There's been a lot of talk about race, in Israel, and about Israel, and about racism. There have been letters from Rabbis, orthodox rabbis that have called their parishioners to not rent to Arabs, there have been letters from female Rabbis, called Rebitzens, calling for young Jewish women not to date Arab men. And indeed, ask anybody if they're surprised about these pronouncements and most will sadly shake their head no.
And the media, Israel being Israel, likes to portray Israel in a dastardly light, for after all, that is what sells newspapers, draws web traffic and increases click through rates. And then there's the Israeli left, being led by the Israeli media outlet Ha'aretz, who over the past few months has been warning of the pending fascist and racist take over of Israeli society by the "evil ones." And all these pronouncements just seem to prove their point.
And maybe in Ha'aretz eyes its true, maybe they really do see an imminent threat to a free, liberal Israeli society. But what they're missing is its not about freedom, and its not about democracy. And Israeli society, while under pressure, isn't any more at risk than the US, UK, or France, though they can't see beyond their own obsessive neruoses.
The battle being waged here in the middle east, and in Israel itself, is about acceptance. Its about rejection, and its about survival. Much as it has been for Jews for millenia. And while Jews out in the diaspora have discovered how to live in safety and security, and how to be accepted by their neighbors, Jews in the State of Israel have yet to attain that noble goal, no matter how hard they try. Sure, some of their neighbors have grudgingly accepted their existence for lack of options, but its a cold acceptance at best. And yet others, until this day, still refuse to accept them, and promise to work to their dying breath, to run us out of this land, to make us a minority, to bring it back into the embrace of Islam.
Have no doubt, there is a deep animosity, a nagging suspicion, perhaps even a hatred, and a lack of trust among many Israeli Jews, of the Arab population in general, Israeli, Palestinian, or otherwise. And the religious community, it's doing what it knows how to do best, withdrawal into itself, preserve itself, and its hold onto its people. And it also feels this threat from Arabs, a threat to its world view, its children, its way of life, and its physical safety.
And have no doubt, that the never ending pronouncements of Arab governments predicting the end of Israel, calling for Zionists to be killed, of Israeli Arabs, as few as they might be, working with Israel's enemies, and the Arab and Muslim world's refusal to this day to accept Israel, has a very big role in the pronouncements we've heard over the past few weeks.
And have no doubt, that it is a bitter, unending conflict that breeds hate and resentment, and that is really the source of these pronouncements, and not, as some would like you to believe, racism.
In the end, Israel is here to be the Jewish state, the state for the Jews, and yet democratic. And inherent in that definition, is a very clear dichotomy, one which some say make Israel undemocratic, religion and democracy being incompatible. And perhaps in some ways Israel isn't a conventional democracy. But much like the reality we live in causes us to adapt, and do what we need to survive, Israel is making the best effort it can to have the various pieces of the puzzle work together, still trying to provide equality and a decent standard of living to all its citizens, in spite of this horribly bitter, never ending conflict in which its very existence is rejected by most of its neighbors, some of its citizens, and today, many of its friends.
As much as Israel would like to provide a safe haven for the millions of Sudanese and other African refugees, it also needs to think about its existence. Its balance. It doesn't posses a landmass the size of the United States, not even of the State of Illinois. And as much as Israel would like to make its Arab citizens feel every much a part of Israel as its Jewish citizens, there will always be that resentment of its Arab citizens, at least among some, that they live in a country that defines itself and is defined as others as Jewish.
And as much as Israel would like to make peace with the Palestinians. We don't do it on any terms, we won't give up our identity, or our right to define our nation by our religion, for after all, there are already 56 countries in the world that define themselves by Islam.
To some, that makes us racist. To some, that makes us fascist. To the publishers, editors and writers at Ha'aretz that makes us a failure as a modern "liberal Western society" and all the above. But the truth of the matter is, its who we are. Stop attacking our families with bombs, misses and bullets. Stop trying to make those that defend us into criminals for doing so, stop calling our children criminals for defending us, stop questioning our legitimacy and right to be here, who we are. Start waking up to the fact that the fact we're so prominent in the international media, particularly the way we are vilified no matter what we do, and how it is only the worst of us that is apparently newsworthy in the world, is nothing less than horrid racism and a drastic failure of western liberal society.
Israel is not a perfect place, we make plenty of mistakes. Many don't agree with our actions, and most of those don't have to live here, under constant attack by all. We want peace, but are not willing to sacrifice ourselves, our children, our security. We can't make peace with a partner that refuses to talk to us, and won't make peace if we don't think that agreements we sign will be upheld.
For those of you disappointed with what you thought Israel was, well all I can say is that you never really loved her, only some lofty concept of what you thought she was. One in a vacuum, one in which 65 years of bitter conflict didn't force her to make decisions between bad and worse. It doesn't make us racist, it doesn't make us fascist, it doesn't make us bad. It makes us human doing the best we can under the circumstances.
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