In the days since the heinous attacks on Israel by Hamas, we have once again been forced to endure the relentless criticisms of Israel and its efforts to defend itself and its citizens. Although Israel, like any nation, is certainly not perfect and consequently commits mistakes (a nation, after all, is merely a (somewhat) organized group of humans, who are of course highly fallible), the context of these actions that are so regularly and so vociferously attacked in the media is completely absent. Consequently, for our own edification in these trying times, I believe it is essential that we understand some key facts – both in support of Israel and fair criticisms thereof.
The most basic issue that one must understand when trying to make sense of the decades of conflict in Israel and with its neighbors is the reason why Israel must exist. One does not have to possess a doctorate in history or Middle Eastern affairs to understand this simple reality: For two millennia, commencing with the Romans’ forcible “ethnic cleansing” (to use an oft-employed term today) of Judea of the vast majority (but not all) of its Jewish inhabitants, the Jewish people have been forced to try and re-establish themselves in other countries around the world, principally in the Middle East, North Africa, Spain and, ultimately, other parts of Europe, including Russia. Yet anyone with any knowledge of the Diaspora (the term associated with this forcible relocation and ceaseless wandering) knows that despite periods of peace and occasional equality, the Jewish populations in virtually all of these other countries and territories were generally and ultimately subjected to, at best, second-class status, or more likely, harassment, forced conversions and often death. All because these Jews attempted to maintain their connection to their faith and beliefs. Jews, as anyone with any knowledge of world history knows, are the leading scapegoats for countless of the world’s ills.
Yet Jews often tried to fit in – to assimilate. Assimilation, while seeming to be a prudent strategy, did occasionally work, to a degree, for a time in some places. The most seemingly successful of these attempts to merely fit in – 19th and early 20th century Germany – ultimately, as we know all too well, turned out to be the undeniably worst event in the already tragic history of the Jews. The Holocaust thus should not be seen as an aberration, unfortunately, but rather just the most horrific of a long history of atrocities committed against the Jews. And clear evidence that merely trying to blend in was no safeguard against the legions wishing Jews harm and eradication.
In light of the above, it became clear to any who were concerned – and many were of course not – that the only way in which the Jewish people could be safe was to have their own state. In order to have the Jews’ own state, it must be and remain a majority Jewish state. The centuries before showed with unmistakable clarity that Jews in the minority could not be assured of safety; they would always be at the mercy and caprice of the rulers or majorities in such other states.
This is, in essence, the key principle that one must understand to comprehend the necessity of the State of Israel. More poignantly, one must accept the validity of the above for if one does not, then candidly there is no basis for further discussion. Those who do not recognize the existential need for Jews to have their own country either do not appreciate the history of the Jews or simply do not care about it. And as for any who would argue that “times have changed” and thus the motivations underlying Zionism and the founding of a Jewish state are similarly delusional or indifferent. Even in the United States, one must acknowledge, anti-Semitism could hardly be classified an anomaly. For generations in the United States, including as recently as at least the 1960s, Jews were systemically excluded from places of employment, social organizations and other groups. Furthermore, and most disturbingly, anti-Semitic acts and rhetoric have been documented to be on the increase in this country.
A side issue that those questioning Israel’s validity will occasionally raise, often to undercut the rationale for Israel, is whether the Jews’ unquestionable need for their own state dictates a broader norm – i.e., that all minorities without their own nation-states must be afforded similar consideration. That is a fair question to ask. Tragically, many peoples have suffered unrelenting hatred and discrimination. Hence, the answer might well be in the affirmative, but in a complex world with myriad groups and histories there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Yet regardless of whether this should be the rule does not alter the fundamental need of a Jewish state.
Assuming, as one must, the need for a Jewish state, the next issue in the discourse is, stated simply, where to put it. The United Nations, in one of its earliest significant actions, recognized the dire need and, for a variety of reasons (including earlier British positions on the issue) and after investigation and deliberation, determined to partition the Holy Land into two states: a Jewish state and an Arab/Palestinian one.
It would be disingenuous to state that there were not Palestinians who were displaced and even killed, sometimes entire villages, in the time leading up to the partition and the declaration by the Jews of the State of Israel. There are, consequently, Palestinians who lost land – and much more – as a result. It would also be a miscarriage of justice to pretend that similar occurrences did not afflict Jewish communities in the territory. Both sides are both right and wrong. No one in this conflict, as in most, has totally clean hands.
There will be those, of course, who ask why land had to be “taken” from the Palestinians. Why, they ask, could the Jews have not had a homeland elsewhere? A quick look at any map will reveal the answer to this query: There is no land that is beyond some people’s (or multiple people’s) claims. Anywhere the Jews were to go they would face the same challenge. Angolans would hardly be desirous of ceding their land to Jews any more than Inuit would be enthused to relinquish claims of Alaska to these Semitic people. In addition to this undeniable reality, there remains the fact that the Jews indisputably hail from what is now Israel and the surrounding areas. In fact, to the extent informative, the Romans’ expulsion of the vast majority of the Jews was not, like the Holocaust, a new idea of punishment. Hundreds of years earlier, the Babylonians similarly forcibly relocated the Jewish people from their land, only to be returned many, many years later by the Persians (rather ironically, predecessors of today’s Iranians).
To be sure, there was a burden placed upon the Palestinians. Without minimizing the disproportionate burden – or even injustice – faced by the Palestinians, it must also be recalled that immediately upon the Jews’ declaration of the formation of Israel, multiple Arab nations attempted to militarily exterminate the nascent state. Despite what some have erroneously reported in light of recent events, the reality is that the fledgling state was forced to stand on its own to repulse the invaders. This war of independence came at a high cost for the Jews, but ultimately, and somewhat miraculously, the Jews largely emerged victorious. This invasion led to further displacement of Palestinians – some voluntarily undertaken based on the unfilled promise that the Jews would be driven into the sea and some certainly forcibly – further exacerbating the dislocation and tension between the Israelis and Palestinians.
In soon-to-be published additional posts, we will delve into the complexities of the Arab/Palestinian-Israeli relationship. Yet all of the above, can be summarized by the words of former Prime Minister Golda Meir as she famously said to a much younger Joe Biden (and which he has repeatedly told us in recent days), the Jews have nowhere else to go.