Beware of Anti-Arabism
There
is a great deal that Jewish Israelis can and must do to marginalize, and if
possible to suppress, the foul anti-Arab voices that have been heard in Israel
these past two months.
By Moshe Arens
| Aug. 18, 2014 | (Moshe Arnes is the former defense minister of Israel -
leader in the Likud right wing party)
The
war between Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Israel Defense Forces has given
rise to an upsurge of ugly emotions that may have been lying dormant and that
tend to surface in times of emotional stress, namely anti-Semitism in a number
of European countries and anti-Arab emotions directed against Israel’s Arab
citizens in Israel. They are similar to reactions that have tended to break out
in times of war throughout the ages.
There may be nothing that Israel
can do about the upsurge of anti-Semitism in countries in Europe that bear a
heavy responsibility for directly or indirectly participating in the murder of
the Jews of Europe, but there is a great deal that Jewish Israelis can and must
do to marginalize, and if possible to suppress, the foul anti-Arab voices that
have been heard in Israel these past two months. Not just for the sake of
Israel’s Arab citizens, but for the sake of Israel itself and Israel’s future.
It started with the abduction in
Gush Etzion by Hamas terrorists of the three students on their way home from
school in June. The whole country prayed they would be found alive, and mourned
when it turned out they had been murdered. Was it only Israeli Jews who
mourned? Of course not, their worries and sadness were shared by most of
Israel’s Arab citizens. But the very question, when directed at Israeli Arabs,
do you share our grief, do you condemn the murderers, is an affront, hurtful to
our fellow citizens. They do not need to justify themselves or to make excuses
for that marginal group of Israeli Arabs who support Hamas and its criminal
activities.
When three Israeli Jews murdered a
young Arab boy in Jerusalem, it was not only Israel’s Arab citizens who were
aghast at this horrendous act, so were the vast majority of Israel’s Jewish
citizens. But they have no need to affirm their outrage at this murder;
Israel’s Arab citizens are not about to question them on this matter.
Tempers rose when Hamas began
firing rockets at Israel’s cities, the IDF entered the Gaza Strip, soldiers
fell in battle and hundreds of innocent Palestinians in Gaza were killed in the
ensuing encounters. Jewish thugs took to the streets, the cry “death to the
Arabs” was heard. Now who do you support, some Israeli Jews questioned their
Arab neighbors: Are you with us or against us?
It takes a very insensitive soul
not to understand the difference in the feelings of Jewish and Arab citizens in
these circumstances and to not empathize with Israel’s Arab citizens. After the
abduction of the three Jewish teens, most Jewish Israelis said to themselves
that it might have happened to their own children. And after the murder of the
young Arab teen, Israeli Arabs said to themselves it could have happened to one
of their sons. The solidarity that embraced Israelis, who are parents of soldiers
in the IDF, could not possible be matched by the sadness that most Israeli
Arabs felt over the casualties the IDF suffered during the fighting in Gaza.
Jewish Israelis were distraught at the large numbers of civilian casualties
among the Palestinian population in Gaza, but their feelings could not possibly
be identical to the feelings of Arab Israeli citizens who might have relatives
and friends in Gaza.
And yet, the many things that
Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens share outnumber by far the differences
between them. The integration of Israel’s Arab citizens into Israeli society
and into the Israeli economy is of utmost importance to the future of Israel,
to its Jewish and Arab citizens alike. To the wonderment of many it is a
process that has been taking place and accelerating in recent years. The credit
goes first and foremost to the many Arabs who have made their way, despite
objective and subjective difficulties, to become productive citizens of Israel,
and to the many Arab teens who volunteer in increasing numbers for national
service and even for service in the IDF.
If recent traumatic events were to
lead to a reversal of this trend it would be a tragedy not just for Israel’s
Arab citizens, but most importantly for the State of Israel. We can only hope
the prime minister understands this and will make his voice heard, showing
empathy for Israel’s Arab citizens in these trying times and making it clear
that Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens share not only a common country but also
a common fate. By the same token, Israel’s Arab leaders must distance
themselves from those voices that seem to imply that it is the duty of Israel’s
Arabs to support Hamas, a terrorist organization, simply because its leadership
is Arab. It will take a common effort to achieve a common goal.
