Table Of ContentTo order a copy of this book, visit www.amec.org.za or email [email protected]
Pretending
democracy
Israel, an
ethnocratic state
’
Edited by Naeem Jeenah
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Published by the Afro-Middle East Centre
PO Box 411494, Craighall, 2024, Johannesburg, South Africa
www.amec.org.za
First published 2012
ISBN (soft cover) 978-0-620-54042-1
© 2012 Afro-Middle East Centre
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise without the prior permission of the Afro-Middle East Centre.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not necessarily refl ect
the views or policies of the Afro-Middle East Centre or indicate that the Centre endorses the
views of the authors. In quoting from this publication, readers are advised to attribute the
source of the information to the individual author concerned and not to the Centre.
Copyedited by Mary Ralphs
Cover Design by Karen Graphics
Designed and Typeset by Karen Graphics
Cover photographs by Karla Green and Melissa Jane Hoole
Printed by Impress Printers
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Contents
Foreword by Ebrahim I Ebrahim .................................... v
Preface ..........................................................ix
About the contributors ...........................................xiii
Frequently used acronyms and abbreviations ........................ xvii
Introduction
Pretending democracy, living ethnocracy .............................. 3
Na’eem Jeenah
Part One ISRAEL AND ITS FOUNDING MYTHS
1 The invention of the Jewish people ............................. 27
Shlomo Sand
2 Zionism, the founding fathers and the Palestine Arabs ............. 53
Avi Shlaim
Part Two THE ETHNIC STATE AND ITS VICTIMS
3 Israel as an ethnic state: Descriptions, paradigms and prescriptions ... 71
Ran Greenstein
4 Between colonialism and ethnocracy: ‘Creeping apartheid’
in Israel/Palestine ........................................... 95
Oren Yiftachel
5 Israel through the prism of international law .................... 117
Max du Plessis
6 Reconciling history and equal citizenship in Israel: Democracy
and the politics of historical denial ............................ 135
Nadim N Rouhana
7 Staying put: Crossing the Israel-Palestine border with
Gloria Anzaludúa .......................................... 167
Smadar Lavie
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Part Three COMPARATIVE ETHNIC NATIONALISMS
8 The unresolved national question in South Africa ................ 199
Neville Alexander
9 Afrikaner and Jewish nationalisms ............................ 217
Andre Zaaiman
10 Israel, South Africa, Ulster and the ‘dark side of democracy’ ........ 231
Daryl Glaser
11 Reflections on South Africa and Israel/Palestine .................. 261
Adam Habib
12 The Jewish National Fund and the socialisation of Zionism in
South Africa .............................................. 269
Heidi Grunebaum
13 Israel and apartheid: When democracy for a minority becomes
a special form of colonialism ................................. 285
Ronnie Kasrils
Part Four BEYOND ETHNIC NATIONALISM
14 The future between ideals and realities ......................... 297
Azzam Tamimi
15 Jewish identity and minority status in a democratic Palestine. . . . . . . 313
Steven Friedman
16 Radical Hope .............................................. 329
Fouad Moughrabi
17 Towards a one-state solution in Palestine/Israel .................. 365
Ali Abunimah
18 Beyond ethnic nationalism: Lessons from South Africa ............ 379
Na’eem Jeenah and Salim Vally
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Foreword
Ebrahim I Ebrahim
The over-arching theme of this book is a difficult and delicate matter; it
concerns state-craft in a cosmopolitan and ever-changing world.
Its contents page boasts a long list of solid academics, experts and
social activists – as did the speakers’ list for the conference whose papers
laid the basis for this volume. These are all very important deliberations on
a very critical question. Precisely because of the nature of the theme and
related issues that are dealt with here, I am pleased that the authors did
not confine their deliberations to abstract concepts and theories but that
they brought them down to basics and reality.
The issue of Palestine and Israel is one that has not remained in the
corridors of academia but has impacted on the course of history, has a
direct bearing on many a human life, and has been a divisive feature in the
discourse on international peace and security.
We have learned from the history of state-making that it is not easy to
maintain a state that is founded and based upon a historical injustice and
the denial of universal freedoms. The history of state-craft is littered with
examples of people using all sorts of means – including going to war – in
defence of what they regarded as their universal human rights and funda-
mental freedoms. We have also learned from the history of state-making
that it is quite possible for opposing forces to enter into political dialogue
to deal with their differences and to transform the lives of their people for
the better.
We live in a world that promotes democratic systems of government.
Although there may be different variances of this system of government,
it is, in the main, one system that brings about political stability within a
state and guarantees equality of citizenship and individual freedoms. The
basic tenet of this system, that the majority rules, is primarily tested in
multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural societies.
Accordingly, those who occupy leadership positions in such societies have
an overwhelming responsibility to ensure that democracy, as a system of
government, is not used to deny equal rights to those who are not in the
majority. Failure to safeguard fundamental freedoms for one group or to
alleviate the rights of one group over those of the other can hardly serve as
a useful framework for a stable democracy.
v
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Ebrahim I Ebrahim
I consider Israel to be a multiethnic and a multicultural society be-
cause of the presence – over many years – of people of both Jewish and
Palestinian descent within the same territory. As such, there will be in-
herent contradictions between advocating democracy as a universal idea,
while defining the State of Israel in monoethnic terms. This approach has
resulted in the relegation of Palestinians residing within the State of Israel
to the status of second-class citizens. This undermines, inter alia, the very
principle of equal citizenship which is at the core of a democratic system
of government.
The inherent contradiction that I have just described is potentially a
recipe for disaster and a contributing factor to on-going socio-political
instability both within Israel and within the occupied territories. This is
evident with Israel’s attempts to Judaise East Jerusalem and other parts of
the occupied territories.
Now, what is to be done? On the one hand, international conferences
such as the one that resulted in this book, and this book itself, should
assist us as policy- and decision-makers to deepen our understanding of
this issue. Such conferences and books should also assist policy-makers to
answer the following difficult question: is it possible to craft and articu-
late policy positions that expose this inherent contradiction, without these
policies being interpreted as a questioning of the right of the State of Israel
to exist. On the other hand, I still believe that there are sufficient voices
within the Jewish community residing inside and outside of Israel who
also understand the dangers inherent in this contradiction.
Allow me to briefly outline the South African Government’s position
towards peace and stability in the Middle East, specifically with regards to
the question of Palestine and Israel. South Africa has accepted the view of
the Palestinian leadership of both Fatah and Hamas of a two-state solu-
tion. We understand this position to mean that there has to be an inde-
pendent and viable Palestinian state, living side-by-side and in peace and
security with Israel on the basis of the borders that existed on 4 June 1967,
with East Jerusalem as its capital. For this position to succeed it needs to
address the right of return of refugees. I am, however, aware that the con-
tinued expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem and in the West Bank is
making it increasingly difficult for a two-state solution based on the above
principles to be realised. We must seek guidance from the Palestinian lead-
ership on any future dispensation.
vi
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Foreword
Informed by this position, we have consistently raised our objections
to any acts or behaviour that, in our view, frustrate the creation of an
independent and viable Palestinian state. Among other things, we have
objected to the further partitioning of the Occupied Palestinian Territory
through the building of settlements, the Seperation Wall and other forms
of restrictions imposed on the people of Palestine. Painfully, we have wit-
nessed and denounced the use of force against civilians and the economic
strangulation of Palestinians living in Gaza. We will continue to add our
voice to those who are critical of any attempts to dilute the universal ap-
preciation of Jerusalem as a Holy City and one of the most sacred places
for the three monotheistic religions. We will continue with our efforts, no
matter how small, to call for unity within the Palestinian forces for the
purposes of achieving Palestinian statehood.
We have remained steadfast on this position because we regard it as
our historical and international duty to contribute to the creation of an
independent and viable state of Palestine in particular, and peace in the
Middle East region in general. This position is not only informed by our
own history of liberation as a country, but it is a position that our partners
in Palestine and the rest of the international community have committed
themselves to.
Indeed, we are aware of the other positions that are being advocated
regarding the Palestine-Israel conflict. We are also not blind to the fact
that some of the present-day actions of the State of Israel seem to be aimed
at deliberately frustrating the eventual creation of an independent State of
Palestine. Our answer to all of this is that we remain willing to be engaged
further on our position.
vii
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Preface
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has fundamentally
changed since the latter part of 2010. The mass popular uprisings that
ignited at the end of that year and rapidly engulfed much of the region
have irreversibly changed both the face of the area as well as regional and
global geo-politics. Entrenched dictators were toppled in Tunisia, Egypt,
Yemen and Libya; popular democratically-elected governments have been
installed in Egypt and Tunisia; Yemen seems haltingly to be on the road to-
wards democracy; embers of resistance continue to burn in Bahrain in the
face of brutal crackdowns, and Syria has descended into a bloody civil war.
Despite Israel’s notion of its exceptionalism – its belief in its detach-
ment from the region, driven by the state’s claims of democratic and civi-
lisational uniqueness, Israel was not untouched by the uprisings. The 2011
Israeli social-justice protests, led by the middle class and dubbed the ‘J14
Movement’ and the ‘Tent protests’, saw Israelis, inspired by events in the
region emerge en masse to protest their government’s economic policies
and the high cost of living. The rallying call, ostensibly for ‘social justice’,
resulted in the largest protests in the country’s history. Some protesters
borrowed slogans from other uprisings in the region such as the Arabic
‘irhal’ (leave); others proclaimed Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard – where
the protesters first set up camp – as their own Tahrir Square, the iconic
centre in Cairo which Egyptian protesters made the symbol of their strug-
gle. The suicide of Moshe Silman, who set himself alight at a protest in
Tel Aviv in July 2012, echoed the self-immolation of Tunisian vendor Mo-
hamed Bouazizi which triggered the regional uprisings, and underscored
that Israel was not able to maintain its presumption of insularity.
It is worth noting that although Israel experienced its own popular
protest movement, this was qualitatively different to the uprisings in
neighbouring states. The Israeli movement was more akin to the less in-
cendiary ‘Occupy Movement’ that, itself, took inspiration from the MENA
uprisings.
About nine months before the MENA uprisings began in Sidi Bouzid
in Tunisia, the Afro-Middle East Centre (AMEC) – a think-tank/research
institute based in South Africa that focuses mainly on the MENA region
and the region’s relationship with the rest of Africa – convened a confer-
ence in Pretoria with the theme ‘Locating ethnic states in a cosmopolitan
world: The case of Israel’.
ix
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