In Israel the Jews are caught between a rock and a hard place. The Right can?t quite manage to hold onto the country and the Left can?t quite manage to give it away. This is either stalemate or equilibrium, depending on your point of view. In any event, it?s the way things are and the way they are going to stay for the foreseeable future. I think it?s wonderful news.
Israel is a democracy in the same way that Japan or Mexico is a democracy. There are elections (lots of elections), there is a parliament, sometimes the faces change, but the policies are always the same, just repackaged as required to give the appearance of movement. Israeli voters get to choose any color they want, as long as it?s black.
Israel thought it had rid itself of Shimon Peres in favor of Binyamin Netanyahu, only to find Netanyahu outdoing Peres. Israel thought it had rid itself of Netanyahu in favor of Ehud Barak, only to find Barak was an incompetent Netanyahu. Israel thought it had rid itself of Barak in favor of Ariel Sharon, only to find Sharon talking up a "Palestinian State" and making Peres his Number Two. Now we?re back to a choice between Sharon, Netanyahu and a Barak/Rabin prot?g? called Amram Mitzna. Political scientists call that an oligarchy. Hucksters call it the Shell Game.
History only provides two ways to change such a situation: revolution and war, the volcano and earthquake of human affairs. It is highly unlikely the Israelis will mount an internal rebellion, however justified one would be. Jews aren?t built that way. As far as I can tell, revolutions are virtually non-existent in Jewish history and have almost always been directed at non-Jews who have, temporarily, come to rule over us. Chanukah, the holiday just in front of us, provides the best example. The Maccabees fought and defeated both the Assyrians and their Jewish collaborators. A war and a revolution. A two-front performance that has never been topped. Those were the days.
On the other hand, plain vanilla wars come along all the time. Since Israel was founded in 1948 they?ve been a dime a dozen, and we?re in the middle of a new one right now. Some people contend it?s all just one big continuing war. No matter, as a result, Israel has become quite adept at fighting wars, never losing one and never winning one either.
Wars are great at breaking the kind of impasse we find ourselves in today. Wars are clarifying. You know where everyone stands in a war and your foe bears his fangs for all to see. Wars keep the leadership honest. A bomb can fall on a Likudnik as easily as a Meretznik, and often do. Wars unite rich and poor, the elites and the average Joe because in war everything can be lost ? Sharon?s farm, Beilin?s book collection, the whole darn country. Nothing motivates the general populace, or focuses their attention, like war. Of course, as much as you might favor war, you can?t have one without an enemy. But Israel is truly blessed in that department. Israel has a permanent enemy: the Arabs.
Naturally, there is a big downside to war. War is not shalom. War is Hell. Property is destroyed, economies ruined, people are killed and maimed; awful things that Jews lament and can ill-afford. That?s why nobody in their right mind ever wants a war. That is surely a sad commentary, but it is only commentary. War is the Catch-22 of Israel?s peace policies and the way its leadership has chosen to conduct the affairs-of-state. The two essentials for making war are land and weapons and the hawks and the doves keep giving the enemy both. Makes you wonder, doesn?t it?
Under these circumstances, war is inevitable and war is Israel?s best chance to find peace. Like it or not, short of a miracle or a revolution, Israelis are going to have to keep practicing until they get it right.
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Dovid Ben Chaim is a writer living in New York. He can be reached at dovid@myway.com.
Israel is a democracy in the same way that Japan or Mexico is a democracy. There are elections (lots of elections), there is a parliament, sometimes the faces change, but the policies are always the same, just repackaged as required to give the appearance of movement. Israeli voters get to choose any color they want, as long as it?s black.
Israel thought it had rid itself of Shimon Peres in favor of Binyamin Netanyahu, only to find Netanyahu outdoing Peres. Israel thought it had rid itself of Netanyahu in favor of Ehud Barak, only to find Barak was an incompetent Netanyahu. Israel thought it had rid itself of Barak in favor of Ariel Sharon, only to find Sharon talking up a "Palestinian State" and making Peres his Number Two. Now we?re back to a choice between Sharon, Netanyahu and a Barak/Rabin prot?g? called Amram Mitzna. Political scientists call that an oligarchy. Hucksters call it the Shell Game.
History only provides two ways to change such a situation: revolution and war, the volcano and earthquake of human affairs. It is highly unlikely the Israelis will mount an internal rebellion, however justified one would be. Jews aren?t built that way. As far as I can tell, revolutions are virtually non-existent in Jewish history and have almost always been directed at non-Jews who have, temporarily, come to rule over us. Chanukah, the holiday just in front of us, provides the best example. The Maccabees fought and defeated both the Assyrians and their Jewish collaborators. A war and a revolution. A two-front performance that has never been topped. Those were the days.
On the other hand, plain vanilla wars come along all the time. Since Israel was founded in 1948 they?ve been a dime a dozen, and we?re in the middle of a new one right now. Some people contend it?s all just one big continuing war. No matter, as a result, Israel has become quite adept at fighting wars, never losing one and never winning one either.
Wars are great at breaking the kind of impasse we find ourselves in today. Wars are clarifying. You know where everyone stands in a war and your foe bears his fangs for all to see. Wars keep the leadership honest. A bomb can fall on a Likudnik as easily as a Meretznik, and often do. Wars unite rich and poor, the elites and the average Joe because in war everything can be lost ? Sharon?s farm, Beilin?s book collection, the whole darn country. Nothing motivates the general populace, or focuses their attention, like war. Of course, as much as you might favor war, you can?t have one without an enemy. But Israel is truly blessed in that department. Israel has a permanent enemy: the Arabs.
Naturally, there is a big downside to war. War is not shalom. War is Hell. Property is destroyed, economies ruined, people are killed and maimed; awful things that Jews lament and can ill-afford. That?s why nobody in their right mind ever wants a war. That is surely a sad commentary, but it is only commentary. War is the Catch-22 of Israel?s peace policies and the way its leadership has chosen to conduct the affairs-of-state. The two essentials for making war are land and weapons and the hawks and the doves keep giving the enemy both. Makes you wonder, doesn?t it?
Under these circumstances, war is inevitable and war is Israel?s best chance to find peace. Like it or not, short of a miracle or a revolution, Israelis are going to have to keep practicing until they get it right.
--------------------------------------------------------
Dovid Ben Chaim is a writer living in New York. He can be reached at dovid@myway.com.