or 1973—saw Israel not only repel Arab forces but also expand its territorial control at the expense of Palestinian sovereignty.
His ability to seamlessly shift between multiple perspectives provides an invaluable lens through which to understand the motivations and calculations of each player shaping this intractable conflict. Johny details how Israel’s response to October 7 was not merely an act of retaliation but an extension of a long-standing policy of collective punishment, executed with unprecedented intensity. He lays out the countless statements made by Israeli leaders, military officials, and cultural figures—statements that effectively normalised the exterminatory rhetoric directed at Gaza.
From political figures openly advocating for ‘erasing’ entire neighbourhoods to media personalities justifying the mass starvation of civilians, demonstrating how the language of annihilation has become embedded in Israeli discourse. Yet, his analysis does not remain confined to the immediacy of war; instead, he zooms out to examine the broader historical patterns that have shaped Israeli decision-making.
Israel, despite its overwhelming military and diplomatic superiority, has only ever made territorial concessions under external pressure and, crucially, in response to Palestinian resistance. He substantiates this claim with historical precedent—pointing to the 1957 Suez Crisis when international backlash forced Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza; the looming spectre of Egyptian military action in the 1970s; the first intifada; and the second intifada, which, despite its human toll, compelled Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza.
Johny’s interrogation of these historical moments is not meant to romanticise resistance or endorse violence but rather to expose the lopsided reality of power in the region. He lays bare the essential asymmetry of the Israel-Palestine question: one side engages in negotiations and geopolitics from the vantage point of an established nation-state, backed by military power and diplomatic leverage, while the other is forced to plead for recognition, trapped in a political limbo where their national identity is treated as a matter of contention rather than an inherent right.
The continued denial of Palestinian statehood ensures not only the perpetuation of political instability but also the inevitability of resistance—whether through violent or non-violent means. The idea that Palestinians should simply accept their stateless condition as a permanent reality while Israel expands its settlements and entrenches its occupation is not just morally untenable but politically unsustainable.
Any discourse that seeks to frame the conflict in neutral terms as a ‘dispute’ between two equal sides obscures the fundamental reality that one person is fighting to maintain the privileges of statehood while the other is struggling for the right to have rights in the first place.
A particularly intriguing dimension of Johny’s analysis is his exploration of India’s evolving stance. Historically, India has been one of the most vocal supporters of the Palestinian cause, tracing its solidarity back to the anti-colonial era. Yet, in recent years, the country’s policy has undergone a significant shift. The author meticulously examines the internal tensions within India’s foreign policy establishment. The violence bred by such conditions has often spared no one.
Johny’s decision to highlight Vivian Silver’s story amid the horrors of Hamas’s 2023 terror attack is particularly striking. A Canadian-Israeli peace activist who had long documented Israeli crimes, Silver was not shielded from the brutality of that day.
The myth of impunity—the belief that Israel could continue its occupation without international backlash—has now been challenged. This, Johny argues, is the true “revenge of Old West Asia.”
The “Revenge of Old West Asia” is not about a single event but the inevitable return of a question long buried but never resolved. The ghosts of history do not rest, nor does the question of Palestine. And so, Johny reminds us, if history did not begin on October 7, neither will it end with the current carnage or genocide.
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