Aclaro que va en Inglés por vagancia, ya que recientemente envié esta nota a un conocido anglo-parlante. Espero lo disfruten y agradezco comentarios.
The causes of the conflict between Israel and its neighbors are well known. Over a hundred years ago, those European Jews that couldn’t make it to New York, Rio de Janeiro, or Buenos Aires, ended up in the Turkish Palestine. A few idealists who made it willingly were the exception. The reason for this movement was in its overwhelming majority the growing anti-Judaism that expressed itself in pogroms and killings and that ended in the Holocaust. This strange “colonization” was made in a reasonably orderly way, purchasing land and working it with effort. In the first years, cases of success and good will co-existed with some hatred and riots with local inhabitants, Arabs in the most part and, paradoxically, most probably the natural descendants of those Jews that populated Palestine in the Roman times, converted to Islamism by the 700’s. As a side note, the writer of these lines is a Jew from the Black Sea. It is possible that my grandparents became Jews just about the same time that the Jews of Palestine became Muslims… who knows…
In 1917 the Turks lost the land, which went to British hands. The Brits tried to make something out of it, but soon realized that they had bought themselves a problem more than anything else. Beginning in the 20´s and growing in the 30´s and 40´s, the fights between both bands, ranging from simple neighborhood quarrels all the way to flat out terrorism (our Jews, to be clear, much more effective terrorists than the other side) started to generate in the Brits an imminent sense of exit.
WW2 was the culmination of the anti-Judaism process. I am not saying it was merely and exclusively an anti-Jew process, I am saying that during that war the anti-Jew process reached its highest point… that of course until today, and only by now… The surviving Jews, always aiming at New York, Rio, or Buenos Aires, always ended up at least in part in Tel Aviv. The Zionist model aimed for a Jewish homeland in Palestine where Jews could set their own rules and destiny. And it was successful. The only problem was that in that same land there were about a million other folks.
A one state, multi-people solution was, for both bands, unconceivable. Another war of peoples was going to burst out, like in so many other times throughout Human History. The rejection of the UN resolution and the pan-Arabian attack of 48 were as logical as Pythagoras’ theorem. What could they do? Happily accept a foreign people in the land they considered theirs? And the Jewish fighting was brilliant, heroic.
The issue there was people’s displacement. About the same number of people “moved” from one side to the other. Jews from Arab lands to Israel, and Arabs from Israel to Arab lands. Both in the number of about 750.000 souls. In both cases, this displacement was motivated by many different reasons ranging from personal decisions to pure mass deportations and ethnic cleansing. The only real difference was the way these peoples were accepted in their destination. Citizenship in Israel (with a human all too human discrimination from the European Jews which lasts until the day), and refugee camps in Arab land (which also last until the day).
The new State of Israel had a successful time until 1967. Not really strongly backed up by any major power, it was a time of self creation for the State. But the Nakba was and still is a deep and understandable hurt in the Arab soul. In the 60’s the United Arab Replublic represented the collective hopes of the majority of the Arab people: the aim to destroy the State of Israel. The Israeli population, in that day still a bit naïve and understandably paranoid, saw a new Holocaust in the horizon. Meanwhile, the Israeli leadership (mostly the Military, since the Political was too “European” or too “Jewish” like Rabin funnily and a bit insultingly described) was seriously getting ready for war. The registers of cabinet meetings seem to show that a potential annexation of heavily populated Arab land was by all understood as a crazy step to take.
With all the pan-Arabian inefficiency, verbal aggression, troops mobilization, blocking of Sea passes, etc., etc. Israel had more than good reasons to attack. It was like being surrounded by a gang of idiots, but heavily armed ones. Israel knew that punching first would eliminate most of the risks, even though those risks could not be proven and until the day no one can seriously tell what the Arabs would have done had Israel not attacked first. In June 1967 Israel attacked Egypt, exclusively. That war lasted 6 hours, not 6 days. Next day the Egyptians sent their troops to a certain death in the desert and also seem to have convinced Jordan to attack Israel. The Israelis tried to avoid that war by talking King Hussein out of it, unsuccessfully. Until the day the reasons for Jordan’s attack are not too clear. What does it matter anyway?
The last 5 days and 18 hours of the war (with a few exceptions) were a feast for the Israelis. They felt almighty and had a serious “trigger happiness” syndrome. Remember they sank a US spy ship, the USS Liberty, just because, macho style. And took Jerusalem, West Bank, Golan, … A Jewish Jerusalem! In the insanity of war they took land that, analytically, knew was a huge mistake to take.
And then problems started. The problem of occupying land where other people live, by force. Not precisely a huge experience in that department, if you look at Jewish history.
During 20 years the official line was: “the problem doesn’t exist, Palestinians don’t exist”. Golda Meir, for some the worst PM in the history of the State, said it publicly and repeatedly. In 1987 the Palestinians rebelled. They had rebelled before to the Jordans, in much bloodier fashion. And in 1987 they started throwing stones. Can you imagine a softer way to rebel? We, in their place, would have been much, much deadlier. First Intifada was, in all senses, understandable and something Palestinians can be proud of.
In the 90’s Rabin, maybe the greatest Statesman the State had, changed his point of view and understood that negotiations were a must. Madrid, Oslo, all good and bad tries. Good because they were better than continuing to deny the problem. Bad because they had no chance of success whatsoever. Palestinians are not stupid. The writer of these lines has to, every now and then, negotiate contracts. And that is for projects that both parties desperately want, parties that are usually culturally similar… and it is always a distress. And it is always problematic. I can only imagine a negotiations table between Israelis and Palestinians!
I didn’t mention peace with Egypt. Sadat, a great man, had tried talking peace since the early 70´s. The Israelis, who in those years simply denied the problem, wouldn’t even listen. He could only attack. And attack he did, pretty smartly. Then he had the balls to go to Jerusalem! A great man, a crazy man, an enlightened man.
Back to the 90’s, the Israelis were left empty handed, of course. In 2000 the closest point to solution was reached, in Camp David II and Taba. For many reasons, like Arafat being a crook who only wanted personal riches and the Israelis with a weak government, prior to elections, and not fully convinced about Peace anyway, nothing was reached. And then Sharon taking a piss in the Mount, and the second Intifada. Much deadlier than the first one and with many terrible outcomes, being not the smallest one that the Israeli electorate shifted clearly to the right. A right that today represents a Political Establishment that is corrupt to the bone, criminal. And not only the right. Olmert, Netanhiahu, Liberman, Barak, … All financed from Brooklyn. All bowing to the Jewish Taliban. It is notable how in the last decades all the Jewish, Protestant, and Muslim worlds have become more and more fundamentalist. The pedophilic Catholic mania is like a blessing, compared to the other nut heads.
Today we Jews keep building settlements in occupied territory. More than settlements, real towns. Lots of money involved. What are the chances for a real solution? Very low. Keeping the status quo seems to be the chosen option of Israeli leadership. And thus Israel will be, until its final destruction (internal, external?) a brutal, occupying State. The best solution would be, in my opinion, an honest apology to the Palestinian people, and the beginning of a process that will end up in a viable Palestinian State. We Jews have already demonstrated our competencies in building our own State. Now we need to build another one. As soon as possible.
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