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 Posted by Aron Trauring on September 11 2002 (Wednesday) : 01:04 PMThis recent article by Gideon Levy inspired me to write something about the "demographic threat" and the "right of return." Before I could put pen to paper (or rather fingers to keybord), Boaz Evron wrote this, which says unequivically, what Levy only dares hint at: For Israel to survive and prosper as a Jewish homeland and cultural center, it must cease to be a Jewish state. Anyone familiar with Zionist history (and for a good introduction, read Walter Laquer's History of Zionism) knows that the original goal of the movement was to create a place of refuge for Eastern European Jews. The idea of creating a State was not a central platform of the movement. The word "homeland" was the operative term. Many early Zionists, saw the eventual state of Israel as a bi-national, democratic society for all the residents of Palestine. It would be a refuge for Jews as well as a cultural center for the Jewish people. This progressive, democratic view of Zionism was over-whelmed by Arab rejectionism on the one hand and the ascendency of Ben Gurion's ethno-centric ultra-nationalism on the other. This progressive view of Israel fits in well with Mordechai Kaplan's definition of Judaism as a civilization (Kaplan was heavily influenced by the Zionist thinker Ahad Ha'am). Kaplan rejects the ethno-centric definition. A Jew, Kaplan says, is anyone who identifies with Jewish culture and the Jewish people. This inclusive definition, is the de facto definition for Jews worldwide, except Israel. Outside of Israel, Orthodox Jews who accept the halachic standard, don't buy into this definition and yet have found a modus vivendi for dealing with it. In Israel, where being Jewish has practical and political implications, the ethnographic definition has huge negative effects. First, it is at the core of the conflict with the Palestinians. The vast majority of Israelis, even the most left amongst them, can't seem to understand why viewing Palestinians as a "demographic threat" is an inherently racist viewpoint. But if the language Jews use about Palestinians were reversed, the point would be obvious. Why can Jews have a right of return and not Palestinians? [For an articulate Palestinian viewpoint on this issue see this.] But even if we could reach a (temporary) truce with the Palestinians with a two-state solution, the war of the Jews would rip the country apart. If Israel is a Jewish state, then it matters deeply to Orthodox Jews that the state follow halachic norms. And of course, secular Jews can't and won't live with that. Unlike America, Orthodox and Secular Jews are doomed to internal war in a Jewish state. In any case, as I ask my friends, what does garbage collection, economic development, police and even security have to do with being Jewish (or Islamic for that matter)? In Europe, the continent torn by ethnic strife for centuries, it took 90 million deaths in the first half of the 20th century, for the peoples of Europe to reach this conclusion: the function of the state needs to be separated not only from religion, but from ethnicity. Cultural identity can find expression through cultural autonomy in areas such as language, education, journalism, theater and art. Besides providing subsidies for these activities, government should have nothing to do with ethnicity. The pre-requisite for this "utopian" vision to happen, is the Palestinians' acceptance of the right of the Jews to have a cultural homeland in what was once Palestine, and for Jews to live in peace and security. But the overwhelming majority of Palestinians have already accepted that. In fact, the issue of the right of return on both sides, can be addressed by framing the two-state solution, from the beginning, as an interim political framework. The ultimate goal is the new European model: a regional political government (that will eventually include Jordan, and perhaps later Syria and Lebanon) with strong support for cultural autonomy for all the various groups in the region. Freedom of residence and movement throughout the region should be enshrined. Jews can live in Hebron and Arabs in Tel Aviv. Only with this model will the war between Jews and Arabs, and between Jew and Jew finally cease. Ironically, only if Israel ceases to define itself as a Jewish state, and adopts the progressive model of Zionism, will it in fact flourish as a great center of Jewish life. < | >
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  Cost of the War in Iraq
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"Entre los individuos, como entre las naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz -- Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace" -Benito Juárez
"It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it." -Eleanor Roosevelt "Let them call me a rebel and welcome. I feel no concern from it. But should I suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul" -Thomas Paine | |
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Feature: Demagography as the Enemy of Democracy
