"Enemy and Neighbors"
Author: (English) Ian Black
Translator: Wang Lishen
Version: CITIC Publishing Group
September 2019
Jews who have been wandering around the world will return to Jerusalem and will cry in front of the "Wailing Wall" to complain about the pain of exile. It was once regarded as the Eurasian dividing line. Photo/Visual China
Palestine-Israel conflict is one of the most difficult regional conflicts in the world. In recent years, Israel has rapidly become rightist and has increased its control over Arab . In June 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced a new bill that stipulates that his country is a "Jewish nation-state" and abolishes the official status of Arabic. In March 2019, Israel annexed the Golan Heights , which originally belonged to Syria .
"Enemy and Neighbors: Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel, 1917-2017" written by British journalist Ian Black, sorting out the ins and outs of the Palestinian-Israeli issue and taking a macro perspective on the geopolitics of the Palestinian region over the past century.
Blake has served as the Guardian's correspondent in the Middle East for 36 years, and has personally witnessed major historical events such as the establishment of the State of Palestine, the Gulf War, and the signing of the Oslo Agreement. At the same time, he also has a deep academic background, with a master's degree in history and social and political science from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate in political science from the London School of Economics.
The book has a very broad vision. From the first Zionists to Palestine in the late 19th century, they talked about it until the end of the presidency of Obama. The Jews and Arabs fought for more than a century, fighting and stopping. On the grand international stage, the Ottoman Empire, British and French colonists, and the US-Soviet superpowers took turns to intervene in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Black clearly sorted out previous wars and peace talks, revealing the complex relationship between the two nations as both neighbors and enemies.
"Destined Expansion Theory" of the Jewish Nationality
As early as the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Israel's right-wing forces were on the brink of political arena. Founding Prime Minister Ben Gurion, with a secular and enlightened attitude, believed in social democracy, reconciled with Palestine with the greatest goodwill, and was relatively relaxed in ethnic policies. The successors Ashkell, Meier, and Rabin continued the Bengurien line, and the Labor Party group ruled for thirty years (1948-1977).
The country of Israel itself was established by a left-wing group. They despise religious authority and do not abide by the rules and regulations. The orthodox Judaism firmly believes that people should wait for the arrival of the Savior, and political actions will interfere with God's arrangements. In the early 20th century, many religious leaders opposed the founding of the country, and the Jewish clergy in Vienna publicly drew a clear line with the Zionists.
The revival of the Jewish nation is not the revival of Judaism. Socialists account for a large proportion of the Jewish group who left their hometown in Europe and went to Palestine. Bengurien admired Lenin and praised the Soviet Union's construction achievements in his diary. In the 1920s, he led the "Palestine Jewish Workers Association" (Histadrut) to provide medical, cultural and entertainment services to members. Palestinian Jews enjoyed the welfare system from cradle to grave half a century ahead of the British and French worker brothers.
rural areas, Kibbutz (Kibbutz, Hebrew collective commune) grows everywhere, farms implement public ownership of property, distribution of food and accommodation packages, and resource sharing. Farmers turn the desolate fields into a promised land with "milk and honey". The Kibbutz model even attracted the interest of the enemy. In his early years, President Nasser studied Israel's land system and praised the ideal society of "the ploughing people have their own land". At the same time, he also criticized Egypt's backward tenant rent system.
Orthodox Jews who remained in Europe were not interested in going to Palestine to clear the land. They ate vegetarian food and chanted scriptures according to tradition and did not engage in physical labor. World War II changed everything, and European Jews experienced the Nazi Holocaust and realized the need for force.
The religious people who survived became hawks, instilling the spirit of martial arts into young people in the seminary. A new generation of Jews was brave and fearless. After moving to Israel, they headed straight to the dangerous frontier.After the First Middle East War, 650,000 Palestinians fled their homes, and the vacant land was occupied by the orthodox Judaism. These immigrants are also called "believer groups".
Frontier immigrants practice martial arts on weekdays and transformed into excellent soldiers during wartime. The enthusiasm of pioneers is very similar to the "Manifest Destiny" in North America. In the 19th century, Americans believed that they had the mission of spreading Protestantism and advanced technology, expanded to the west, and enlightened the barbaric nation. Israel "to build a wall to defend against Asia for Europe, we will become avant-garde warriors who protect civilization from barbarians." (From the work of Herzl, founder of the Restoration Movement)
The diplomatic reversal of the pioneering behavior of the "believers group" after the right wing came to power, leaving the dovish Labor authorities in a dilemma. During the Middle East Wars, Jewish immigrants infiltrated the scope of Palestine, exceeding the national boundaries set by the United Nations. On the one hand, the Labor government abides by international law and does not declare sovereignty over the occupied areas. On the other hand, it does not want to harm the feelings of compatriots and dares not stop pioneering and invading.
Ben Gurion pursued a moderate compromise policy from beginning to end. Before the country's independence, Arab tribe chiefs sneaked into robbery of Jewish settlements. In order to win the sympathy of the British rulers, Ben Gurion asked his subordinates to restrain themselves and only defend themselves. It was strictly forbidden to actively fight back against the Arabs. After the independence of the country, he still maintained a restrained attitude and repeatedly stated that the occupation of Palestine's territory was due to short-term strategic needs. When the two countries have peace in the future, they will definitely return the land.
, and the right-wing hawks led by Menachem Begin , claiming that the entire Palestine region has been a sacred territory of the Jewish state since ancient times, trying to restore the territory of the era of Saul and King David. The legal effect of the Bible Old Testament is higher than that of international treaties. In order to achieve national independence, Begin does not mind taking disgraceful measures. He organized armed personnel to blow up police stations, rob banks, and raid villages, and was not ruthless to civilians. Right-wing elements assassinate many senior officials, British Colonial Ministry officials, United Nations mediation commissioners, and the Arab side in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict may all become the targets of Begin's assassination.
After the establishment of the country, Begin believed that it should not be taken lightly and that he must fight the Palestinians to the end and ignore the peaceful mediation of the international community. The official (Israel Labor Party), the enemy ( Arab countries ) and bystanders (mainstream media in Europe and the United States) unanimously condemn Begin as a fascist.
Right-wing nationalists are cold, but not stupid. They know that big countries have their own national interests and will not tie their hands and feet for small countries like Israel. They will definitely consider protecting themselves first at critical moments. The subsequent developments verified their speculation that in the process of Israel's development of nuclear weapons, President Kennedy insisted on the nuclear non-proliferation stance and obstructed Israel's actions. During the oil crisis in the 1970s, Europe and the United States urged Israel to truce to please Arab countries in exchange for normal oil supply.
Due to special national conditions, defense issues are the top priority of Israel's state affairs. The focus of disputes between the two factions is on military diplomacy, while economic and ethical issues are second. As the diplomatic environment deteriorates, Israeli voters abandoned the Labor Party, Begin won the election and came to power, becoming the first right-wing prime minister since the founding of the country. In 1981, Saddam secretly studied nuclear technology, and Begin made a decisive decision and sent the air force to attack and blow up the nuclear facilities in Iraqi . Frightened by Israel's military power, other Arab countries did not even dare to breathe. Begin quickly realized: If you compromise with the enemy, they will think that Israel is easy to bully and make a big splash; if you are tough with the enemy, they will give in.
Next, the "Believers Group" that has been in a gray area for a long time in internal affairs has been officially recognized. The right-wing regime declared the legality of expanding the Palestinian region and provided financial assistance to encourage immigrants to settle down. By the end of 1989, Jewish immigrants had occupied 313,000 hectares of land on the West Bank. During Netanyahu's rule, the settlement movement continued to be encouraged, and the "Faith Group" opened up new land and strengthened the Jewish people's main ethnic advantages.
National furnace Israel
Although right-wing nationalism is booming, Israel is a secular democratic country after all, and ethnic minorities enjoy normal civil rights.The Druzes, Bedouin and Cherks actively joined the army, especially the Druzes performed well in doing business and participating in politics. The Labor government upholds the concept of secular liberalism. As long as it recognizes the legitimacy of Israel's regime and recognizes freedom and democracy, it can be Israeli. At the time of the founding of the country, 160,000 Arabs remained and became Israeli citizens.
The entire Arab world, as an individual, the richest people are Saudi , Dubai’s oil tycoon, but as a community, the richest and most free Muslim group are Arabs of Israeli nationality. In a country like Saudi Arabia, men are superior to women and have a strict hierarchy. Israeli Arabs have various political rights such as suffrage. Israel held its first general election, with 334,000 Arabs voting and finally elected three Arab parliamentarians.
Arab children can learn their national culture and Muslim history in school. Judging from the indicators of education level, life expectancy, pension savings, etc., they are far superior to compatriots in other Middle Eastern countries. The proportion of Arabs in Israel accounts for the total population has increased from 13% during independence to 20.1%.
Arabic is the official language of Israel until it was canceled by the Netanyahu government last year. The basic elections of the left and right factions are different. Ben Gurion and Madame Meier’s supporters are Western European Jews. They first came to Palestine to clear the land and act as neighbors with the Arabs. They have both conflicts and integration. The two sides are inevitably trade exchanges and help each other in life. Begin and Netanyahu supporters are Asian and African Jews. They originally lived in the Islamic world for generations and assimilated with the locals. After the outbreak of the First Middle East War, these people were driven and persecuted by the host country. 820,000 Asian and African Jewish refugees defected to Israel. On the one hand, they had hatred towards the Arabs, and on the other hand, they were disciplined by Jews in Western Europe. The Labor authorities forced the Jews in Asia and Africa to change customs, abandon their original language, and speak Hebrew. The humiliation of living under someone else prompted Jewish refugees to take risks. In 1959, they set fire to shops and cars, and robbed everywhere, and Ben Gurion had to compromise.
Begin was able to come to power and relied on the power of Asian and African Jews. After the right-wing party won the election, a reporter interviewed the people on the street. A young man said: My own father runs a spice shop in Morocco and is a decent businessman. But now he is in Israel and is not familiar with the place, so he can only move bricks at construction sites. The Jews in Western Europe did not treat us as their compatriots, only Begin truly cared about us.
The internal differences between Jews are not smaller than those between the Azer-Israeli tribes. The dark-skinned Ethiopian Jews are completely different from the Jewish middle class from Eastern Europe. It can be seen from this that Israel is a melting pot of nations and its national conditions are quite complex. The author uses the position of a political scholar to outline the decision-making process of the game between great powers. He sharply points out how the United States and the Soviet Union can support and exploit allies, use the Pakistan-Israel conflict as a diplomatic chip, and maximize his own interests. He is not stingy in the political struggles of the top leaders, but he is relatively lacking in the introduction to the lower classes.
He adopts a stereotyped narrative, portraying the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as simple strong bullying the weak and arrogant Israeli militarism bullying the weak and helpless Arabs. Of course, this is not a unique problem for Black. The mainstream Western media generally adopts a stereotyped narrative when dealing with Israel. If we want to fully understand the situation in the Middle East at a macro level, we still need more information channels.
□Liu Zhanxiong
