The Reality of It All--The Israelis Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - 1man4all in Usenet News - 22 Apr 2002 The Israelis By 1man4all April 20, 2002 Most of us have remembered the adage that those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. But it is equally true that those who do repeat the past are condemned forever. Sometimes our historical justifications are so wrong that nothing right can come out of them. The Jews who started migrating to the area known as Palestine about a hundred years ago wanted to go back to their roots just as some African Americans now travel to Africa to find something of themselves that was lost long time ago. The Jews who started migrating after W.W.2 saw their arrival at the Holy Lands as another Exodus_ just as ancient Jews were fleeing the persecution of the Pharaoh, the modern Jews were fleeing the horrors of Holocaust for the Promised Land. It seemed history was repeating itself. The Pharaoh drowned, Hitler was killed, persecution had halted, but the Children of Israel decided that it was time to go. If history repeats itself, it always does so with a new twist. This time, the land of Palestine was no longer inhabited by Philistine pagans but mostly by Arab Muslims and Christians who happened to worship the same God as the Jews. This time there was no cruel God asking Joshua to slaughter all the Philistines_ save the virgins_ to pave the way for modern Hebrews. Palestinian population was too large to be quickly subdued and annihilated. But since it had been done earlier, and the ethnic cleansing was successful, it gave Jews tremendous confidence that it could be done again. Furthermore, they thought, how could the Christians, as the dominant power and faith, object to something that their own Bible prophesizes? It's true that Arab Christians were living in Palestine, but they were too Arab, putting their lot with the Muslims and not favoring Western Colonial rule. Furthermore, most of the Christian Arabs followed the wrong brand of Christianity anyway. The Zionists also knew very well that secular Westerners were merely interested in perpetuating their influence in the area and the truly religious could be convinced easily that with the resurrection of Israel, Jesus would soon return. One more historical event that played a crucial role was America's colonial past. American Indians had been annihilated or reduced to a manageable number. After every military encounter, the 'savages' got what they deserved. Those Indians who couldn't put up a fight were 'persuaded' to move west, until they were completely surrounded and Indian authority (along the lines of Palestinian Authority) was reduced to ever shrinking reservations. Here was a clearly laid out model for the Zionists. They must have thought, if Americans could do it and get away with it, why can't we? However, following the paradigm, they forgot one thing: Arabs had once ruled the world and they had successfully driven out Crusaders after many centuries of conflict. If Zionists had thought that they could pull a fast one on the Arabs, the Arabs, on the other hand, estimated that they could also rid their land of 'foreign invaders' as they had done so previously under Saladin's brave leadership. Instead of seeing Jews as returning sons of the soil, the Arabs saw wave upon wave of immigrant European Jews as another clever trick of Western Colonial powers to keep their hegemony over Palestine. If ancient Jewish history and American history were any guide, they certainly were helpful to a degree but they also created political issues which the Zionists had not anticipated. The Zionists couldn't kill all Palestinians in broad daylight of history and especially in an age when Third World countries were fast becoming independent; the world would not have tolerated another genocide_ even by the former victims of the Holocaust. But the Zionists did carry out limited massacres at Deir Yasin and Baldat al-Shaikh to scare the Palestinian population into fleeing. It is debatable how many more Palestinians would have been killed had they refused to leave. Yet, a few other reminders were sent in 1953 with the massacre of Qibya and again in 1956 at Kufr Qasim which convinced Palestinians that their lives were not safe in the newly created State of Israel. Unlike the Philistines who disappeared in the silent shadows of unrecorded history, except for the few specters that linger on the pages of the Bible, the Palestinians were able to record their own misery and the injustices that were inflicted upon them. And their cries were heard all across the Arab/Muslim world. If the Zionists had hoped that the rest of the Arab world would accommodate and absorb the fleeing Palestinian refugees, that hope was only partially realized. The Palestinians did become a majority in Jordan, revolted against the monarchy, and scared other Arab regimes from accepting additional refugees. Eventually, a large number of Palestinians ended up scattered all over the Arab world, Europe and even the United States_ they had replaced the 'wandering Jew.' Those Palestinians who had nowhere else to go remained in refugee camps, dependent on their survival on the United Nations relief agencies and financial aid from rich Arab nations. For the Arab world, they were a billboard which said that these people have been wronged and require justice_ an appeal for sympathy and political help. To borrow Kafka's imagery , Palestinians had also become "Hunger Artists _" forever suffering, forever pinging world conscience, and reminding Israelis of their past and present crimes. After the 1967 war, the Israelis were forced to use the American colonial model. The Israeli Manifest Destiny included all of the West Bank and Gaza. Just as the American colonialists had done, Israelis started putting up settlements and seizing Palestinian lands. To make the parallels even more complete, Israelis eventually imported Ethiopian Jews to serve as Buffalo Soldiers and to have a small Black neighborhood in the midst of an overwhelmingly white Jewish population. The Arabs responded in the same manner as the American Indians_ launching quick attacks to free their land of occupiers. Having failed at that, the Palestinian Arabs finally resorted to terrorism. If the American Indians were called 'savages,' the Palestinians were now quickly labeled as 'terrorists.' Just as the 'savages' launched attacks on Colonial settlements; the Palestinians launched attacks on Israeli settlements. And like the US cavalry of former times, the Israeli Army made sure that Jewish settlements would be well protected and settlement activity would continue. The United States government had an active policy of wholesale removal of American Indians to the west of Mississippi River, and similar calls were made in Israel to force Palestinians out of the West Bank; however, that was politically impossible due to potential worldwide condemnation that would have ensued. The Oslo Agreement, on the other hand, gave the Israelis an opportunity to try the Indian Reservation approach. Just as the American Indians were granted home rule on reservations, the Palestinians were given an opportunity to have autonomy in their towns and villages under a fictitious Palestinian Authority. The trick in both cases was to limit the size of territory held by the native or indigenous population and free up the rest of the territory for the use of colonists. The other benefit was that it would force the Palestinians to fight their own resistors to occupation. This was certainly the view of the Israeli hawks. The Israeli Liberals, on the other hand, weary of continuous war and conflict, were willing to give away at least most of West Bank and Gaza to Palestinians. Again the American Vietnam syndrome played out here. The Liberals saw their country's involvement in the occupied territories as immoral and indefensible, and like the Vietnam War protestors they came out singing protest songs and yearning for an illusive peace. Yet, that phase also passed and now Israel is in "Post-Vietnam era" where the country must support Israeli soldiers regardless of their brutal acts in the occupied territories, and all atrocities are justified. Israelis cannot understand why the Palestinians cannot just disappear like the American Indians so that they can start naming their football teams after them and start building museums in affectionate remembrance of duly departed natives. They also do not understand why Arafat can't be more like Martin Luther King and come out in a gloomy, somber voice and announce his dream to live with the Jews. Why can't he, they ask, be more like the Dalai Lama who travels the world begging for the rights of his people, even though Tibetans are fast becoming a small minority in their own land. They are amazed at the nerve that Arafat has to 'demand' freedom and a homeland. On top of that, he keeps braying "Jihad, Jihad, Jihad." To them, he ought to come on his knees, preferably donning a three-piece suit, clean shaven, head bowed in Anwar Sadat type humility, and only then the Israelis would be nice and generous enough to give him something_ or about 95% of what he wants. The reason that he is considered a "failed leader" is because he has not put himself in the mold that has been created for Third World leaders who must appease their colonial masters if they are to succeed. He is totally inapt at that game. Instead, he raises his voice or tries to show a muscle, which most Westerners believe is the sole prerogatives of their own leaders. As is always the case, governments commit wrongs, accomplish their goals, derive maximum benefits, and then leave it to future generations to confess past sins. The problem is that Palestinians, with their ongoing aggressive tactics, are not allowing the Israelis to do the same, and they hate it. The historic model that Zionists used to occupy Palestinian lands had to be supported by constant propaganda which was gladly provided by two forces: Jewish lobbies in Western capitals and Christian Conservatives who not only see Israel as a bastion of their own influence in the Holy Lands but also as a necessary precursor to the second coming of Christ. This joint interest has produced such a powerful political force that they have made it impossible, if not irrational, to even think that Israel was created on somewhat dubious grounds. The doubters, who have arisen from time to time, are quickly silenced with charges of anti-Semitism. The media, on the other hand, acts as a filter against voices of opposition. Anything which shows Israel in bad light is censored and anybody who questions Israeli policies is quickly interrupted on television. The aim is always to divert attention from abuses committed by Israelis and to focus on terrorism to put the Palestinians on the defensive. Even when Israel is clearly in the wrong, the politicians and television pundits put the blame on 'both' sides. The danger for Israel is not so much the Palestinian aspirations but future historians who, in times of peace, would take a more critical look and would be less supportive of the reasons or the bases on which Israel came into existence. The Apartheid-like policies which Israelis have adopted would most certainly be condemned, if they are not already, and Israelis would again be in a dilemma to at least allow some Palestinians refugees back. The illegitimacy that hangs over Israel would last forever, no matter how many times Arabs are asked to repeat the mantra that Israel has a right to exist. Israelis know in their heart that Arabs will never truly accept the Jewish state due to simple facts that it was created by force, by driving out Palestinians from their homeland, and on a flimsy Biblical excuse that God gave the land to the Jews_ a belief which a Muslim mind can never accept. It is as if custody of a child has been given to foster parents but the real parents know that the child belongs to them. That is why Israelis and their American backers seem to be constantly asking the Arabs, "Are you sure you are accepting Israel, are you absolutely sure?" And no matter how many times Arabs nod their head, it always seems like a wink. The Israelis would have done far better in making peace with their Arab neighbors had they presented themselves as immigrants, running away from European intolerance and bigotry, and needing refuge in the land of their ancestors. After all, Arab countries had accommodated all Spehardic Jews after the collapse of Moorish rule in Spain. But by insisting on sole property rights, Israelis earned the anguish and resentment of Arabs for all times to come. Israel, which claims to be a democracy, could easily have projected itself as a country of laws where both Israelis and Arabs could conceivably live together, having equal rights in a united secular country. A partition between the two groups, which now seems inevitable, will bring nothing to both sides. All the holy and historic sites will end up in Palestine. And at least from a historic and religious point of view, Israel would be a wasteland. If Jesus comes back, which country will he now go to? History has its lessons but one cannot go to a single chapter and use it as a justification for present acts, misdeeds or misdemeanors. One cannot forget that the ancient kingdom of Israel deteriorated and Christianity, borne out of Judaism itself, removed artificial separation between the Jew and the Gentile. What cruel joke of history that so many Gentiles in the United States now want to recreate that very division by insisting that Israel must remain a Jewish nation. If the Israelis and Zionists also learned a few tricks from America's colonial past, they need to learn a bit more about the Civil Rights Movement in which, ironically, many Jews participated and which changed the US from being a white colonial power to a truly democratic country_ a nation where even a Black child can now aspire to be Secretary of State, if not President as yet. But all countries are unique, and even though history may repeat itself, future is never what people expect it to be. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytmid-04.25.02-18:18:31-23486