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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it

Occupation magazine - Commentary Home page  back Print  Send To friend Another Occupation government – and more aid from Obama By Shmuel Amir Hagada Hasmalit 7 June 2015 Original Hebrew: http://hagada.org.il/2015/06/07/%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%93- %D7%9E%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%AA-%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A9- %D7%A2%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%A2%D7%96%D7%A8%D7%94- %D7%9E%D7%90%D7%95%D7%91%D7%9E%D7%94/ I confess that I am not much interested in the faces in the new government that was recently sworn in. I am not really interested in who heads the Justice Ministry or even whether Moshe Kahlon will make certain changes in the Israeli economy – in any case he has already backed down on his promise of controlling the tycoons’ natural gas. I do not fall off my chair when Tzipi Hotovely says that our right to the Land was delivered to us by air-mail directly from God Himself. Workers at the Foreign Ministry raised an eyebrow when they were told this in a briefing, not due to the claim itself but because they know that in the outside world you just do not say such things. Within our country the vast majority will believe the new deputy minister. I am reminded of the words of Professor Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin, who once said: “the Zionists did not believe in God, but they believed that He gave us the Land.” Of course, I appreciate small changes for the better that will benefit the general public that can happen even within a capitalist regime, but Israel’s problem is altogether different. Its problem is existential, for the near and distant future as well as the here and now. Israel’s problem is that it came into existence based on the expulsion of the local population that was here before we came. That fact overshadows all other problems, big and small, that we face. That fact is the basis of Israel’s never-ending war with its surroundings, which we must never forget comprises 200 million Arabs and another billion Muslims. That fact also makes us dependent on our allies, the USA and Europe, who themselves are not exactly loved in the world for their colonialist policies of the past, which continue in one way or another today. Most residents of Israel put their trust in the army and in force in general. They do not want to know that our lauded army is not as strong, brave and certainly not as moral like they want to believe. Now retired generals are telling us that our leaders did not dare to use ground forces for fear that they would not “deliver the goods”. Thus it was in the Second Lebanon War as well as in “Solid Cliff” (aka “Protective Edge”). It was feared that soldiers would be lost. It is easier to sacrifice civilians. But in spite of all that, who now speaks of the more than 70 soldiers fell in Solid Cliff? Who submitted a report on that? Who is responsible? Who paid the price for that? Those questions not are not considered patriotic. And so it is easy to silence the victims. We can call 17-year-old Arab youths “murderous terrorists who want only to kill innocent Jewish civilians”, but the fact is that it is anger at the Occupation and oppression that drives those youths to go out and attack well- trained soldiers, who usually can overpower them. Their objective is not murder of civilians but liberation from oppression and humiliation – and the former will not stop until the latter stops. If they are terrorists then we must also admit that freedom fighters all over the world were also terrorists. If Marwan Barghouti is a terrorist who deserves all the punishment that can be meted out to him, then Nelson Mandela too was a terrorist. And so was Ho Chi Minh, Mao, Jomo Kenyatta and even George Washington. All those and many others rebelled against colonial rulers. And is there any oppressed and imprisoned country that not did not liberate itself eventually? And after they liberated themselves did the world not applaud them? Who does not remember the enthusiastic reception Mandela received all over the world, even in New York, after the victory over the Apartheid regime in South Africa? It is not a few youths or terrorists we are dealing with; it is the entire Palestinian people, who will not give up their rights and their liberation. Once again: the source of the conflict is the expulsion of the local population. Anita Shapira’s recently-published biography of David Ben-Gurion tells of how he saw the disappearance of the Arabs in the 1948 war as a great miracle, one of the most important in that year of miracles. The prospect of a hostile population comprising about 40 percent of the population would not have boded well for the future of the new state. Shapira writes that Ben- Gurion was willing to accept the borders of the 29 November 1947 Partition Resolution, along with the Arab population, but in war things happen as they will in war: now we were no longer bound by those borders. And as for the population – those who left could not return. In July 1948 the government decided not to allow the Arab refugees to return. Shapira tries to show Ben- Gurion in a positive light, saying that “he was not a racist”. But what about the famous hand-gesture that signalled the expulsion of the Arabs from Lydda that Yitzhak Rabin told of, or the letter (now for sale) in which he instructs Abba Hushi not to allow the return of the Arabs of Haifa who had fled from their homes? Incidentally, the “Visionary of the State”, Theodor Herzl, evidently envisioned this as well: in his diary Herzl recorded that “we will let the local population leave the country to seek work, but we will not let them return.” The Nakba of 1948 and the Occupation of 1967 are the open wound from which the blood of the Palestinian people flows. The keys of the houses from which they were expelled are unforgotten living reminders. Their “sumud” (steadfastness) on their land is the ongoing struggle. There can be no peace and coexistence without reparation of these injustices. The Palestinian people will not forget and will not let this be taken off the agenda. And yet it is that very expulsion and Occupation that peacemakers of various stripes are striving to overcome or to ignore. President Barack Obama, for example, was shocked at Netanyahu’s words on election day, as if he did not know about the Israeli government’s treatment of the Arabs-Palestinians. He hints at harm to the already chilly Israel-US relationship, but meanwhile he reiterates yet again the US promise to protect Israel’s security. A Palestinian state and its security are not part of the US President’s vocabulary. As compensation for the agreement with Iran he (the Pentagon) has approved for Israel 8,000 smart bombs; 14,500 smart-bomb guidance systems; 50 bunker-buster bombs; 4,100 “small bombs” (just 110 kg of explosives) and 3,000 hellfire missiles for Apache helicopters. The total cost of the arms package is estimated at about 1.8 billion dollars; and in addition the US will sell Israel more F-35 stealth bombers. Thus does the American President take care of our security. And what a celebration awaits us in our next war. The victims and the destruction of “Solid Cliff” will be dwarfed compared to what the IDF is now able to wreak. After all that, can anyone be surprised when an Israeli peace-lover like Uzi Baram publishes an article under the heading “Inspiration from President Obama” (Haaretz, 25 May 2015) in which he sings the praises of the president who sends us all these toys? And can anyone ignore Baram’s connection to the Zionist Union, and is it possible to ignore Meretz’s promise to support Herzog wherever he goes? Nevertheless I am fully convinced and confident that no one can stop the Palestinian struggle for freedom and their own state next to the State of Israel. True, the Palestinians’ struggle looks in bad shape right now – very bad shape. It is impossible to conduct a struggle for independence when you are conducting “security cooperation” with the occupier. The Palestinians deserve a different leadership, leaders like Marwan Barghouti, who is rotting in an Israeli prison. Translated from Hebrew by George Malent Links to the latest articles in this section Is there still a chance to break the cycle of revenge and bloodshed? Israelis Against Apartheid Statement Following ICJ Hearing Three weeks into the Gaza War - a somber and sober assessment, with some historical perspectives