The Existential Threat to Israel

There really is an existential threat to Israel -- a threat to its very existence. The finger, however, needs to point in the right direction, at the policies of the Israeli government itself.

If we're getting down to fundamentals, let's look at the reason for the founding of the state of Israel. The number one reason, which is still invoked, was for the safety of the Jews. After the murderous Holocaust carried out by the Third Reich, the formerly minority position of Zionism in the Jewish community came to be accepted as the only way for Jews to survive. By all rights, a Jewish state could have been established in the Rhineland as partial reparations for the Holocaust. But it was more convenient for the west to go to a colonial territory -- and to describe Palestine as "a land without a people for a people without a land."

Sixty years later, Israel has been able to carve out a Jewish state with the infusion of massive western economic and military aid and virtually constant war against its neighbors and the Palestinians. Iran may be developing a nuclear capacity, which is certainly cause for concern. But so is the fact that Israel already reportedly has over 250 nuclear warheads. Safety for the Jews? This founding reason for Israel is now a quaint memory.

Indeed, the policy of setting up a nation as the way to safeguard an ethnic group is a decidedly 19th-century idea. Many nations were built in this way from the 17th century on -- often at the cost of the destruction and expulsion of inconvenient "other" populations. France, Germany, and Italy all have their iron fists which sought to obliterate the diversity of peoples in their chosen lands. The Turks committed genocide on the Armenians in order to establish a Turkish republic. American attacks on Indian peoples bears a striking resemblance to Israeli nation-building, complete with charges of terrorism, the establishment of settlements, and the removal of peoples.

But there is no going back to a 19th-century reality. In an increasingly globalized world, borders have become porous, human rights demand a hearing, and diverse populations learn to live together. In the next 20, 50, or 100 years, this will be true in the Middle East as in the rest of the world. Israel joins the other medievalists, those who seek an Islamic republic here or a Christian nation there, in trying to turn the clock back.

The United States does not send its billions of dollars to Israel, however, because of a special affection for Jewish survival or even because of some powerful Israeli lobbies in Washington. It has its own rationale for wanting an aggressive, western-loyal state in the Middle East -- as a base to attack Arab independence movements and to support access to oil. Becoming complicit in this cynical strategy, the majority of the American Jewish community has endangered the security for the Jews as Israel has engendered hatred from Palestinians and from peoples around the region.

And, the biggest threat to the safety of the Jews, the fundamental reason given for the necessity of the founding of the state of Israel, is Israel itself. The secondary threat is the massive pro-Israel sentiment in the American Jewish community. Fueled by a sense of entitlement in relation to colonial peoples and guilt for not being in Israel themselves, this community has generally gone along with any militaristic plan emanating from the Israeli government.

Their stance reminds me of the dogged loyalty of American communists to the Soviet Union. Driven by a vision of safety and dignity, for working people all over the world, they sought to forward the cause of socialism. But they also felt a sentimental attachment to the Soviet Union -- the first socialist experiment, the homeland of the new world. They apologized for the fact that the Soviet Union was a bit harsh on neighbors, that they sometimes acted out of narrow national interest on the grounds that this had to be done in order to preserve the embattled homeland of socialism; and on and on. As the years wore on, the damage the Soviet Union did to the cause of socialism and workers' rights reached a fever pitch and finally the whole thing came tumbling down. Revolutionaries the world over would have been better to keep their own counsel than to continue apologizing for this entity which was betraying their very principles.

Israel apologists have used the same weak reasoning to rationalize Israel's collaboration with South African apartheid forces and Latin American dictatorships; for Israel's violent war-making on Palestinian communities and building of illegal settlements; for its roads which only Israelis are allowed to use, its forbidding of building permits to Arabs in Jerusalem, its unending checkpoints.

Terrorism, the use of indiscriminate violence on civilian populations, must be stopped by both sides. And it can end. Wars do end. People previously at war do learn to live together. That is a historical truth as reliable as the truth that injustice and inequity will generate resistance.

One of the real fears of the ultra-right nationalists of Israel is known by the euphemism of the "demographic problem." What that means is that the population of Palestinian Arabs is outgrowing the Israeli Jewish population, both in the occupied territories and in Israel itself. This is similar to the fear of white Anglo Saxons that they will soon be the minority in the US. This is really only a problem if you are committed to a project of an exclusive, privileged, elite control. Get over it, the day of diverse community is coming soon and the sky won't fall.

One solution for Israel is settlements, expulsions, war, and ethnic cleansing. Another would be to support the imperatives of an interconnected, interdependent world, to develop democratic, secular states which do not consider religion and ethnicity in civil law.

A diverse, secular state -- or a two state solution with two diverse secular states -- is where this is going to have to end up. The only question is whether it will take 100 more years of blood-letting. The building of walls, whether they are in Qalqilya in the West Bank or in Brownsville, Texas, is a desperate attempt to hold off the mandates of the 21st Century.

The best step that can be taken for the "safety of the Jews," would be for Americans to pull back from knee-jerk support for every crazy idea that comes out of the ultra-right in Israel. Indeed, the kinds of attacks this column will probably get will stand as an excellent map of the kind of sharp rebuke anyone who dares to question the party line faces; the intimidation and name-calling; and the continued commitment to a project which will have the opposite outcome as that for the founding goal, the safety of the Jews.

Comments

[Rick Ayers - Huffpost Blogger]

My hope was to highlight one simple reality: that the crisis facing Israel goes to the very heart of the Zionist proposition, that there should be a “Jewish state” for the safety of the Jews as a result of the Holocaust in Europe. Such a proposition requires us to answer fundamental questions:

1. Should there be states that are set up for the promotion of one ethnicity (such as Turkey did with its nation building project)?
2. Will Israel be forced into a “South Africa” type set up – with Jewish citizens being privileged and others required to live in circumscribed territories?
3. What will be done as the Arabic/Palestinian population grows to outnumber the Jewish population, even within current borders of Israel?
4. Has this state provided safety for the Jews?

I only wanted to raise these issues as they are the broad philosophical underpinning of some of the current debate. It is well known that the “demographic problem” is providing an unspeakable problem for the Zionist project – and driving many to thoughts of ethnic cleansing, a step that would make support for Israel plummet. Netanyahu recently declared a bottom line that Israel must be recognized as a Jewish state. Thus, he makes explicit the dilemma Israel is stuck in, one that can only lead to ethnic cleansing.

We simply have to start thinking honestly about the assumptions and the delusions that have gotten us to this terrible point. . . .

[CentredCanuck]

With respect, it is not "the very heart of the Zionist proposition, that there should be a "Jewish state" for the safety of the Jews as a result of the Holocaust in Europe." Zionism predates the Shoah. Your statement allows for arguments that delegitimize the State of Israel because it suggests that it was the Shoah the created the state. With respect to the fundamental questions:

1. The State of Israel exists. The question is irrelevant to understanding the current situation unless one argues that if a nation-state has characteristics that are predominantly of or for one ethnicity it is illegitimate and should not exist. It means that no "people" has the right to a nation-state of its own. It begs the question of the legitimacy of more nation-states than Israel.
2. This is a legitimate question. It is my hope that that will never happen and that the "two state" solution will make this a non-issue.
3. See point two above.
4. This question does nothing to assist in solving the current issues. Rather, it does this: If the answer is no then the state has not achieved its objective (as you set it up to be) and therefore it does not need to exist. It does not ask, if the answer is in fact no, why?

[arvay]

A splendid article! that clears the fog from this issue and underlines the real source of instability in the Mideast.

One more point worth mentioning. American Jewish support for israel has also been a big boon to American militarists and the war industry.

Traditionally, American Jews tended to be anti-militarist: many Jewish immigrants were left-leaning and did their best to evade oppressive conscription in European nations. They were big actors in progressive movements and scared the crap out of the old WASP aristocracy.

But American support for "embattled" Israel changed all that -- if Israel is to survive, its "sponsor" needs to lead the world militarily and supply Israel with the means -- which it could never attain on its own -- to defeat the surrounding people who saw this nation plunked down among them against their will.

Former leftists became "neoconservatives" and powerful actors in the doings on the military-industrial complex. Right-wingers, traditionally anti-Semites, became enthusiastic supporters of the little apartheid state. And those who oppose American militarists can be harried by APAC and other Israeli pawns in our political landscape.

The price of a seat in the "club" has been high -- to peace, to our nation, and to those who still have a conscience.

[Taxi]

Thanks arvay for reminding us of the shadowy, shape-shifting war profiteers that lurk behind every man-made political catastrophe.

[arvay]

When you look around the world, and you see children toting bargain-priced AK-47s and American phosphorous burning Palestinian children alive, it's important to remember that someone is making a fortune by enabling all this death.

Sadly to report, the US is still the world's leading arms supplier, despite a sustained effort by Russia to catch up. But they're a close second, as Pravda brags every so often. What our two nations did to much of the world during Cold War still haunts us.

USSR: Vietnam: gotcha!
US: Afghanistan: gotcha!
US-fostered Taliban: gotcha both!

And the co-option of large swaths of the American Jewish community illustrates how insidiously clever and effectively cynical these folks can be.

[CentredCanuck]

Arle....

Answering a question with a question. How about a response to my question?

With respect to yours: I am not an expert in international law. However: Do I think settlement activity should stop? Yes. Do I think they should be removed or or land swapped in a final status negotiation? Yes.

[arle]

By your own admission, you do not know international law. I suggest you read up on that before you formulate an opinion.

[CentredCanuck]

non-responsive again. Are you claiming that you are an expert in all things that you have formulated an opinion?

[CentredCanuck]

This is an article that attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel. It does not do so through complaint over the state's policies (that, to be sure as it pertains to the treatment of the Palestinian people, are horrible) but rather by suggesting the state should never have been created. Further it claims that the justification for its existence is the "safety of the Jews". It stands to reason, the author seems to suggest, that in the face of threats to the lives of Jews worldwide (in the name of Israel's existence) then the state is a failure because it does not live up to its original intent. This blames the victim. In addition, it suggests that Jews do not have a tight to self-determination. It ignores Jewish history in the region. What a crock.

[arle]

Um... Israel is like the 4th most dangerous place on the planet.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/03/israel-4th-most-dangerous_n_210910.html

[CentredCanuck]

um....and your point?

[arle]

Well I'm glad somebody's finally willing to say all of this. And that Huffington Post is actually letting you put up the article -- lately, I've been sensing a creeping bias into comment moderation that didn't always used to be there.

Again, thank you for the article. You've put everything out there in a very cogent fashion.

[greatscot]

Part of Israeli self-righteous exceptionalism includes the right of any Jew, from anywhere in the world to travel to Israel and declare him/herself an Israeli citizen. He/she can then go to the occupied territories and get a house, the construction of which was subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer, the water service to which was stolen from the Palestinians, and the road access to which is reserved exclusively for Jews.

The obvious solution to the Israel/Palestine "problem" is for all Palestinians and any other interested Arabs to declare themselves Jewish and immediately exercise their "right of return" Since Israel has welcomed Jews of all shades, shapes and convictions over the years, including Ethiopian Rastafarians, it shouldn't be much of a stretch for Israel to accomodate these "new converts"!

[frontman9000]

Unify the West Bank and Gaza and Israel into "The Israeli-Palestinian Republic" or whatever the frig you wanna call it and give all Palestinians equal rights the same as the Jews and share the land, government and infrastructure (much like we do in America). Learn to live peacefully with one another because you have no choice. That is the best solution but the Jews will never agree because they don't consider Palestinians human beings.

[alexa07]

I would add: equal access to clean drinking water; waterworks for Palestinian farms, sanitary sewage systems for everyone, garbage management, et al. To ignore the water & sanitation needs of a large segment of one's society is beyond imagination & a declaration of war upon the humanity of your neighbors in & of itself.

[myopinion2]

Anyone who seeks the end of Jewish soveregnty over the Hebrew national homeland, as does this columnist and a number of posters here, are not friends of the Jews and do not have our best interests at heart. You are entitled to your opinion, but please do not insult me by telling me your opinion is rooted in concern for my well being. With "friends" like you, Jews won't need enemies.

[frontman9000]

Your stubborn opinion will lead to more years of war and bloodshed. What gives you the right to say that Jews are better than anyone else? In America, we share our land with everyone who seeks to come here. Your "us against them" mentality is so frustrating to those of us who believe in justice for all peoples!

If it wasn't for "friends like us" you'd have no friends!

[DarkSlope]

True.....

[myopinion2]

making Jews a minority in a majority Arab country will result in Jews becoming second class citizens and endangering their security. You want Arab oil and are willing to sacrifice the Jews for your material desires. This isn't about justice. Abbas just boasted to the Washington Post that Olmert offered 97% of the West Bank but he rejected it. This is about the Arab refusal to accept Jewish sovereignty is Israel, which is aided and abbetted by those like you who would sell us down the river in a heartbeat. If the Palestinians drop the alleged right to return and accept a 5% land swap for Israel's 4 urban areas adjacent to the Green Line, there will be peace. If not, don't blame the Jews. But you will.

[myopinion2]

A jewish minority in an Palestinian majority country will be second class citizens whose security will be at risk. You want Arab oil, not justice, and are willing to sell the Jews down the river to get it. Abbas last month boasted to the Washington Post thast Olmert offered 97% of the West Bank but he rejected it. So you tell me who is the obstacle to peace.

[myopinion2]

Your self-righteousness is hypocritical. While America was establishing its state, it hunted down and imprisoned the natives, stole half of Mexice, enslved a foreigh race, sequentially discriminated agaist each successive ethnic group which arrived here, lynched people who spoke their minds, had the police attack workers, and became the only nation to have dropped the big one. Now that America is firmly established as a world economic and military power, you indulge in the wealth from its imperialist and racist history and condemn a tiny nation which its neighbors tried to abort on the day of its conception. Forgive me if I ignore you.

[SergeantRoss45]

Wonderful Mr. Ayers, except your beautiful piece convinces us more to believe in a one state solution, which Israel and the territories already is by de facto. The tearing down of barriers, both physical and mental is essential to bring about genuine peace by two people who coexist and share the same land.

[arle]

The more I think about that, the more I'm up with that. The Israeli Jews who are the /real/ problem will depart faster than you can say "white flight" if they had to treat Palestinians as equal partners. The remnant of extremists will be easy to deal with by the Palestinian and Israeli moderates that will remain.

[Taxi]

Euro Jews back to Europe where they belong.

Middle eastern Jews stay in the middle east.

Best solution for everyone.

[zaz33]

Taxi - The dream of "greater Israel" may very likely become the reality of a "greater Palistine"

Your suggestion is happening now and will probably accelerate.

[Taxi]

Returning to '67 border is a sham.

Addressing the '48 Naqba is the only sure way to a durable and just peace.

Any solution that doesn't address the Naqba will result in prolonged suffering for the Palestinians.

If Palestinians are suffering, there will be no peace.

If there is no peace, the whole world suffers.

[mommamia526]

The day of a diverse community will indeed come. It has already come in many areas, a.o. in The Netherlands, in Gr. Britain and in France. The sky may not fall, but cultures, religions and whole groups of persons will disappear. The day of diverse community will indeed come because we may expect mass migrations because of climate problems and rising water levels. Outflow from some communities into others has been going on for decades on a large scale, a.o. of Chinese all over the world, and especially in Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. Indonesians in The Netherlands, and persons from Pakistan, India and the ME all over Europe and the U.S. No one, however, is calling for these populations to be removed from the face of the earth or out of the countries they currently reside in. And everyone would stand up in protest if terrorists attacked them on a daily basis, except of course, when peoples are truly not able to defend themselves, such as in Sudan and Darfur. Countries do have military forces, the U.S. has them, the U.S. is building a Palestinian military force in the PA even, and most other countries have them, including Israel. And Israel should not have a military, because...­?????

[BillZBubb]

Wait a minute! You just said Netanyahu accepted a Palestinian "state" and that countries (ie states) do have military forces. Perhaps you are unaware that one of Netanyahu's numerous conditions for the "state" was that it must be de-militarized? So, you have an internal contradiction. But don't let that get in the way of your story.

BTW, it is a straw man to suggest anyone is claiming Israel shouldn't have a military. It is what Israel does with its military that is the problem.

[mommamia526]

Israel, Mr. Ayers, does not do any ethnic cleansing. There are people of all races, and religions, creeds and backgrounds in Israel, and there are Arabs in the Knesset who are openly disloyal even to Israel. In the U.S. such a position would be called treason and be grounds for removal. The socalled Palestinians are ARABS. The territory, british Mandate, that was divided included Syria, Jordan, the current Israel, and more territory. Of that Jordan alone is several times larger than Israel. *Palestinians* in Gaza are really Egyptians and Mashaal, the leadership, lives in..Syria. If Mr. Ayers would google Arafat, he would see that he was born in Egypt, of an Egyptian father and a Jordanian mother who already resided in Egypt. Arafat was not Palestine, or even a Palestinian. He was an Egyptian. In Israel all sorts of people are free to exercise their own culture and religion. That is NOT the case in Arab Countries, where they, indeed, actively engage in *ethnic cleansing*. Indeed, the call for Israel to be removed from the map, is mass ethnic cleansing if not genocide. There are in Israel Bahai and Zoroastrans who where ethnically cleansed from their Arab/Persian countries of origin.

[BillZBubb]

Too funny. Israel has engaged in ethnic cleansing since its inception. It is well documented. Today they are doing it in Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank. There are none so blind as those who will not see.

[Adriana231]

That is not what I saw in eastern Jerusalem or the West Bank. Ultra orthodox jews kicking Palestinians from their homes due strictly to their ethnicity is ethnic cleansing. I've seen it first hand.

[mommamia526]

There are quite a number of problems with this wordy blog. First of all this man lives in the U.S. and he is a teacher. I assume he is an U.S. citizen. He does not determine the course and politics in Israel. Big news to him, I am sure. Mr. Netanyahu has recently given a speech and Israel has already numerous times acknowledged a Palestinian nation side by side with Israel. The roads that have guardposts are within Israel. Mr. Netanyahu has not set limits for the New Palestinian State, however, the Palestinians are setting their own limitations on Israel, which, they say, may not be a jewish state. A jewish state simply means that jewish law is applied, and not Sharia Law, that Saturday, and not Sunday or Friday is the day of rest, etc. This blogger may tell Israel what to do politically, and BillZBubb may tell the Likudniks to disappear. However, again, they, and especially the S.a*tan, do not determine which course Israelis are to take. Israelis vote for whom they want and without their interference or opinions. It is not difficult to see where this blogger's bread is buttered and where he stands, politically. Jews have always been in the area, and zionism dates from the 1800's. Jews did not establish Israel because of the Holocaust, nor did Colonialists settle it. Jews simply went home to stay.

[BillZBubb]

The best friends Israel has are the ones telling it to get rid of the Likudniks, the militarism, and the expansionism. Unfortuately, most Israeli's and a lot of their apologists in the US will never understand that.