Can Jews and Arabs coexist — inside Israel?
Fresno-Zionism
We do not wish, we do not need to expel the Arabs and take their place. All our aspirations are built upon the assumption — proven throughout all our activity in the Land — that there is enough room in the country for ourselves and the Arabs. — David Ben-Gurion, 1937
The statement above — which was misquoted in the English edition of Benny Morris’ book The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949 to precisely reverse its meaning — has more or less characterized the approach of the state of Israel to its Arab minority since Israel’s founding.
Unfortunately, it seems, more and more, that that minority doesn’t agree that there is room for both peoples.
Eric Rozenman described Arab attitudes in 1999 thus:
The late Tawfiq Zayyad, mayor of Nazareth and parliament member, was also a poet whose work reflected an uncompromising streak of Palestinian Arab nationalism. More than a decade ago, his poem, “Here We Will Remain,” admonished Israeli Jews:
We will lie on your chest like a wall
Stick in your throat like a piece of glass … .
We will sing the songs
Fill the streets with demonstrations
Fill the jails with honor and make children
Each generation more revolutionary than the one before it.23Zayyad was hardly alone in holding these sentiments. During Israel’s fiftieth anniversary observances, ‘Azmi Bishara, now a Knesset member [who fled the country in 2007 under suspicion of helping Hizballah in the 2006 war- ed.], explained that the Palestinian national movement is not primarily about self-determination for Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip but about the return of Palestinian refugees to the land that became Israel in 1948.Bishara asserted that “the Jewish state idea is not a legitimate one and … I am not prepared to confer historical legitimacy on Israel.” No comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace would be possible, he added, until Israel “de-Zionized,” dropped the Law of Return (which automatically permits Jews to move to Israel), and became a “state of all its citizens.” Echoing the PLO charter and Hamas, Bishara claimed that “Judaism is a religion, not a people, and the Jewish group in the world has no nationality status whatever. I don’t think this group is entitled to self-determination.”
Tawfiq al-Khatib of the Islamic Movement, a fundamentalist Muslim organization, represents another stream in Israeli Arab thought that negates Jewish nationalism. Also a member of parliament, Khatib stated (in Hebrew) during a religious dialogue with Israeli Jews, that “there is a precedent for Muslims accepting non-Muslim rule. But in Palestine, the Holy Land? Only Muslims can rule here.” Then how, he was asked by another dialogue participant, could he take an oath to uphold the state and sit in the Israeli parliament? Khatib replied that “there is a verse in the Qur‘an which states that God doesn’t place impossible burdens on the believer. If all the Jews moved to Uganda, my problem would be solved. But it’s not going to happen. So I have to take care of the million Arabs who’ve been given Israeli citizenship.” Asked about his long-term solution, Khatib called for a treaty of non-belligerency between Muslims and Jews, renewed every ten years, presumably an allusion to the Prophet Muhammad’s Treaty of Hudaybiya [a temporary truce ended when Mohammad massacred the Jews – ed.].
These two streams of thought — the nationalist and Islamist ideas — have only grown stronger since then.
Especially in the US, it’s sometimes suggested that the problem is that the Arab citizens are discriminated against and/or are denied their civil rights. To some extent there is discrimination, but the problem can’t be solved in the framework of civil rights — employment, education, infrastructure, political participation, etc. The fundamental issue is ‘whose land is it?’
Both Palestinian nationalism and Islamism provide a different answer to this question than Zionism does.
In 2007, Israeli Arab intellectuals and “political activists” published a manifesto called the Haifa declaration. In essence, it demanded that Israel be transformed into a binational state, and the Arab refugees be granted a right of return. It described Israel as a colonialist power, presented a historical narrative based on Arab victimhood, and celebrated incidents of violent conflict between Israel and its Arab citizens. Its implementation would mark the end of the Jewish state as well as a rejection of the Zionist idea.
The Carmel fire — which preliminary reports say may have been caused by ‘negligence’ by Arab teenagers — gave rise to numerous arson attempts which succeeded in starting several subsidiary fires. Officials say that arson by Israeli Arabs is common and has been a problem for years.
One of the lessons of the fire is that problems that are swept under the rug, like the lack of funding for the pitifully inadequate fire service, can result in large disasters.
The problem of the attitudes of the Arabs inside Israel has also been swept under the rug. It’s possible that there is no ‘liberal’ solution to it. It’s possible that Ben-Gurion was wrong.
This conclusion is extremely disquieting. But the fact that the consequences of a proposition are bad does not imply that it isn’t true.
Those who insist that the present trend can be reversed and that coexistence is possible need to present a scenario in which nationalist and Islamist attitudes are likely to become weaker rather than stronger over time. I don’t see one.
Keelie: >>>>I have similar thoughts about the blacks (“Afro-Americans”) who bitch and complain about their “current situation” (and of course, blame the Jews for it all). If things are so bad now for blacks in North America, find a nice African state and emigrate there…
The globalists long ago from slavery days actively worked to break up the black nuclear family in order to destabilize first the black community, then the whole nation just as they allow Mexicans and anyone else to immigrate illegally and then give them benefits from the US taxpayers. To have a proper family one must have a father, mother in a marriage and thereafter children. Many black women can get jobs but their black husbands cannot. That destabilizes the marriage because men need gainful employment or a business. Wives should understand this but many times do not.
I agree with Laura that “There is no possibility of peaceful coexistence with islam.”
Big problem. Arabs don’t want to co-exist with Jews. Removal of all Arabs calling themselves Palestinians from west bank and Gaza and you have a solution to the problem. The rest is you b.S.ing yourselves.
There is no possibility of peaceful coexistence with islam.
Report is a lie and misinformation. True aid was offered but- Thanks but no thanks, to the best of my knowledge no Palis were involved.
Netanyahu noted that he had received “important assistance” from Jordan and had had good conversations with King Abdullah II, as well as President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who also offered aid. “Perhaps something good will come of this disaster,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu appeared intent on dousing the flames of anger that the fire has lit in the Israeli public. He made no mention of the attempted arson attacks by Arabs in the past three days.
BB is scumbag that should be tried for murder at least (indirectly) responsible for murder. What happened to the principle “The Buck Stops Here”?
I told some of my colleagues at work that Israel at its widest, is approximately the distance between Markham and Mississauga, both on the outskirts of Toronto. They were floored! Perhaps this is one way to get (sane) people to understand the real situation: put it in terms of local distances (such as from Manhattan to White Plains in New York). Note the word “sane”.
I disagree. Israel is not large enough for both Jews and Arabs. Israel like every other small nation needs lebensraum: Both for our current needs and the expanding population both from natural growth and a place to house more millions of Jews who are sure to come from the diaspora,sooner or later.
Keelie: Recent developments will make a tranfer of the Arab population muchmore difficult. The mere passage of time allows the arabs to reinforce their claims to the land.
What has happened just this past few days have given the Palestinians a powerful propaganda victory.
As for the “settlements”. It would be a good idea for those blissful ignoramuses who march protesting Israeli settlements, to go there in order to understand what the word “settlement” really means. Of course they won’t because they would rather live in their own little fantasy worlds, so let me help:
The “settlements” are relatively small entities housing very strong and brave people who work their rear-ends off to bring good to (and from) the land.
The land in question has been around for a very long time, and despite being under Arab rule, lay desolate – unworked – for all those years, as did most of Israel – that is, until the Jews re-established themselves there under their own rule, and started to work their respective rear-ends off.
To any of those ignoramuses reading this blog (fat chance), does that make things a little clearer?
Mer – I have similar thoughts about the blacks (“Afro-Americans”) who bitch and complain about their “current situation” (and of course, blame the Jews for it all). If things are so bad now for blacks in North America, find a nice African state and emigrate there…
In 1995 when their was referendum for Quebec to leave Canada I was surprised and shocked that France stepped in and supported the separtists. So I wrote a rather lengthy letter to the French President and said take them. Their yours.
Ben Gurion was technically correct — there IS plenty of room in Israel for Arabs and Jews to live together. Jabotinsy, however, had a more sensible understanding: That the Arabs would certainly fight to resist Israeli settlement, and the Jews must resist them with a “wall of steel”. This is how the US was settled, along with every other country on earth.