Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 17 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 9/17/16

It Can Happen Here...

By       (Page 1 of 3 pages)   2 comments
Message Uri Avnery
Become a Fan
  (32 fans)

Reprinted from Gush Shalom

The Two-State Solution

ZIONISM WAS a revolutionary idea. It proposed that the "Jewish people" should create a new Jewish entity in the land of Palestine.

The Zionist project was very successful indeed. By 1948, the embryo nation was strong enough to create a state. Israel was born.

When one builds a house, one needs scaffolding. When the building is finished, the scaffolding is removed.

But political ideas and structures don't die easily. The human mind is lazy and apprehensive, and clings to familiar ideas, long after they have become obsolete. Also, political and material interests become vested in the idea and resist change.

Thus "Zionism" continued to exist after its aim had already been achieved. The scaffolding became superfluous, indeed obstructive.

WHY OBSTRUCTIVE? Let's take Australia, for example. It was created by British settlers, as a colony of Britain. Australians were deeply committed to Britain. During World War II they came to us, on their way to fight for Britain in North Africa. (We liked them very much.)

But Australia is not Britain. A different climate, a different geography, a different location, which dictates different political options.

If we consider World Jewry as a kind of motherland, like Britain for Australia, Israel should have cut the umbilical cord at birth. A new nation. A new location. A different neighborhood. Different options.

This never happened. Israel is a "Zionist" state, or so the vast majority of its citizens and leaders believe. Not being a Zionist means being an apostate, almost a traitor.

But what do Israelis mean by "Zionism"? Patriotism? Nationalism? Solidarity with Jews around the world? Or something much more: the idea that Israel does not really belong to its citizens, but to all the Jews around the world?

THESE BASIC conceptions, whether conscious or unconscious, have wide-ranging consequences.

Israel is officially and judicially defined as "a Jewish and democratic state." Does that mean that non-Jewish citizens of Israel, such as the Arabs, do not really belong, but are only tolerated and their civil rights are questionable? Does it mean that Israel as such is, in reality, a Western nation transplanted to the Middle East? (In itself a Western name.)

Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement, suggested in his fundamental book "The Jewish State" that in Palestine we would volunteer to serve as an outpost for European civilization against barbarism. Which barbarians did he have in mind?

Some 110 years later, the Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, expressed the same idea in more colorful words, when he described Israel as a "villa in the Jungle." Again, it is easy to guess which wild beasts he had in mind.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Uri Avnery Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Uri Avnery is a longtime Israeli peace activist. Since 1948 has advocated the setting up of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. In 1974, Uri Avnery was the first Israeli to establish contact with PLO leadership. In 1982 he was the first Israeli ever to meet Yassir Arafat, after crossing the lines in besieged Beirut. He served three terms in the (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

"Stupid and Mean and Brutal"

A Flash of Lightning

Israeli Idiocracy

Spitting In The Face of Obama

The Tone and the Music; Reaction to Obama's Cairo Speech

The Grand Default

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend