Needless to mention, I don’t hold my breath for the
outcome of the current ‘peace talks’. As I mentioned
many times before, Israelis are not interested in
peace as they fail to grasp what peace is all about or
what it stands for. Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace,
is interpreted by Israelis and most Jews as ‘security
for the Jews’. Shalom therefore has nothing to do with
reconciliation or living amongst others. Shalom is a
judeo-centric concept, it conveys an image of hope to
one people only. The Israeli Palestinian conflict can
never be resolved by a ‘shalom initiative’. Shalom is
there to split the land and separate the people. It is
there to deny the Palestinians of their elementary
rights such as the Right of Return.
But let us assume for a second that I am completely
wrong in my reading of the Israelis and their cultural
and political understandings. Let’s for that purpose
look into an imaginary scenario in which an Israeli PM
wakes up one sunny morning with the unusual
determination to bring about true peace. In the wee
small hours, wisdom embraces him or her. He or she
realises that Israel is in fact Palestine: it is
stretched over historic Palestine at the expense of
the Palestinian people, their livelihood and their
history. He or she grasps that the Palestinians are
the indigenous people of the land, and the rockets
they shoot from time to time are nothing but love
letters to their stolen villages, orchards, vineyards
and fields.
Our imaginary Israeli PM realises that the so-called
Israeli Palestinian conflict can be resolved in 25
minutes once both people decide to live together.
Following the Israeli unilateral tradition, an
immediate televised press conference is called on the
same day at 2 PM. Captivated by true righteousness the
PM announces to the world and his people “Israel
realises its unique circumstances and its crucial
responsibility for world peace. Israel calls the
Palestinian people to return to their homes. The
Jewish state is to become a state of its citizens
where all people enjoy full equal rights”.
Though shocked by the sudden Israeli move, political
analysts around the world are quick to realise that,
considering Israel is the representative of world
Jewry, such a simple peaceful initiative, won’t just
resolve the conflict in the Middle East, it would also
bring to an end two millenniums of mutual suspicions
and resentfulness between Christians and Jews. Some
Israeli right wing academics, ideologists and
politicians join the revolutionary initiative and
declare that such a heroic unilateral Israeli act
could be the one and only total and comprehensive
fulfilment of the Zionist dream for not only Jews have
returned to their alleged historical home, they also
have managed, at last, to love their neighbours and be
loved in return.
As much as such an idea is thrilling and exciting, we
shouldn’t expect it to happen any time soon, for
Israel is the Jewish state and Jewishness is a tribal
ideology driven by exclusiveness, exceptionalism,
racial supremacy and a deep inherent inclination
toward segregation.
For Israel and Israelis to become people like other
people, all traces of Jewish ideological superiority
must be suppressed first. For the Jewish state to lead
a peaceful initiative, Israel must be de-zionised, it
should first stop being the Jewish State. Similarly,
in order for an imaginary Israeli PM to bring peace
about, he or she must be de-Zionised first.
As things stand, Israel, in its current ideological
state, is categorically unable to lead the region into
reconciliation. It lacks the necessary ingredients
that are needed in order to think in terms of harmony
and reconciliation.
The only people who can bring peace about are the
Palestinians, for Palestine , against all odds and in
spite of the endless suffering, humiliation and total
oppression, is still an ethically driven ecumenical
society.
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