May 2nd 2012

Israel’s Continued Independence Rests On Palestinian Independence

by Alon Ben-Meir

 

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a retired professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies for over 20 years.

As Israel recently observed sixty-four years of independence, it is critical that Israelis reflect on the path they have taken and ask if the current one is sustainable in the long-term. Much has been achieved since the nation’s founding and the Israelis should take immense pride in what they have accomplished in a relatively short period of time. In the midst of celebration, however, there is a dangerous obliviousness to the “dark side” of Israel, one that could jeopardize Israel’s very existence far more than threats from Iran or any other country. Indeed, none of Israel’s achievements will be sustainable if Israel ignores the gathering storm and continues on its current perilous course. 

Whereas Israel has achieved a near economic miracle, touting itself as the “start-up nation,” hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens, including a quarter of Holocaustsurvivors, live below the poverty line. The social gap between rich and poor continues to grow, and according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Israel ranks alongside Chile, Mexico, and the United States in its levels of inequality. The increasing frustration of the poor and middle class was on full display last summer, when nearly 400,000 citizens took to the streets to demand equal opportunities, a reigning in of the cost of living, affordable housing, and most importantly, credible government efforts to respond to their demands. Strong support for the protests (as high as 90% in some polls) underscores the level of dissatisfaction that exists today in Israeli society. This is certainly not what the elder Zionists of the state, notably Herzl, had envisioned.

Whereas the Netanyahu government strives to maintain the Jewish national identity of the state and demand from the Palestinian Authority recognition of such, close to 1 million Israelis have left the country for more than one year and have not returned. Moreover, public opinion has been favorable toward those that have left and has been laden with expressions of sympathy that do not bode well for the future Jewish identity of the state. There is a clear and present generational shift in attitude. As the noted journalist Gideon Levy rightly points out, “If our forefathers dreamt of an Israeli passport, there are those among us who are now dreaming of a foreign passport.” Whether motivated by opportunities abroad or fears of future uncertainty, there is a growing uneasiness about the direction that Israel is taking. This certainly defies the dream of the ingathering of the Jews to live in their homeland as they now run the risk of becoming a minority in their last and only refuge. 

Whereas there is a constant stream of rhetoric about the desire to make peace with Palestinians, the Israeli government’s actions on the ground belie its words. Instead of moving toward a solution to the Palestinian problem, Israel is taking steps that will jeopardize any hope of a peaceful settlement. The Netanyahu government’s recent decision to retroactively legalize three West Bank settlements is nothing short of a shameless move that highlights the government’s willingness to surrender to the whims of the settlement movement. Jerusalem’s mayor, Nir Barkat, is promoting the establishment of a new settlement in East Jerusalem, a move that is bitterly antagonistic toward the Palestinians and threatens to diminish what little hope is left to forge a peace agreement which is sine qua non to Israel’s own existence as an independent Jewish state. Out of desperation, the Palestinians may opt for a one state solution, which will force Israel to choose between being a bi-national state with a Palestinian majority in control or becoming an apartheid state earning international condemnation, increasing isolation, and eventually, crippling sanctions. Is this how the Netanyahu government tries to realize the Jews’ millennium-old dream to live in security and peace? 

Instead of reaching out to the Arab and the Muslim world by embracing the Arab Peace Initiative, Israel managed to alienate the only three Muslim countries that it had enjoyed good relations with. Since the 2010 Gaza Flotilla Raid, a precipitous free-fall in Israeli-Turkish relations has taken place. Recently, Turkey vetoed Israel’s bid for attendance at an upcoming NATO conference in May and has spoken out forcefully against Israel’s latest moves regarding its settlement program. Jordan too hasdenounced Israel’s decision to legalize the three West Bank settlements, and Israel stands to lose the Hashemite Kingdom’s important role in solving the Palestinian question as was demonstrated in recent talks that were, albeit unsuccessfully, held in Jordan between Israeli and Palestinian delegations. The political rise of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Egypt has also led to heightened tensions. A recent contractcancellation of natural gas delivery to Israel from Egypt was fraught with political concerns and implications. The shifting nature of Egypt’s political landscape reveals a newly found willingness on the part of Egypt to question one of the most important regional relationships since signing the bilateral peace treaty of 1979. Past, current and future Egyptian governments have been, and will always be, particularly sensitive to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The lack of a resolution to this debilitating struggle will remain the singular most daunting obstacle to the normalization of relations between Israel and the Muslim world. Can Israel otherwise survive in a sea of Arab hostility quickly approaching a half billion people? 

The most talked about issue in Israel today, the nature of the Iranian nuclear program, reveals an often-erratic display of behavior on the part of the Netanyahu government. Yuval Diskin, who retired last year as the Director of the Shin Bet (the Israeli equivalent to the FBI), recently said in a public forum that he had no faith in the leadership of Netanyahu and Barak in matters pertaining to relations with Iran, relations that, “present a false view to the public on the Iranian bomb.” He further stated, “I don’t believe in a leadership that makes decisions based on messianic feelings.” Although Iran may represent a certain threat, the government is overly focused on Iran when it should be focused on immediate concerns such as achieving peace with the Palestinians while maintaining its security, national identity and territorial integrity. 

Israel’s former head of the Mossad, Meir Dagan, was even blunter in his criticism of the Netanyahu government when only a few weeks ago he stated, “We are in a situation in which the national agenda, long-term planning, the handling of the urgent or the politically sensitive national problems, simply don’t exist. The only thing of interest to the leaders is to maintain the coalition and survive.” A chorus of past top Israeli officials including former Prime Minister Olmert, Gabi Ashkenazi, former IDF Chief of Staff and Eliezer Shkedy, former Air Force Commander, along with the current Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, expressed the same concerns. They all suggested, in one form or another, that although Israel should remain vigilant about the Iranian nuclear program and be prepared for any eventuality, Netanyahu’s bellicose statements about Iran are dangerous. 

Diplomacy must be given time to work and attacking Iranian nuclear facilities must absolutely be a last resort and must be made in full coordination with the United States. That said, Israel should reserve the option to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, even unilaterally should diplomacy along with sanctions fail, or if Iran is about to reach the point of no return to acquire nuclear weapons, and finally if the United States is not prepared to take military action under such circumstances. Otherwise, acting prematurely against Iran would have disastrous global consequences for which only Israel would be blamed and suffer unimaginable consequences.   

One would think that given the looming threat to Israel’s national security, if not its very existence, the Israelis would demand from their leaders a unity of purpose by coalescing around a single movement that places national interests, not personal ambitions, first. But sadly, instead of forming such a movement consisting of the center, left-of-center and the left, and agree on a general framework for peace with the Palestinians, political factionalism and opportunism is what characterizes Israel’s political landscape today. It should be recalled that it was internal division and infighting that destroyed ancient Israel, and those who aspire to lead should learn a page or two from the Jews’ instructive history. As Israel moves towards new elections (perhaps this fall), more political parties are mushrooming and sowing the seeds for more division and inner discord which would allow Netanyahu and his cohorts to win another election, something that will bring Israel to the brink of a national disaster.

The father of modern Israel, David Ben-Gurion, offered a wise counsel to the Israeli people, to deal with the Palestinians with restraint and wisdom. If Israel wants to celebrate the next sixty-four years, nay even the next ten years, of independence, with ample praise and adulation for its progress, it must correct its errors, change its current course, and above all else, work tirelessly to achieve a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

Browse articles by author

More Current Affairs

Jun 11th 2022
EXTRACT: "If Trump had his way, then Vice-President Pence would have also broken his oath to the constitution and derailed the certification of electoral votes. Our continued existence as a Republic might very well have hung on Pence’s actions that day. The mob’s response was to call for Pence to be hanged, and a noose and scaffold was erected apparently for that very purpose. What was Trump’s reaction when he was told that the mob was calling for Pence’s summary execution? His words were: “Maybe our supporters have the right idea.” Mike Pence “deserves” it."
Jun 10th 2022
EXTRACTS: "Speaking to journalist Sophie Raworth on the BBC’s Sunday Morning show recently, former war crimes prosecutor Sir Howard Morrison, now an advisor to the Ukraine government, highlighted the dangers posed by the negative – often insulting and dehumanising – statements made by some Russian politicians and media personalities about Ukraine and its people." ---- "The conditions and attitudes described by Morrison have existed for centuries: Russians have viewed Ukrainians as inferior since before the Soviet era." ----- "And, as Morrison said, stereotyping and denigrating a people as inferior or lacking agency makes atrocities and looting more likely to happen, as we are seeing in Ukraine."
Jun 9th 2022
EXTRACT: "Unless Russia realises that the west is willing and able to push back, a new, stable security order in Europe will not be possible. Concessions to Russia, by Ukraine or the EU and Nato, are not the way to achieve this. That this has been realised beyond Ukraine’s most ardent supporters in the Baltic states, Poland, the UK and the US is clear from German support for strengthening Nato’s northern flank and a general increase in Nato members’ defence spending."
Jun 8th 2022
EXTRACT: "Highly civilized people can turn into barbarians when demagogues and dictators exploit their fears and trigger their most atavistic instincts. Rape, torture, and massacres often happen when soldiers invade foreign countries. Commanding officers sometimes actively encourage such behavior to terrorize an enemy into submission. And sometimes it occurs when the officer corps loses control and discipline breaks down. Japanese and Germans know this, as do Serbs, Koreans, Americans, Russians, and many others."
Jun 1st 2022
EXTRACTS: "Like Metternich, Kissinger commits the fatal error of believing that a few wise policymakers can impose their will on the world. Worse, he believes they can halt domestically generated change and the power of nationalism. Many years ago, this is what Senator William Fulbright termed the “arrogance of power.” This approach failed in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. It is also doomed to fail in Russia and Ukraine." ------ "Not surprisingly, Kissinger misunderstands Russia. He appears to believe that, because Russia has been an “essential part of Europe” for over four centuries, it is therefore fated to remain so for the foreseeable future.The claim is completely at odds with history." ---- "Finally, Kissinger misunderstands the implications of his own analysis for Western relations with Russia. “We are facing,” he said, “a situation now where Russia could alienate itself completely from Europe and seek a permanent alliance elsewhere." ---- "But what’s so bad about Russia’s isolating itself from Europe and becoming a vassal state of China? "
Jun 1st 2022
EXTRACTS: "According to the latest figures from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, China’s population grew from 1.41212 billion to just 1.41260 billion in 2021 – a record low increase of just 480,000, a mere fraction of the annual growth of eight million or so common a decade ago." ----- "China’s total fertility rate (births per woman) was 2.6 in the late 1980s – well above the 2.1 needed to replace deaths. It has been between 1.6 and 1.7 since 1994, and slipped to 1.3 in 2020 and just 1.15 in 2021."
Jun 1st 2022
EXTRACTS: "Casualties are very high. A very conservative estimate of overall Russian losses is that they have lost more troops killed since February 24 than in ten years of fighting in Afghanistan. This implies well over 40,000 men taken out of the fight, including the wounded." ----- "Away from the cauldron of Donbas, Belarus has been rattling its somewhat rusty sabre by deploying troops to its border with Ukraine. This is unlikely to trouble Kyiv. The Belarus president, Alexander Lukashenko, is well aware that he may need them at home to shore up his shaky regime."
May 27th 2022
EXTRACTS: "Monetary policymakers are talking tough nowadays about fighting inflation to head off the risk of it spinning out of control. But that doesn’t mean they won’t eventually wimp out and allow the inflation rate to rise above target. Since hitting the target most likely requires a hard landing, they could end up raising rates and then getting cold feet once that scenario becomes more likely. Moreover, because there is so much private and public debt in the system (348% of GDP globally), interest-rate hikes could trigger a further sharp downturn in bond, stock, and credit markets, giving central banks yet another reason to backpedal." ----- "The historical evidence shows that a soft landing is highly improbable. That leaves either a hard landing and a return to lower inflation, or a stagflationary scenario. Either way, a recession in the next two years is likely."
May 26th 2022
EXTRACT: "No, I am not arguing that Powell needs to replicate Volcker’s tightening campaign. But if the Fed wishes to avoid a replay of the stagflation of the late 1970s and early 1980s, it needs to recognize the extraordinary gulf between Volcker’s 4.4% real interest rate and Powell’s -2.25%. It is delusional to believe that such a wildly accommodative policy trajectory can solve America’s worst inflation problem in a generation."
May 26th 2022
EXTRACT: "It will be critical in this context how China will act and whether it will prioritise its economic interests (continuing trade with Europe and the US) or current ideological preferences (an alliance with Russia that makes the world safe for autocracies)."
May 26th 2022
EXTRACT: "The document is full of embarrassing and damming stories of illegal gatherings and bad behaviour. There was “excessive alcohol consumption”, a regular fixture referred to as “wine time Fridays” and altercations between staff. Aides are shown to have left Downing Street after 4am (and not because they had worked into these early hours). Cleaning staff and junior aides were abused, and a Number 10 adviser is on record before the infamous “bring your own booze” party...."
May 17th 2022
EXTRACT: "But even a resounding Russian defeat is an ominous scenario. Yes, under such circumstances – and only such circumstances – Putin might be toppled in some kind of coup led by elements of Russia’s security apparatus. But the chances that this would produce a liberal democratic Russia that abandons Putin’s grand strategic designs are slim. More likely, Russia would be a rogue nuclear superpower ruled by military coup-makers with revanchist impulses. Germany after World War I comes to mind."
May 4th 2022
EXTRACT: ".....a remarkable transformation is taking place in Ukraine’s army amounting to its de facto military integration into Nato. As western equipment filters through to the frontline, Nato-standard weaponry and ammunition will be brought into Ukrainian service. This is of far higher quality than the mainly former Soviet weapons with which the Ukrainians have fought so capably. The longer this process continues and deepens, the worse the situation will be for the already inefficient Russian army and air force."
May 3rd 2022
EXTRACT: " The conventional wisdom among students of the Russian arts and sciences is that Russian culture is “great.” The problem is that, while there are surely great individuals within Russian culture, the culture as a whole cannot avoid responsibility for Putin and his regime’s crimes." ---- "Russianists will not be able to avoid examining themselves and their Russian cultural icons for harbingers of the present catastrophe. What does it mean that Fyodor Dostoevsky was a Russian chauvinist? That Nikolai Gogol and Anton Chekhov were Ukrainian? That Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was an unvarnished imperialist? That Aleksandr Pushkin was a troubadour of Russian imperial greatness? May these writers still be read without one eye on the ongoing atrocities in Ukraine?"
Apr 29th 2022
EXTRACT: "The following day Lavrov met his Eritrean counterpart, Osman Saleh, in Moscow. Eritrea was the only African country to vote against the UN resolution condemning the invasion. In this refusal to condemn Russia, Eritrea was joined by only Belarus, North Korea and Syria. Even longstanding allies such as Cuba and China abstained. It’s an indication of Russia’s increasingly limited diplomatic options as this war continues."
Apr 24th 2022
EXTRACT: "Although the milestone lasted only for a brief time, it points to a future in which California runs on 100% wind, solar, hydro and batteries, a future that will certainly arrive even faster than the state plans. As it is, California is ahead of its green energy goals." ...... "A world of 100% green energy and electric cars is not only a healthier and more comfortable world, it is a world where oil and gas dictators like Vladimir Putin are defunded."
Apr 17th 2022
EXTRACT: "Kazakhstan’s authorities have also showed uncharacteristic leniency in allowing public rallies in support of Ukraine. Thousands of protesters holding banners reading “Russians, leave Ukraine”, “Long Live Ukraine” and “Bring Putin to trial” marched across the capital, Almaty, wrapping monuments to Lenin and other Soviet-era figures with yellow and blue balloons symbolising the Ukrainian flag."
Apr 15th 2022
EXTRACT: "People’s identification with the Soviet Union appears to have a clear and growing basis in Russian public opinion. Surveys we have conducted throughout the Putin period show that Soviet identification among the general population – something that had been steadily declining after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 – began to increase in 2014, when the Russian government annexed Crimea and supported rebellions in the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. By 2021, almost 50% of those surveyed identified with the Soviet Union rather than the Russian Federation."
Apr 13th 2022
EXTRACT: "Worse yet, the Hungarian government has effectively been helping Putin by prohibiting the shipment of weapons to Ukraine across its borders. Hungarian public TV spreads Russian disinformation day and night. The day before the election, an assembly of ordinary people expressing solidarity with Ukraine was framed on state television as a “pro-war rally.” "
Apr 13th 2022
EXTRACT: "It may well be that the Russian army’s fate has already been sealed in what is likely to be a long war. The single qualification to this may be that Russia could default to escalation using “weapons of mass destruction” of one form or another – whether tactical nuclear warheads or chemical weapons."