Israel Palestine Infos
Uri Avnery
February 19, 2011
The
Genie is out of the Bottle
THIS IS a story right out
of “1001 Nights”. The genie escaped from the bottle, and no power on earth can
put it back.
When it happened in
And then it happened in
But now it has spread all
over the Arab world. To
The genie of revolution,
of renewal, of rejuvenation, is now haunting all the regimes in the Region. The
inhabitants of the “Villa in the Jungle” are liable to wake up one morning and
discover that the jungle is gone, that we are surrounded by a new landscape.
WHEN OUR Zionist fathers
decided to set up a safe haven in
They could appear in West
Asia as European conquerors, who see themselves as a bridgehead of the “white”
man and as masters of the “natives”, like the Spanish conquistadores and the
Anglo-Saxon colonialists in
The second way was to see
themselves as an Asian people returning to their homeland, the heirs to the
political and cultural traditions of the Semitic world, ready to take part, with
the other peoples of the region, in the war of liberation from European
exploitation.
I wrote these words 64
years ago, in a brochure that appeared just two months before the outbreak of
the 1948 war.
I stand by these words
today.
These days I have a
growing feeling that we are once again standing at a historic crossroads. The
direction we choose in the coming days will determine the destiny of the State
of
And perhaps the greatest
danger is that we make no choice at all, that we are not even aware of the need
to make a decision, that we just continue on the road that has brought us to
where we are today. That we are occupied with trivialities – the battle between
the Minister of Defense and the departing Chief of Staff, the struggle between
Netanyahu and Lieberman about the appointment of an ambassador, the non-events
of “Big Brother” and similar TV inanities – that we do not even notice that
history is passing us by, leaving us behind.
WHEN OUR politicians and
pundits found enough time – amid all the daily distractions – to deal with the
events around us, it was in the old and (sadly) familiar way.
Even in the few halfway
intelligent talk shows, there was much hilarity about the idea that “Arabs”
could establish democracies. Learned professors and media commentators “proved”
that such a thing just could not happen – Islam was “by nature” anti-democratic
and backward, Arab societies lacked the Protestant Christian ethic necessary for
democracy, or the capitalist foundations for a sound middle class, etc. At best,
one kind of despotism would be replaced by another.
The most common
conclusion was that democratic elections would inevitably lead to the victory of
“Islamist” fanatics, who would set up brutal Taliban-style theocracies, or
worse.
Part of this, of course,
is deliberate propaganda, designed to convince the naïve Americans and Europeans
that they must shore up the Mubaraks of the region or alternative military
strongmen. But most of it was quite sincere: most Israelis really believe that
the Arabs, left to their own devices, will set up murderous “Islamist” regimes,
whose main aim would be to wipe
Ordinary Israelis know
next to nothing about Islam and the Arab world. As a (left-wing) Israeli general
answered 65 years ago, when asked how he viewed the Arab world: “though the
sights of my rifle.” Everything is reduced to “security”, and insecurity
prevents, of course, any serious reflection.
THIS ATTITUDE goes back
to the beginnings of the Zionist movement.
Its founder – Theodor
Herzl – famously wrote in his historic treatise that the future Jewish State
would constitute “a part of the wall of civilization” against Asiatic (meaning
Arab) barbarism. Herzl admired Cecil Rhodes, the standard-bearer of British
imperialism, He and his followers shared the cultural attitude then common in
Europe, which Eduard Said latter labeled “Orientalism”.
Viewed in retrospect,
that was perhaps natural, considering that the Zionist movement was born in
Europe towards the end of the imperialist era, and that it was planning to
create a Jewish homeland in a country in which another people – an Arab people –
was living.
The tragedy is that this
attitude has not changed in 120 years, and that it is stronger today than ever.
Those of us who propose a different course – and there have always been some –
remain voices in the wilderness.
This is evident these
days in the Israeli attitude to the events shaking the Arab world and beyond.
Among ordinary Israelis, there was quite a lot of spontaneous sympathy for the
Egyptians confronting their tormentors in Tahrir Square - but everything was
viewed from the outside, from afar, as if it were happening on the moon.
The only practical
question raised was: will the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty hold? Or do we need
to raise new army divisions for a possible war with
BUT THE treaty – actually
an armistice between regimes and armies – should only be of secondary concern
for us. The most important question is: how will the new Arab world look? Will
the transition to democracy be relatively smooth and peaceful, or not? Will it
happen at all, and will it mean that a more radical Islamic region emerges -
which is a distinct possibility? Can we have any influence on the course of
events?
Of course, none of
today’s Arab movements is eager for an Israeli embrace. It would be a bear hug.
Israel is viewed today by practically all Arabs as a colonialist, anti-Arab
state that oppresses the Palestinians and is out to dispossess as many Arabs as
possible – though there is, I believe, also a lot of silent admiration for
Israel’s technological and other achievements.
But when entire peoples
rise up and revolution upsets all entrenched attitudes, there is the possibility
of changing old ideas. If Israeli political and intellectual leaders were to
stand up today and openly declare their solidarity with the Arab masses in their
struggle for freedom, justice and dignity, they could plant a seed that would
bear fruit in coming years.
Of course, such
statements must really come from the heart. As a superficial political ploy,
they would be rightly despised. They must be accompanied by a profound change in
our attitude towards the Palestinian people. That’s why peace with the
Palestinians now, at once, is a vital necessity for
Our future is not with
Europe or
The Arab Awakening is not
a matter of months or a few years. It may well be a prolonged struggle, with
many failures and defeats, but the genie will not return to the bottle. The
images of the 18 days in
In my fondest dreams I
could not imagine a wiser and more attractive course for us Israelis, than to
join this march in body and spirit.