The big protests in Israel have proved to be an interesting reflection of the people's frustrations. The populace has been mobilised.....but "the elephant in the room", the relationship with Israel's Arab population (20%) and the on-going occupation of the West Bank, goes virtually ignored. Probably at Israel's peril.
"The nationwide movement for social justice that sent tens of thousands of Israelis to the streets on the weekend was seemingly oblivious to the fact that, concurrently, the Palestinians were officially announcing their bid for U.N.- endorsed recognition of statehood.
Sep. 20 is when Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas will unilaterally seek full U.N. membership for Palestine at the General Assembly. Meanwhile in Israel, the protesters seek to prod Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a new social contract between the state and the people.
The end of the Israeli occupation, a sine qua non condition for Palestinian independence and sovereignty, is the great absent of the protesters' demands. Actually, it's a political taboo.
From the onset, it was obvious to Israeli protesters that for the movement to earn a prominent voice in the national discourse, demands for the just implementation of the Palestinians' human and national rights had to be voluntarily silenced.
The protest was sparked by a dire crisis in housing prices. Yet, the emerging activists – most belong to the Left – have been exceptionally cautious not to link the issue of settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories to the dearth of construction inside Israel proper, even if it made sense. Only last week, the Israeli government approved the construction of some 2,500 apartments in two settlement neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem.
Rather than being a "cancer" that eats up the moral and social fabric of Israeli society as gloomily predicted over three decades ago by Israeli philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz, the 44-year occupation has, in practice, become the supreme justification that helps leaders dictate policies and agendas that have little to do with the daily economic plight of the Israelis, and much to do with the national predicament of the Palestinians.
'Occupation' is the great divider. Once the 'O' word is uttered, miraculously, die-hard political factionalism is resurrected. Instantly, political, social and ethnic classes – Right (for the perpetuation of the occupation) vs. Left (for an end to it), Mizrahi (Jews of oriental descent) vs. Ashkenazi (Jews of European origin), secular vs. ultra-religious, Jews vs. Arabs – and the glaring inequalities between them, all are pitted against one another.
Could the occupation be the opium of a nation increasingly unable to live with the Palestinians, or without them? If the occupation is so sustainable despite the enduring international censure, it's precisely because, somehow perversely, the word itself is the most potent electoral asset of Israel's democracy. It has preserved the political establishment, allowing its leaders to retain control over the national order of priorities and to remain in power while, like Netanyahu's rightist coalition, thriving on partisan, conflict-ridden, interests."
"The nationwide movement for social justice that sent tens of thousands of Israelis to the streets on the weekend was seemingly oblivious to the fact that, concurrently, the Palestinians were officially announcing their bid for U.N.- endorsed recognition of statehood.
Sep. 20 is when Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas will unilaterally seek full U.N. membership for Palestine at the General Assembly. Meanwhile in Israel, the protesters seek to prod Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a new social contract between the state and the people.
The end of the Israeli occupation, a sine qua non condition for Palestinian independence and sovereignty, is the great absent of the protesters' demands. Actually, it's a political taboo.
From the onset, it was obvious to Israeli protesters that for the movement to earn a prominent voice in the national discourse, demands for the just implementation of the Palestinians' human and national rights had to be voluntarily silenced.
The protest was sparked by a dire crisis in housing prices. Yet, the emerging activists – most belong to the Left – have been exceptionally cautious not to link the issue of settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories to the dearth of construction inside Israel proper, even if it made sense. Only last week, the Israeli government approved the construction of some 2,500 apartments in two settlement neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem.
Rather than being a "cancer" that eats up the moral and social fabric of Israeli society as gloomily predicted over three decades ago by Israeli philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz, the 44-year occupation has, in practice, become the supreme justification that helps leaders dictate policies and agendas that have little to do with the daily economic plight of the Israelis, and much to do with the national predicament of the Palestinians.
'Occupation' is the great divider. Once the 'O' word is uttered, miraculously, die-hard political factionalism is resurrected. Instantly, political, social and ethnic classes – Right (for the perpetuation of the occupation) vs. Left (for an end to it), Mizrahi (Jews of oriental descent) vs. Ashkenazi (Jews of European origin), secular vs. ultra-religious, Jews vs. Arabs – and the glaring inequalities between them, all are pitted against one another.
Could the occupation be the opium of a nation increasingly unable to live with the Palestinians, or without them? If the occupation is so sustainable despite the enduring international censure, it's precisely because, somehow perversely, the word itself is the most potent electoral asset of Israel's democracy. It has preserved the political establishment, allowing its leaders to retain control over the national order of priorities and to remain in power while, like Netanyahu's rightist coalition, thriving on partisan, conflict-ridden, interests."
Comments