Haifa Conference

Contemporary Israeli-Jewish society constitutes fertile ground for fascist and racist politics. However it is equally probable that the much quoted "Demoralization caused by the State" as experienced by members of this society will eventually lead a sizable group away from some faulty basic values of Zionist practice and ideology.

The myth on which Israel's existence is based on is its creation as "The Only Jewish State in the Whole World", where the Jewish People has found a much needed "normal" solution for its national existence; where a severely persecuted nation has finally found its haven.

This myth is refuted on a daily basis. The generally reported feelings are those of disgust and mistrust as far as the state's institutions are concerned; and of a deep sense of insecurity.

Israeli Jewish society openly discusses the "Broken Dreams" of the "Promised Land".

 The major part of the Jewish population in Israel recognizes that Israel is one of the least-safe places in the world for Jews (and non-Jews alike).

 An important group identified as the "Zionist Left" is uncomfortable about the status of Israel as an oppressing occupying force (these feelings are abundantly expressed in the mainstream Hebrew artistic and cultural product).

 There is a wall-to-wall consensus on total disgust with the political environment, rife with corruption scandals and favoritism on left and right alike.

 It becomes obvious to more and more Israelis that a military solution may not be the answer to the conflict with the Palestinians.

 Hostility between Jewish segments is increasing over differences of class, ethnic origins, ideology and culture. The secular-religious gap is at the center of these differences.

 Groups perceived as over proportionally rewarded by public resources (ultra-Orthodox, settlers, billionaires, civil servants and recently even senior army officers) are loosing popularity.

In spite of all this, a deep nostalgic commitment to the preservation of "thousand years old Jewish existence" is prevalent throughout the Jewish Israeli society. It is lead by educated, sophisticated and prosperous elite which considers the present mess the country is in a necessary unpleasantness which comes with the need, the privilege and the duty to preserve the sacred "Jewish Majority" in a political territorial entity.

This commitment leads to a legal system that blatantly accords positive discrimination to Jews at the expense of non-Jews by the state of Israel. It is common to encounter Israeli Jews who feel uncomfortable with the reality of this discrimination while at the same time find it "inevitable". Doing away with this discrimination risks the very existence of the Jewish majority, according to this thinking. The Zionist Left spearheads this conception, which is responsible for the unanimous opposition to the idea of "A State for All Its Citizens" and the refusal to support any call to a proper separation of State and Church in Israel.

It is this discrimination, rather than any other colonial or territorial aspirations, which lie at the heart of the Jewish-Arab conflict. The elevated status of citizenship is accorded to Jews only, in and out of the borders marked by the green line. Confirming Jewish identity – which entails automatic citizenship and the package of associated financial and legal perks - is a monopoly of the official orthodox establishment.

With Jews and non-Jews receiving such a different treatment by the state apparatus, the military and the legal system, there is no way round the understanding, that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is basically a religious conflict. This, incidentally, is something Israeli secular Jews find very hard to accept.

The Israeli Jewish state in its present formation is doomed to be forever haunted by a self-afflicted demographic phobia. Jewish demographic inferiority is built into the Jewish Orthodox teaching. The Orthodoxy is hermetically sealed to the joining of new members, while easily cutting members out if they do not keep in line. It is geared to keep the community as erudite self- sustaining elite. In the West the numbers of Orthodox Jews is constantly dwindling. Israel had adopted the mechanism of self- segregating and out-casting into its political system.

Efforts to overcome the "Demographic Danger" to the Jewish majority include:

 Constant efforts to import populations identified as "Jewish" from abroad – with inevitable social problems brought in with weak immigrants populations;

 Massive financial support to the hyper birth rates of the orthodox communities;

 Every kind of harassment of the non-Jewish populations of Israel: foreign Workers, Israeli non-Jewish citizens and the inhabitants of the occupied territories.

The last group, lacking any citizenship status, is the bearer of the most aggressive, violent measures. But the "Demographic Demons" haunting the Israeli Jews trigger problematic, often inhuman treatment of all non-Jews.

Advocates of the "Two States Solution" ignore the fact that in this scenario the serious faulty legal and ideological infrastructure of the present Jewish State will not be dealt with. As a result, the serious inner schisms that tear Israeli society apart will continue to put pressures on whatever political structures the "Two States" situation should materialize.

Next to it, there is little chance for a non-nationalistic, non-religiously belligerent Palestinian State. The Two States Solution – which is non-viable anyway - is at most a program for the creation of two very unpleasant, mutually hostile, political entities.

Presently, only one state exists in the area between the Jordan River and the Sea, in the area Jews call Israel and Arabs know as Palestine. Surely the most efficient, affective way to improve life for the millions who live in this area goes through reforming and correcting this state, opening it up to all the inhabitants under its military and sovereign control. Turning Israel into a secular and democratic state is a precondition to the liberating of Palestine, if one accepts that shedding more blood is not the way to solve the region's problems.

Zionist ideology and practice unfortunately contradicts the Secular and Democratic State idea. Israeli Jewish society vehemently opposes it. And still, it is this society that should be able to shift its positions away from the present Zionist dogma and embrace a human rights platform which is compatible with what is recognized as Western Democratic norms.

Secular, liberal, Israeli Jews should be the first to be interested in a paradigm shift away from the present politics of confrontational religious ideology.

Unfortunately it seems almost impossible to even open for discussion the super-taboo of preserving a "Jewish State" at all cost. The "secularity" of Israeli Jews is peculiarly limited and stops short at important rituals which are part of the self-segregating Jewish mechanisms:

 Secular Israeli Jews are unanimously appalled by the idea that the Jewish "demographic majority" in Israel could be lost.

 Most secular Israeli Jews condemn mixed marriages.

 While disregarding most Jewish precepts (mitzvoth) they all circumcise their male babies as an act of preserving their religious branding for the rest of their lives.

 While opposing the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as "evil", most liberal left wing Zionists would report to army duty and condemn youth who avoid the draft.

 Leading cultural icons produce artistically worthy anti-nationalistic, anti-militaristic works but stay loyal to the basic Zionist ideology supporting a "Jewish State" and opposing the idea of secular democracy (e.g. Ari Fulman's animation documentary "Walz with Bashir; novels by David Grossman and Amos Oz).
Against this background of depressing fixation of the Israeli liberal and intellectual elite into the Zionist model there is ample evidence of the erosion in de-facto loyalty to the Zionist idea across segments of the Israeli-Jewish society.

 It is generally positively accepted to have one's children settled abroad in good jobs and positions.

 Mixed marriages (with members of Western affluent countries…) are easily accepted in secular Jewish families. Statistics indicate over 70 percent of Israelis raised abroad marry non-Jews.

 It is unanimously accepted that "something must be done" to decrease the discrimination against Israeli Arabs. For the first time, an Arab minister is a member of an Israeli government.

 In spite of outcries in the media: avoiding the military draft is more widespread than ever. While conscious objectors are only a handful, many youngsters find ways to be exempt from the three mandatory years of service with quite acquiescence of their family and social milieu.

Open discussions on the subject of "A State for All its Citizens", or of giving up the Zionist model in favor of a democratic and secular one is presently not an option in the Israeli Jewish society. The media and the political system are effectively blocking such ideas. The staunch gate keepers who would not have these notions be aired all belong to the media and the so called left-wing elite – the same people one would naively have expected should be open and interested in bringing up the subject, if only to argue against it.

However, personal experience shows that members of the general public are far more open to hear non-conformist views.

The optimistic perspective that was offered as a title to this talk is based on dozens of sporadic conversations at grass root level with Israeli Jews in almost all social or professional segments of this society. Tell an Israeli Jew that "a Jewish State has turned out to be a bad idea for the Jews" and chances are he or she would nod and accept this as a cliché. Life's daily encounters provides few people who react differently when one points out that "it is wrong" to have the state and its mighty army serve archaic principles of the Jewish Orthodoxy and the interests of small fanatic groups.

One should also bear in mind that in the history of Zionism, the present mode of "Jewish State" with special privileges to Jews at the expense of others had not always been the only one. Very different models were considered feasible and worthy:

 A correct reading in the publications of Theodore Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism, proves that at no time did this thinker consider discrimination against the native inhabitants of Palestine let alone expelling them in favor of the Jewish immigrants.

 Philosopher Ahad Haam (Asher Gintzburg) and later intellectuals like Martin Buber and the Brith Shalom group (founded 1925) believed the Jewish community in Palestine-Eretz Israel should be a "spiritual center" but not a political force aiming at creating a Jews-only region.

 On the eve of the declaration of the state of Israel, the bourgeois party "General Zionists" opposed the partition plan and supported a bi-national state solution.

 Support for a bi-national state and opposition to the partition plan came at that time from the MAPAM –Hashomer Hatzair socialist party (which later adopted the partition agenda).

 Ultra-Orthodox Jews had traditionally opposed the creation of a Jewish State. Eventually the political orthodox parties came to terms with the present entity, based on considerable economic support to their communities. Ideologically they continue to nurture hostility to the Zionist idea.

In other words: a discussion on the creation of One State which should be secular and democratic as a better solution to our area than the Two State solution is not as far removed from Israeli Jewish society than what the media, the academia and the political establishment would have us believe.

To conclude:

One political entity is the only true solution if one wishes to see peaceful civil existence between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. The way to establish this One State must go through a deep reform of the present political entity controlling this area, which is the state of Israel.

Turning Israel into a secular and democratic state is a first step towards offering equal rights and civil equality to all those who live in the areas under Israeli rule. Correcting historical wrongs and returning rights of residency and ownership to the former inhabitants should take place within the new political entity that should belong to all its citizens.

The Haifa Conference for the Right of Return and One Secular and Democratic State in Palestine could be a step in the right direction. To ensure its success the organizers should consider ways to bring Israeli Jews to join this initiative. Doing away with nationalistic symbols on both sides would be a step in the right direction.

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A paper submitted to the "Haifa Conference for the Right of Return and the Secular Democratic State in Palestine"
Workshop: The Crisis in Israeli Society
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* A Hebrew version of Ofra Yeshua-Lyth's book "A State of Mind; Why Israel should become Secular and Democratic" was published in 2004 by Nimrod www.eretzbrith.com