Global movements mean global solidarity, even in Israel. By Jacob Anikulapo, via Flickr.
A couple of weeks ago, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an article of mine — some thoughts and suggestions for the Israeli social justice movement from the perspective of someone involved in Occupy Wall Street and connected to Israel and Palestine from afar. I received a lot of feedback from that letter, and it prompted constructive responses like Udi Pladott’s Haaretz op-ed. In that light, I want to sharpen the discussion that my earlier article began.
To be clear from the beginning: I think the occupation of the Palestinian territories and the reality facing oppressed groups inside Israel cannot be separated from issues of economic or social justice in Israel more broadly, and that those issues must be central to the movement for social justice in Israel. But actually, my individual stance is not the important part. It’s complicated, but it’s also not. We have to be consistent and principled. There is no better day to start than today. ‘I Am an Illegal Alien on My Own Land’ by David Shulman. In 1949, shortly after Israel’s War of Independence, S.
Yizhar—the doyen of modern Hebrew prose writers—published a story that became an instant classic. “Khirbet Khizeh” is a fictionalized account of the destruction of a Palestinian village and the expulsion of all its inhabitants by Israeli soldiers in the course of the war. The narrator, a soldier in the unit that carries out the order, is sickened by what is being done to the innocent villagers. Here he is in Nicholas de Lange and Yaacob Dweck’s translation (Ibis Publications, 2008): I felt a terrifying collapse inside me. Still, the narrator goes along with the expulsion without overt protest. Somewhat surprisingly, this story was taught for many years in Israeli secondary schools as part of the modern Hebrew canon; even today it is still on the books as an optional text for the matriculation exam (unless the Netanyahu government has secretly removed it).
Sixty-three years have passed since Yizhar wrote “Khirbet Khizeh.” Bibi in a Corner - By Yossi Beilin. The short marriage between Israel's ruling Likud Party and Kadima, the largest party in the Knesset, is ending as these lines are written. The official reason for the coalition's collapse -- a disagreement over a bill that would ensure the conscription of ultra-Orthodox youth -- is not the main reason it has come apart. The Likud-Kadima split was primarily the result of fear: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fear of losing his original coalition partners, and Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz's fear of a looming political disaster.
Although Kadima has rejoined the opposition, there is no guarantee that it has averted a wipeout at the ballot box. The polls show that a clear majority of Israelis support Netanyahu retaining his position after the next election, while Kadima's departure from the government has analysts chattering that it could be heading for political oblivion.
Netanyahu may dominate Israel's political sphere today, but don't be so quick to assume he's unbeatable.