The Battle Over Israel's National Character

By Alon Ben-Meir

The current acrimonious debate in Israel between those who support the principle of exchanging land for peace and those who oppose it on religious grounds touches upon the very national soul and future character of the country. Unless a clear consensus emerges regarding the status of the territories in the West Bank, Israel could face internal violent strife far more ominous to its security than any threat Islamic fundamentalists have ever posed.

The heated debate that engulfs the Israelis is not about the mere exchange of a parcel of land for peace, as was the case with the Sinai, or might even be with the Golan Heights. For hundreds of thousands of nationalist religious Jews, Judea and Samaria, the biblical names for the West Bank, are sacred lands which belong to the Jewish people by biblical birthrights. This land represents the very essence of their religious and cultural heritage. Their affinity to the land has provided them with spiritual sustenance fulfilling a 2,000-year-old dream often not fully appreciated by many secular Jews. What Israel faces, then, is not merely a conflict between two strategies to achieve the same result, but a battle over two diametrically opposing ideologies that will shape the nation's destiny.

A Declaration of War

The assassination of Rabin was nothing less than a declaration of war by religious fanatics against the government. Some Jewish American and Israeli leaders would like us to believe that Rabin's murder by another Jew was an historical fluke alien to Jewish values and teaching. Not so! Yigal Amir acted in accordance with his conviction that the land of Israel belongs to the Jews by absolute biblical right and is not subject to trade or sale by any authority. There are hundreds of thousands of devout adherents to this religious belief, some of whom justify Rabin's assassination because of the harm his action presumably has brought upon Israel. The rhetoric of hate abetted by Israel's main opposition party, Likud, has served to poison the atmosphere. Irresponsible rabbis have fanned the flames by sanctioning violent acts against Israeli leaders for pursuing the peace process, whose territorial concessions, they claim, "defied the will of God." Another group of rabbis openly advised Orthodox soldiers to disobey orders to evict settlers in the West Bank. It was the ideology of such Jewish militants that spawned this assassination, opening the door to a dangerous disruption of the rule of law.

Ironically, Islamic and Jewish fundamentalists, sworn enemies, found common cause in trying to kill the peace process. Jewish zealots, however, posed a far greater danger to Israel's well-being than any marginal Islamic group. Over the years, Israel has been able to develop effective means to combat Islamist terrorism and the Islamists themselves know that they cannot really defeat Israel. The Israeli government, however, does not have the strategy and still lacks political will to use force, which might become necessary to deal with Jewish terrorists. Moreover, most adult settlers have served in the army and are perfectly capable of waging a war of attrition against both Palestinians and Israeli Jews who oppose them.

Peres must tell the settlers what is in store for them.

There is much talk in Israel about the impending danger and what must be done to avert a new disaster. Here are some measures that must be considered:

First, since Israel is going through revolutionary changes, it is time for Peres to explain plainly the moral and political imperatives of making peace with the Palestinians. For too long, Labor has left the field of public relations wide open for the Likud to exploit, making a mockery of the peace process. Peres must explain why Israel cannot rule, expel, absorb, or eliminate all Palestinians. The West Bank and Gaza are their home and there is no other place for them to go. The Oslo agreements offer the only viable formula for coexistence with dignity. Peres must challenge Likud leader Benyamin Netanyahu to produce an acceptable alternative plan instead of engaging in demagoguery.

Second, Peres must tell the settlers what is in store for them. For too long they have been put in limbo, not knowing what to expect and when. For political and tactical reasons, Peres will not be able to divulge the framework of the final agreement, assuming there is one. Nonetheless, Peres must be clear on the future status of at least some of the settlements.

Third, some rabbis forget that their mission is to heal, comfort, guide and console, not provoke their disciples to commit acts of violence against fellow Jews. Rabbis, as spiritual leaders, have a special obligation in wielding their influence. Since they enjoy the credibility to speak to the extreme right, they must make it their moral duty to declare that Halachah (holy law) unambiguously rejects acts of extremism and violence.

Fourth, the security services can no longer ignore or play down the threat from the right-wing and Jewish settler extremists. The Israeli authorities must make the psychological adjustment to deal with Jewish extremism with the same intensity and sense of threat as they deal with other anti-Israeli elements.

Unlike Rabin, who did not take well to criticism and often dismissed those who disagreed with him, Peres must show a far greater capacity for tolerance. He should invite members of Likud and the religious parties for ongoing public debates to garner a new public consensus supportive of the government's policy.

It should be remembered that it was internecine hatred and internal conflict that brought down the second Jewish commonwealth nearly 2,000 years ago. Today's intercommunal strife in Israel could again cause a national disaster.

Alon Ben-Meir is professor of international relations at the New School for Social Research in New York.