My Zionist Narrative
The establishment of the State of Israel was one of the most inspiring events in modern history. Against all the odds, and in the immediate aftermath of the murder of six million of their brothers and sisters, a landless, stateless, and largely friendless people achieved national self-determination in the land they had dreamed of continuously for the previous two thousand years. They did this in the face of unstinting opposition from the land’s population and the neighbouring countries, opposition that was violent and zero-sum. They did this because they had no choice: to compromise on national liberation would have been suicidal.
The population of the State of Israel came from each corner of the earth. They looked different, spoke different languages, had different religious practices or none at all, and held different political beliefs. What they shared – in that most awesome and unquantifiable of places that we glibly call the soul – was the conviction that they were part of the Jewish people, and that the continued survival and success of this people was worth striving for.
The new state built roads, towns, farms, universities, hospitals, and extended the reach of the national language, Hebrew, to every citizen. This was done at a dizzying pace, by one of the most dynamic generations of leaders and activists that any nation could hope to have. Within a decade or two, it seemed as if Israel had existed from time immemorial.
This state-building was always done under the shadow of violence, and Israel was often at least partly responsible for the circumstances which so often led to war. Its leaders did not place enough of a premium on the importance of peace. The external threat was used to hold the new nation together, and land was often preferred to peace treaties. But there can be no doubt: had the Arab world ever laid down its guns, the war would have ended. Despite Israel’s excessive use of violence, it was always used in response to the largely unceasing and frequently anti-Semitic and occasionally genocidal rejectionism of its neighbours.
None of this justifies our failure to deal with the Palestinian question. Our redemption has been their dispossession. Our success has been their misery. Yes, they also bear responsibility, but this does not excuse our failing to provide them with the sovereignty that we cherish ourselves. The festering of this failure now threatens the very foundations of the state; our leaders must stop procrastinating and take the steps that we all know are needed if Israel, and Palestine, are to have a future. These steps, which will surely include the wholesale dismantling of settlements, must be taken with or without a partner.
The same applies to the problems facing Israeli society. Minorities must have their rights guaranteed, the welfare state must be strengthened, and religious freedom must be given to all. Hi-tech may get us on the cover of Time magazine, but it will not feed the poor of South Tel Aviv. Our schools must be valued as much as our army or our Mossad. And the strangers among us must be welcomed, for we too were strangers in the land of Egypt. On these issues we are not doing as badly as they say we are, but nor are we doing as well as we like to think. We must set the standards – set them high – and we must stick to them.
And yet on the eve of our sixty-third birthday, in a world where deconstruction is all and the tiresome and banal unravelling of identities is worshiped like a false god, where Zionism is at best racism and at worst evil, the most radical thing we can do is to take pride in what we have achieved, the small miracle of the country that we have created, the sheer vibrancy and self-confidence of the place, and say, thus far and no further: there are some things we cannot give you. Even if you tell us we are defying international norms and making ourselves into a pariah state, we cannot budge. I am part of one of the most extraordinary national liberation movements in history, and if you force me to choose, it is to this that my loyalty will lie. I am a Zionist, and tonight it is our birthday.
35 comments35 Comments so far
Leave a reply
“Within a decade or two, it seemed as if Israel had existed from time immemorial.”
Well that gave me a smile.
http://bit.ly/8KDeVN
Thanks for this, Alex,
“Within a decade or two, it seemed as if Israel had existed from time immemorial.”
[Well that gave me a smile]
Clearly Alex is explicit he is using a metaphor as to appearance. He is not confusing metaphor with substance.
You promulgate pretty much wholesale a pro-Palestinian Arab Muslim and Christian but anti-Jewish nationalist narrative.
And your habit is to adduce every Zionist Jewish sin you can, while excising, omitting or ignoring pretty much every Palestinian Arab Muslim and Christian, you can.
Similarly in you excise, ignore or omit that which most justifies Israel and Zionism e.g. in your (absurd?) Just Peace initiative, or in the Kairos Document which you also promote.
You have associated with dodgy characters, like Stephen Sizer, who was caught in a pretty explicit antisemitism recently, or Azzam Tamimi, who can hardly be accused of peaceful, non-violent intentions towards, or even preparedness to recognise, Israel.
How you can reconcile that with a notion of Christian justice or morality, I do not know.
The paragraph beginning ‘This state-building was always done under the shadow of violence, and Israel was often at least partly responsible for the circumstances which so often led to war’ is very true.
Ben White, BDS etc stress the latter but understress or ignore the former. And with ‘ rejectionism of its neighbours’ it seems not unreasonable to include Palestinian Arab Muslims and Christians historically, since before Israel’s birth. Again something Ben White, BDS etc often to usually choose to ignore.
In Ben White’s Israeli Apartheid, one would never have known that
a) a Palestinian Arab Muslim and Christian nationalism existed from the late 19th-early 20th centuries and
b) that it was profoundly hostile to Jews’ existing in the land in other than the tiny numbers to which imperial Christendom and Islam had accustomed them and
c) evolved from seeking to exclude Jews to seeking to expel or eliminate Palestinian, Israeli and sometimes other Jews.
Again, how you can reconcile that with Christian justice, universal or particular, is not clear to me.
Well done, Alex, unlike Ben White, you can write something balanced, critical of Israel, but fundamentally supportive of its existence as a just enterprise.
Typically Ben White can only snipe from the side-lines, as that kind even handedness is alien to him.
Sod it, while I’m at it.
Ben White, it’s curious that your allegedly Christian vision of justice and peace wholly omits to mention the historically normative Christian view that the Jews are a people exiled and dispossessed for their rejection of Jesus and the prophets i.e. while you often mention Palestinian Arab Muslim and Christian exile and dispossession, and its inherent right of return, you have pretty much never mentioned any such thing for a Jewish (I think very early in your career you used the term ‘exile’ in connection with Jews, but never since).
Again, how you can reconcile this with a professed universal Christian vision of justice I do not know.
Looks more like Christian tribalism to me.
BTW, Alex, I think it is profoundly cowardly of Ben White to come posting here when
a) he denies others the right on his website and
b) refuses to take up your invitation to debate on CIF even as you did his (in which, btw, I think you showed up some of the basic flaws in his argument, very well).
I hope that you both noticed that the ‘from time immemorial’ bit was deliberate irony for all sides of the debate to enjoy.
Of course.
Ben White has evinced very little ability to so equivocate, or see things through the eyes of the non-Palestinian Arab Muslim or Christian Other. For him things are much more black and white. Almost as an Evangelist would see things.
Alex writes, “…none of this justifies our (Israel’s) failure to deal with the Palestinian question”. Hello? What about the Palestinian’s “Arab brothers” who created the scores of refugee camps in the first place, then denied them citizenship (to this day three generations later)? Within five years after the end of WWll, there were no more refugees. How is it that with over twenty Arab/Moslems nations there are still millions of Palestinian refugees 60 years since they first fled Palestine?
Alex, thanks for this. Very well conceived, written, and delivered. I admire your ability to both look at this country with a critical eye and remain proud to be a citizen.
Concerning Alex’s claim that Israel will have to dismantle the settlements: Let’s assume they do. We did this in Gaza, and looked what happened. It only served to embolden Palestinian demands on Israel, and led to war. In short, it made a bad situation worse.
The problem with Israel is that it exists. It is not a question of “occupied” territory, settlements, “justice” or what have you. These are excuses. What is the difference between Tel-Aviv and a settlement? Twenty five years…..
No matter how many steps you take for peace, they amount to nothing if your adversary does not recognize your right to exist. Twenty years after Oslo, and dozens of concessions later, are we really any closer to peace???
Stuart,
there is much truth in what you say, especially since while denying Palestinian Arabs citizenship, much the same was done to Arab Jews.
But the anomalous nature of, say, a Palestinian Arab ROR is perhaps analogous to the Jewish.
But whereas someone like Ben White might reason along the lines ‘If Israel grants ROR to Jews, why not to Palestinian Arabs?’, the actual equivalence is that, ‘If Israel must grant ROR to Palestinian Arabs, wny not Palestinian Arabs to Jews, to the territory of a Palestinian state’.
But Ben White never sees Israeli denial of ROR to Palestinian Arabs as analogous to the denial of ROR by Palestinian Arabs to Jews in anything but tiny numbers since the late 19th century.
And he completely fails to integrate into his moral outlook the fact that dispossession has been seen as Jews’ just lot for most of (Palestinian) Christian and Islamic history.
He completely skirts that issue. Perhaps he alludes to it by the term ‘Christian antisemitism’, and the need to address it, at some point, after everything else, but that is it. Suffice to say that is a completely inadequate response, morally and intellectually.
Ben White increasingly only snipes from the sidelines.
His vanity-published book flopped, he runs away when challenged on his ‘facts’ during meetings. Yet he remains as one-tracked and obsessed as ever.
Alex,
As always, brilliant post. So glad to have you back!
I for one really DIDN’T appreciate the reference to ‘From Time Immemorial’, a cretinous hoax written for credulous Meircans. A book, in short, that has done much damage and will continue to do so (it’s still quoted frequently in the open sewer of the US Zioconservative blogospere). NOT funny.
An how anyone can write “The establishment of the State of Israel was one of the most inspiring events in modern history” with a straight face is astonishing to me, considering the sheer misery that has been bestowed on the Palestinians to create this stubborn settler state which has no intentions of making ‘peace’, as the price it pays for ‘war’ is minimal. But it might just status quo itself out of existence…
By its friends yee shall know it: Zkharya is a case in point…
Hi, Gert, I really wish you’d stay away: you might scare away Ben White.
Thanks Chris!
Gert – if Ben can smile, so can you. As for “By its friends yee shall know it”, are you sure you want to apply that standard? I don’t think it would end well for you.
Beyence – for a second I thought you were Beyonce!
Stuart – the situation in Gaza is far better for Israel now than it was. And even if you are right, the status quo cannot be sustained. We have potential partners in Abbas and Fayyad, and we should be doing all we can to strengthen them.
Ariel – thanks!
Stuart – re. refugee camps: their failures do not justify ours. You are simply deflecting attention.
‘We have potential partners in Abbas and Fayyad, and we should be doing all we can to strengthen them.’
I agree, although I thought Jonathan Freedland was overly harsh with Israel in The Guardian over the Palestine Papers, since it seemed to me that Olmert and Livni were in fact following the principles of the Geneva Accord at Annapolis in 2008. Which Freedland himself had endorsed in a Guardian editorial in 2003.
I am not sure how much the Geneva Accords meet Ben White’s and PSC’s criteria. Not much, I think, but I’d be interested to know. PSC seeks nothing less than ‘the end of the Zionist state’.
Zkharya:
Don’t worry, I probably won’t stop long: my personal experiences on Zionist blogs have been for the most part extremely negative. FD proved a bit of an exception in the past but Alex’ new tone doesn’t bode very well. Two minutes into my stay and already I get told to stay away, probably on the grounds of suspected ‘antisemitism’.
Zionists much prefer to cackle among themselves, dissent is rarely appreciated. And with Alex’ hardened stance you can expect rightwing crackpots to join the chorus. I might put out an invitation on Richard ‘not-a-Zionist’ Millet’s blog: you’ll have fun when some of these nutzies come crapping on your marble floor.
So long.
‘I get told to stay away, probably on the grounds of suspected ‘antisemitism’.’
I actually, I explicitly said why: you might scare away Ben White.
Gert – I never told you to stay away. You are as welcome here as anyone else.
Sorry, Alex, I hope you got my point. I didn’t mean to usurp your prerogative as host.
I’m going to try and let most things go here – so people should avoid personal attacks etc.
OK, Alex. Your house, your rules.
You might be interested, Alex, in this recent summary of Ben White’s position, October 2010:
http://www.varsity.co.uk/comment/2621
Gert –
“A book, in short, that has done much damage and will continue to do so (it’s still quoted frequently in the open sewer of the US Zioconservative blogospere).”
Odd, I’ve only seen it quoted in extreme websites, while I’ve seen ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Ziyon,’ ‘Mein Kampf’ and many other such hateful books quoted in wonderful blogs that you probably actively frequent (Mondoweiss, Tikkun Olam etc). I’m sure you’re as infuriated by them, right?
Glad to see you’re still as blinkered as you’ve always been. “Zionists” this, “Zionists” that.
Case in point:
“Considering the sheer misery that has been bestowed on the Palestinians to create this stubborn settler state which has no intentions of making ‘peace’”
Where exactly did you want the Jews to go in 1945? Go on. The US? Sorry, those lovely Yanks didn’t really want Hitler’s left overs. Poland? Sorry, more pogroms weren’t really what the doctor prescribed. Belgium? Ha ha ha. England? After their actions had led to thousands of extra dead Jews? Please. Need I go on? So can I assume the Jews don’t deserve a home in your opinion, but everyone else does. Right?
Lastly, can you show exactly how the Jews … wait I mean Zionists don’t want to make peace but the Arabs/Palestinians do?
Couldn’t have put it better myself ….
[...] This is the sequel to “My Zionist Narrative” [...]
[...] for instance, his recent twin posts, My Zionist narrative, followed by My Palestinian narrative (an exercise in empathy). In the latter post, he adopts a [...]
can you add one of those cunning plus signs to yr website to make the print larger, please, for us geriatrics?
Mum – you can use the zoom feature on your browser!
Also posted in “THE PALESTINIAN NARRATIVE”.
===========================================
That a Gentile approves, agrees or condones the thoughts brought up here, is understandable. Despising, oppressing, repudiating and punishing the Jew is their trademark. It’s their “job description”, or might it be “it’s in their genes”. A good Gentile would think that denying to a Jew what would be unthinkable of denying others is not only acceptable, it is mandatory.
What’s disgraceful is that there are Jews that believe these things. A combination of their ingrained galut/diaspora mentality (even though they might be living in Israel), their permanent sense of guilt and their desire to analyze the analysis on the analysis, Jews have been taught to abide by these fallacious notions about the poor palestinians being driven away from “their lands” by the imperialist Jews.
Jews like Alex Stein (if he’s Jewish) believe that Jews should not be allowed a nation that is proud and strong. As the permanent underdog, the Jew is not entitled to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.
Jews like Alex Stein think that Jews are not entitled to or worthy of their eternal land and their eternal city; they have to share it with today’s worst anti-semites on the face of the Earth, the ones who took over where the tired, depleted European anti-semitism left off.
That’s where the success of today’s anti-semitism stands: Lots of Jews still believe that they’re not worthy of the basic, simple things that they should be worthy of.
Leftist, defeatist, love-filled-but-self-hating misguided Jews believe that only goyim are entitled to win their wars and impose their conditions. They believe that Jews should still be ashamed of poking their noses out in the streets, waiting for the first Gentile passerby to ask them permission for such intrusion.
Defeatist Jews believe that the whole Middle East is too small for the poor, oppressed, conquered “palestinians”. They still don’t realize that a country for muslim inhabitants of the region already exists, going by the name of Jordan, occupying lands that historically should still be Jewish. Defeatist Jews still believe that places such as Jerusalem, Hebron or Acco should be shared with the peaceful, respectful muslims that time and again desecrate Jewish holy places just for fun.
Until the majority of the Jews come to realize that what’s good for the anti-semite is not necessarily good for the Jew, and that what’s good for the Jew is definitely not good for the anti-semite, Jews will still be living in and paying for the hoax of the “palestinians”.
All this pathetic handwringing.
Look, here is the simple truth. Arabs hate jews. There. I said it. It doesn’t matter what Jews do or say. They will aways be hated. Arabs will not be your friends.They will not ever be particularly good neighbours. Certainly not trustworthy. Get over it and move on. Stay strong. No more compromises. Find strategic friends worth having and keep building a free, democratic society. Things will work out. Everything else is noise.