The colonization of the Palestinian (and Syrian & Egyptian) territories began quite soon after the 1967 war concluded. There are excellent sources out there that will give you much more background than any one diary here can, so I recommend taking a look. But, quite often, the post-67 phase of colonization is the distraction; we should always pay attention to are the events happening within Israel, and particularly to Palestinian citizens of Israel.
A Palestinian family piles into a truck, becoming part of the Nakba in 1948. (UNWRA)
So here's a quick rundown of the recent events. First, the Nakba may very well become illegal in Israel;
Lieberman's party proposes ban on Arab Nakba
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's party wants to ban Israeli Arabs from marking the anniversary of what they term "the Catastrophe" or Nakba, when in 1948 some 700,000 Arabs lost their homes in the war that led to the establishment of the state of Israel.
The ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party said it would propose legislation next week for a ban on the practice and a jail term of up to three years for violators.
And then there's that loyalty oath;
Lieberman's party to seek cabinet okay for loyalty oath
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party plans to propose controversial legislation requiring citizens to swear loyalty to the state, a party spokesman said on Monday.
The party intends to seek cabinet approval for the bill before presenting it to the Knesset where it would have to pass three votes and a committee review before taking effect, according to the spokesman.
The proposal was a key part of Yisrael Beiteinu's campaign in February's general election, in which it grew to Israel's third largest political party.
And now, we're just truckin in to crazyland my friends;
MKs support arrest over denial of Israel's existence
The Knesset on Wednesday morning approved in a preliminary reading a bill introducing one year in prison for anyone speaking against Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state, should the call contain a reasonable possibility "that it may lead to acts of hatred, scorn or lack of loyalty to the State or its government authorities or law systems which have been established legally."
Forty-seven Knesset members voted in favor of the motion, 34 voted against it, and one MK abstained. The bill was initiated by MK Zevulun Orlev (Habayit Hayehudi), chairman of the Knesset's Education Committee.
Of course, many Israelis and Palesitnians had much to day regarding these developments;
'You want to punish people for thinking?'
MK Zahalka said before the vote, "Many intellectuals in the academia who talk about a country belonging to all its citizens belong in prison, according to MK Orlev. Arab and Jewish leaders who seek real democracy in Israel also belong in jail, according to Orlev... He wants to put anyone who doesn’t agree with him in jail.
"This is the proposal: Whoever says 'death to the Arabs' should not be put in prison, but whoever says 'a country of all its citizens' should not be put in prison. This is a crazy law aimed at managing the political discourse according to laws."
and
MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) said in response to the bill, "We will not recognize a Jewish and Zionist Israel despite the draconian law, even if we pay a personal price. This coalition will soon propose a low banning 'expressing shock over the occupation' and calling for a penalty of five years in prison for anyone expressing such shock."
Like I made clear earlier, it is this that we should be paying attention to, as opposed to the circus of settlement and outpost removal and construction that of course, we are still paying for with an increased amount of US aid to Israel. US Aid and the colonial project in the West Bank are of course, important, but the recent events within Israel demand more scrutiny than they commonly get.
First, notice how some of the articles themselves frame the issues, by describing them as initiatives of Lieberman's party. On one level, it is accurate, as the party is following through with its racist campaign promises. But this is also a demonstration of a common tendency within Israel political discourse, from the pre-state Yishuv to the present, to blame that which is overtly racist and colonialist to the 'other' within the fold, whether that be the revisionists and Jabotinsky back then, to Herut and Likud during Begin's rise to power, or now with the Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) Party and its outspoken racist leader, Mr Lieberman. Of course, as I have pointed out before, it is an example of bad conscience;
Likewise, it would be mistaken to think of the rise of Avigdor Lieberman and his party, Yisrael Beiteinu, as a major development or as the main source of concern for the Palestinians. Focusing on Lieberman (charitably called by the Guardian a "hardliner") distracts the discussion from the real issues to the person of one unpleasant politician who says ignominious things others are generally unwilling to say. This logic seems to suggest that the political disappearance of Lieberman will bring about a serendipitous resolution of major problems in the Middle East. Lieberman, however, only exacerbates an already existing problem, and he cannot be easily dismissed as a marginal case of excess or abnormality of the Israeli political system.
The movement to the right wing within Zionism cannot be reduced to Lieberman, and what is troubling about Zionism cannot be reduced to its right-wing side only.
Just take a look at some of the racist utterances of a 'respected' Liberal Zionist (courtesy of As'ad, thanks!);
When you encounter Israeli liberals in the US or in Europe, they present a different face. They never reveal what they actually had written in their books. This is very true of Amos Oz but also true of Amos Elon. You need to read the books of those Zionist liberals to realize that when it comes to the fundamental racism at the heart of the movement that founded the usurping entity, the left-right divide is rather meaningless. Obituaries of Amos Elon now fill the US newspapers and he is being presented as a humane and compassionate writer. Here is a sample from Elon's book Herzl: "There was no symmetry between Arab and Jewish grievances. The Jews were always ready for a compromise; the Arabs have not yet contemplated the possibility of accomodation. The Palestinian dispersion was largely self-inflicted; unlike the Jews, they could live full Arab lives in any of a dozen other Arab countries." (p. 407) So Elon had a long career of outright lies and fabrication. Read his biography of Herzl and you know what I mean.
I agree with As'ad, the right-left divide means nothing in terms of Zionism and its attitude towards Palestinians. What these recent events show is not just that some marginal political figure is causing trouble (but no worries, he'll be gone soon, right?) for 'the rest of us.' It shows Israel descending into a kind of panic. It has been 61 years since the state was founded on the expulsion and destruction of Palestinian society and existence; villages were destroyed, people still remain in exile or under occupation. But against all of these odds, they still remain, and they refuse to allow the state of Israel to forget it. They will commemorate the Nakba, and challenge these laws, with their very existence; why else is there such an enduring Zionist talking point as "the Palestinians never/don't existed/exist?" It is of course, a way of maintaining the denial of Israel origins and colonization of Palestine; if they don't exist, either at all or just as 'a people', then what was done is more or less negligible, or even justified.
But remain they do, and people are starting to clue into it;
A few words from Michael Palin
When I left London I had a very clear idea of where or what Palestine consisted of. This trip has made me understand that though Palestine may not exist as a country on a map, it is a reality in the minds of 5 million people.
Highlights of my journey have been walking with Raja Shehadeh in the hills around Ramallah, and learning much from him of the old land of Palestine, most of which disappeared in 1948, when the state of Israel was created. From Raja I learned some of the history, of the old villages of Palestine which were destroyed after the war in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs were forced from their homes, to become refugees. I also something of the beauty of these stony olive-grove-covered hilles which I wouldn’t have appreciated without Raja.
It’s been an eye-opening experience for me, and I feel proud of my fellow writers and travellers who have shared it with me. And proud too, of the Palestinians we’ve met, who care so much and work so hard to keep Palestine alive.
And to finish up, here's an example of the direction that Israel should be taking in order to overcome such panic and racism;
What is so dangerous about Jews imagining that they belong to one people? Why is this bad?
"In the Israeli discourse about roots there is a degree of perversion. This is an ethnocentric, biological, genetic discourse. But Israel has no existence as a Jewish state: If Israel does not develop and become an open, multicultural society we will have a Kosovo in the Galilee. "We must begin to work hard to transform our place into an Israeli republic where ethnic origin, as well as faith, will not be relevant in the eyes of the law. Anyone who is acquainted with the young elites of the Israeli Arab community can see that they will not agree to live in a country that declares it is not theirs. If I were a Palestinian I would rebel against a state like that, but even as an Israeli I am rebelling against it."
If the myth of Zionism is one of the Jewish people that returned to its land from exile, what will be the myth of the country you envision?
"To my mind, a myth about the future is better than introverted mythologies of the past. For the Americans, and today for the Europeans as well, what justifies the existence of the nation is a future promise of an open, progressive and prosperous society. The Israeli materials do exist, but it is necessary to add, for example, pan-Israeli holidays. To decrease the number of memorial days a bit and to add days that are dedicated to the future. But also, for example, to add an hour in memory of the Nakba [literally, the "catastrophe" - the Palestinian term for what happened when Israel was established], between Memorial Day and Independence Day."
But here's where things are heading, if not already are, I'm afraid;
Lieberman's popularity among Israel's youth is a frightful indication of the possible direction towards an even more intolerant, more violent and less secure Israel. At the Plaza Hotel in Upper Nazareth yesterday teenagers gathered near the hotel waving Israeli flags and shouted "Death to the Arabs" at passing cars. Lieberman's party, "Yisrael Beiteinu" won the mock elections held in 10 high schools across Israel which included 2,877 students polled. Among these students Yisrael Beiteinu came in first with almost 20 percent of the vote, Likud in second, Labor in third and Kadima in fourth.
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I reserve the right to engage mainly with those that engage with me in a civil, decent fashion, as I always welcome discussion of this diary.
Those who come here simply to engage in HR abuse and personal attacks or leave racist remarks will be either ignored or given a non-response (such as a youtube clip, a recipe, poetry, or simply a blank response). Even better, I'll do my best to ignore such bile altogether.
I do not tolerate such behavior towards others, and I certainly do not tolerate it towards myself.