Signs of the Times: Two Indications of the Future of Israel/Palestine?

Two news stories caught my eye today which I think speak to the future of Israeli politics and policy and, perhaps more importantly, to the implications for Palestinians which are the subjects and often targets of those policies.

One story spoke about future of Israeli voters. Electoral results over the past several years have made it clear that the Israeli polity is shifting drastically to the right. The Likud party, the ideological offspring of Ze'ev Jabotinsky and Revisionist Zionism, holds the second most seats in the Knesset today and currently heads the government. The Kadima party, or "Likud-lite," holds one more seat than Likud in Knesset but was left out of the current government. It is important to keep in mind that Kadima was formed out of Likud because of tactical differences and not necessarily ideological ones. So with Likud and "Likud-lite" taking the top two spots in Israeli politics, who's next on the list? The ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party led by Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman's party, with 15 seats, has established itself as a force to be reckoned with in Israeli politics and is central to the Likud-led coalition. Clearly, Israeli politics is top heavy with right-wing parties, and that's without mentioning the religious-right wing parties that come next on the totem pole.

What of the left? Well, the labor party, a traditional powerhouse in Israeli politics (which counts as left by default), has been decimated. Its poor showing in the last election was exacerbated by a recent split in the party. Other parties on the left end of the political spectrum, like the communist parties, Meretz and the Arab parties, have been marginalized to the point where they are insignificant in power calculations.

So what does the future look like? That's the subject of this news story. A new poll finds that Israeli youth are shifting significantly further to the right as well. Here is what you need to know:

Among Jewish youths, support for the definition of Israel as a Jewish state as the most important goal for the country grew from 18.1 percent in 1998 to 33.2 percent last year, the survey reports. At the same time, there has been a consistent drop in those who back the importance of Israel's identity as a democratic country - from 26.1 percent in 1998 to 14.3 percent in 2010.

Support for Israel to eventually live in peace with its neighboring countries also fell significantly, from 28.4 percent 12 years ago to 18.2 percent last year. This is the third such survey of young people conducted by the two organizations in the past 12 years.

The study was carried out in July 2010, among a representative sample of Jewish and Arab youth. It included 1,600 participants, 800 aged 15-18 and 800 21-24, which is considered a relatively large group.

The right wing enjoyed a clear majority of support among the young people surveyed. Among Jews, the numbers stood at 57 percent and 66 percent for the two age groups respectively, while those who said they considered themselves to be left wing made up only 13 percent and 10 percent of those respondents.

In the past, the conventional wisdom on this was that Israeli youths tend to be more liberal until joining the army at 18 for three years -- an experience that more often than not hardened their attitudes towards Arabs and security. But the disturbing trend that is clear from this poll is that even before the Army, Israeli Jewish youth are moving rightward and fast. This is very good news for the people in the current Israeli government and very bad news for anyone who wants to see an end to Israeli occupation. Political parties vying for votes in Israel into the future will likely have to continue moving right (if that's possible) to secure re-election. Some signs of this were noticeable this week.

The second story is also very troubling. It seems the Israeli government is entertaining a plan to build an island off the coast of Gaza where an air and sea port would be located to "encourage tourism" and "relieve Israel of the obligation to be the transit point for goods into the enclave." I'm sure you are probably thinking I just made that up and that this is an early April fools joke, but it's not.

The plan of course makes no logistical sense, nor is it efficient. Gaza actually had an airport, until the Israelis destroyed it. And, unless you are bored and have money to waste, the idea of building an island off the coast of land which badly needs development is sheer insanity.

The island would "be three square miles and it would be linked to Gaza with a three mile-long bridge which could take vehicles, trains and pipes for oil and gas. The island would have hotels, tourist areas, a marina with yachts and an airport and a seaport." My first thought upon reading this was that it took boots on the ground, bulldozers and tanks to destroy the last airport Gaza had, but a bridge can be destroyed by one bomb. Without sovereignty over the territory, Israel retains the ability to cut Gaza off from this magical island any time they want.

Why build an island when simply removing the Israeli boot from Gaza's throat by ending the siege could unlock Gaza's potential?

The fact that such ideas are even entertained speaks to Israeli strategic thinking about Gaza. The plan "would cost up to $10bn (£6.2bn), create 100,000 jobs and take up to 10 years to complete." This suggests that as far as the Israelis are concerned, the policy of siege is a long-term strategic framework at the foundation of their thinking and not on the surface of it. Simply speaking, the siege of Gaza is the new normal, so much so in fact that it's leading the Israelis to come up with all kinds of abnormal, bend-over-backwards plans to keep it in place.

This Israeli government will come up with anything, it seems, except a genuine and just peace.

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UPDATED: In the Cross-Hairs: Palestinian Citizens of Israel

*UPDATE: It seems like the Israeli Knesset wasn't done with its targeting of the Palestinian Arab minority for the day by the time I had concluded this post. Late yesterday, the Knesset passed a "citizenship-loyalty law" which stipulates that Israeli courts can strip Israeli citizens "who spied for a terror organization, brought about an armed conflict, aided an enemy in wartime, served in the enemy's armed forces or carried out acts detrimental to the State's sovereignty". And of course, it's up to the Israeli government, dominated by anti-Arab rightists, to define what all of that means. If an Palestinian citizen of Israel, for example, calls for changes in Israeli policy that can be deemed as acting against the "State's sovereignty" then they can be stripped of their citizenship.

The law also seems to go beyond the targeting of citizens but includes permanent residents as well. This seems to indicate that Palestinian residents of Israeli occupied Jerusalem, who have no Palestinian or Israeli citizenship but mere residency, could possibly face deportation if charged with any of the above. In this respect, the law may be a pretext for expediting the Judaization of Jerusalem by removing its Palestinian residents. More on that effort here and here.

***

Palestinian citizens of Israel are increasingly in the cross-hairs of the right-wing government as of late. Recent weeks and months have seen some key events which will have a negative

impact on this segment of the Palestinian population. Everything from legislation to bulldozers have been used to intimidate, marginalize and discriminate against this community in a state which clings to the mantra of "only democracy in the Middle East." (Image right: Anti-Arab graffiti in Hebrew on Mosque in Yaffa)

A few examples in recent weeks are listed below. On April 4th, the Palestine Center will be hosting important advocates for the Palestinian community in Israel which is working to combat the ongoing and increased discrimination and targeting of their community. Here's but a sampling of the challenges they face:

The "Nakba Law" - The Nakba is the Arabic term for the most central event in the Palestinian plight: the rapid and systematic depopulation of historic Palestine of the majority of its native inhabitants. For Palestinians who managed to remain inside Israel -- a small number in 1948 when the Nakba occurred, but approximately 20% of Israel's population today -- the events of 1948 are central to their identity and their history. It marks a major shift in the trajectory of their modern existence. It was the moment in time when the community's life, as it knew it, was changed forever. For many Palestinian citizens of Israel, the Nakba in 1948 was the last time they'd ever see family members forced to take refuge and never to return.

But the commemoration of the Nakba is as important for the Palestinian community as it is challenging for the Zionist narrative. The annual reminder that the State of Israel was born upon the destruction and depopulation of the native people of the land is unsettling to Israeli Zionists, who either find the ethnic cleansing of Palestine justified or see it as a historical reality they'd rather ignore.

So legislation was passed in the Israeli Knesset last week that would punish anyone financing events commemorating the Nakba. This is but another example of the genuine fear a people's expression of their own history creates for the state of Israel. Much more on the Nakba law can be read here.

The "Communities Law" - As if passing a law punishing the commemoration of the most significant event in modern Palestinian history wasn't enough for Israel's right-wing government, another law targeting Palestinian citizens of Israel was passed the same night last week. This law basically legalizes a discriminatory practice that was already firmly in place.

This law permits the screening of Israeli citizens by residency committees in small communities to ensure that only applicants “fitting with the life of the community” or “fitting with the social fabric” would be permitted to live within the community. The vagueness in the language allows committees to deny Palestinian Arab citizens, as well as others, on racial, ethnic or religious grounds. So much for democracy.

But as mentioned above, this is merely the legalization of an ongoing norm in many parts of Israeli society. In recent months, for example, 50 municipal Rabbis issued religious decrees banning Jews from renting homes to Palestinian Arabs. This is one bigoted Middle East fatwa you probably didn't hear about in the American mainstream media.

Last year I spoke with a Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset, Ahmad Tibi, about the increase in racism against the Palestinian population in Israel. I'd urge you to watch the entire video but here is an important excerpt from what he had to say:

The most and very sensitive obstacle between Israel as a state and its Arab citizens is the land issue. Our land has been confiscated from the very beginning, [since] 1948. At that time we were owning more than 80 percent of the land. Now we are owning only 3 percent of the private lands in Israel. All our lands were confiscated. Not confiscated for our sake, but confiscated for the Jewish majority. This is discrimination. And when we are building inside our towns, they are demolition of houses. Tens of thousands of Arab houses in Arab towns and villages are threatened to destroyed and demolished by the home ministry. We are demanding to enlarge our areas; allow to build there. We are prevented. But we have needs, natural growth, as citizens. Israel is recognizing the need for natural growth of the settlers but does not recognize our need for natural growth as citizens. That’s why I am saying that Israel is a state of its own settlers and not its own citizens. It prefers settlers over its Arabs citizens. Not one Arab town was created from 1948. Hundreds of settlements were created from 1948 and from 1967, also in the West Bank and Gaza strip--in the occupied territories. It is built in discrimination against us. This is a policy and official policy.

The "Anti-BDS Law"- Working its way through the Knesset, and having already passed its first reading, is another bill that would undoubtedly target Palestinian citizens of Israel for their political beliefs and expressions, as well as other Israelis and foreign nationals. In perhaps the most significant sign of the Israeli state's fear and vulnerability to the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), the Knesset is seeking to pass a bill that would punish Israeli citizens involved in advocating for BDS and would target and punish foreign nationals doing the same:

The draft law distinguishes among boycotts by Israeli residents or citizens; by foreign residents or nationals; and by foreign states, through legislation. It explicitly includes boycotts that affect the West Bank, such as boycotts of goods and services originating in the Jewish settlements there.

Under the provisions of the bill, the court could levy a fine of up to NIS 30,000 on Israeli citizens calling for or taking party in boycotts against Israel. Foreign citizens who violate the law could be prohibited from entering Israel for 10 years or more.

Foreign states that pass laws leading to a boycott of Israel or of Israeli products could be barred from carrying out transactions in Israeli bank accounts and from trading in Israeli stocks, land or real estate. In addition, the state could suspend the transfer of payments owed to the states. Israeli citizens who have suffered damage as a result of the boycott could sue for compensation, to be paid out of the frozen funds.

Targeting of Bedouin Villages - We wrote about how one particular Bedouin village, Al-Arakib, had been demolished for the 6th time last July as well as a post on unrecognized Bedouin villages. Needless to say, since then the situation for residents of Al-Arakib has not improved, as remnants of their unrecognized village were recently demolished for the 21st time.

Amal ElSana AlHjooj, who is the Co-Executive Director of the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development (NISPED), began her career as a community organizer at 14 and at 17 established the first Arab Bedouin women's organization. She will be joining our panel on April 4th and will surely provide an important update on the challenges facing the Bedouin community.

The panel discussion, titled "Right Wing Israeli Polity: Implications for the Arab Minority" starts at 1pm EST and you can watch a live webcast of the event here from anywhere in the world.

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The Likudnikization of the American Right

I've never been particularly attached to either of the two major parties in the United States. Part of that is because I focus much of my time on one particular policy issue and part is because it is often hard to tell the parties apart. A former professor of mine used to say "American politics is all donkeys and elephants" and partisan bickering often proves that the political discourse fails to transcend a zoo-like arena.

But recently its been hard not to notice how the American right, and the Israeli right are starting to echo each other internationally and domestically. Certainly, there are similarities among conservative movements across the globe. The attachment to religion, overly-militarized foreign policy and a xenophobia toward immigrants are not unique to the US-Israel right-wing dynamic.

The events of recent months though, both in Israel and America, suggest an overlap in worldview between both factions that is unprecedented in the history of the relationship. Take, for example, how key figures on the right in both countries have zealously advocated the continuation of Israeli settlements. Sarah Palin is clear in her view supporting settlements, and other people and institutions on the right have advocated for settlements by deflecting criticism from them and placing it instead on Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, or anything else Americans will likely mispronounce.

Similar thoughts exist about the West's relationship with Islam and this has never been so evident as it's been in recent months. Both promote a narrative about the threat posed by Islam and do so with little caution. Newt Gingrich would have us believe that America is in grave danger from Shariah law and that the Muslims are coming to get us. Even Bush rhetorically differentiated between a War on Terror and not a on Islam. That seems to have gone out the window now. Joe Lieberman has long been warning of Muslims terrorists among us. The chorus of right-wingers in the US which have echoed this is remarkable.

For the Israeli Government, this narrative works out well. The formula looks something like this:

If

Al-Qaeda < ≠ United States

and

Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Turkey, and any critics of State of Israel <≠ State of Israel

then

(Al-Qaeda = Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Turkey and critics of State of Israel) < (Israel = United States)

Sure, this doesn't have to be true in any form of objective reality, but in an emotional battle for sympathy the lines can be blurred enough to make it seem true to Americans, or at least those on the right. The recent battle over the proposed Muslim community center near Ground Zero showcased this. Figures on the right condemned the plan and sought to look into the funding behind the project. I've looked to find any instances of Newt Gingrich, the ADL, Dan Senor, Sarah Palin, Rick Lazio or any other high-profile opponents of this project ever having requested an inquiry into the background or finances of synagogues or Jewish charities which maybe funneling tax-dollars to illegal Israeli settlements. I haven't found anything.

It should come as no surprise that the proponents of this narrative here in the US are also the proponents of a military strike on Iran and also happen to be the proponents of the disastrous war on Iraq. The American right-wing has worked to enable the Israeli hawks on Iran, and as election season draws near it is no secret that the right will use this narrative to attack Democrats. Here, a outfit run by Will Kristol reports on how another outfit run by Will Kristol seeks to beat Democrats over the head with the Israel stick. Seem incestuous enough? These things tend to be.

But perhaps the most creepy similarity between the American and Israeli right is the near simultaneous rise of a debate on birthright citizenship. Just as friend of Israel and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is suggesting re-writing the 14th amendment, (possibly the best thing ever contributed to American society by Republicans) so that children of illegal immigrants would not gain citizenship, a near identical move is initiated by the Israeli right.

Here is Israeli PM Netanyahu, leader of Israel's right wing coalition, on deporting children of migrant workers born in Israel:

We don't want to create an incentive for an inflow of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers.

And now, Lindsey Graham:

People come here to have babies. They come here to drop a child. It's called 'drop and leave.' To have a child in America, they cross the border, they go to the emergency room, have a child, and that child's automatically an American citizen. That shouldn't be the case. That attracts people here for all the wrong reasons.

The marriage of convenience between both right-wing movements is not new but I doubt its ever been so pronounced. This is due to one simple reason:

If

Israeli Right ≠ Obama

and

American Right ≠ Obama

Then

Israeli Right = American Right

Even if they are so wrong.

In the simplistic us vs. them, enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend, world that rightist ideologies dwell in, these equations make perfect sense. Look for this equation to continue to be used as we approach November.

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