The Unmaking of Israel (38 page)

203
“encourage voluntary emigration”:
Uri Ariel, “Behazarah Le’akko Veyaffo,”
Besheva
, 13 Oct. 2008: 13.

204
the words written in it:
Sholem Asch,
God of Vengeance
, in
The Great Jewish Plays
, ed. and trans. Joseph C. Landis (New York: Avon, 1972). The play was first performed in Yiddish in 1907. When it was staged in English in New York in 1923, the cast and producer were arrested and convicted of giving an immoral performance, with the judge, identified by the
New York Times
only as “McIntyre,” decrying the “desecration of the sacred scrolls of the Torah” (“‘God of Vengeance’ Players Convicted,”
New York Times
, 24 May 1923: 1). Asch’s literary reputation has survived the charge of attacking Judaism.

205
and sold to the JNF:
David Kretzmer,
The Legal Status of Arabs in Israel
(Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1990): 18–19, 61–66, 90–98; Yiftachel,
Ethnocracy
, 142–43; Hok Ma’amad Hahistadrut Hatzionit—Hasokhnut Hayehudit Le’eretz Yisrael, 1952.

205
sell to well-off Jews:
Sebastian Wallerstein and Emily Silverman,
Housing Distress within the Palestinian Community of Jaffa: The End of Protected Tenancy in Absentee Ownership Homes
(Bimkom, 2009); Omar Siksek, interview; Yudit Ilany, interview.

205
6 percent of the civil service:
Population figures from
Statistical Abstract of Israel 2010
, table 2.8, corrected by subtracting Jerusalem Arabs, most of whom are noncitizen East Jerusalem residents. Figures for Jerusalem Arabs:
Jerusalem Institute of Israel Studies, 2009–2010 Statistical Yearbook
, jiis.org/.upload/web%20C0409.xls, acc. 13 Jan. 2011. Employment figures: Ali Haider, ed.,
The Equality Index of Jewish and Arab Citizens in Israel, 2008
(Jerusalem: Sikkuy, 2009): 55.

205
larger than in Jewish schools:
Haider,
Equality Index
41. The average for Arab classes was 29, 18 percent above the Jewish average of 24.6.

205
almost three times larger:
Haider 45. Of Jews aged 20–34, 9 percent were enrolled in universities, compared to 3.3 percent of Arabs. The reporting method may underestimate the number of Arabs, since many Arabs start higher education at eighteen, unlike the great majority of Jewish Israelis, who first serve in the military. Factors contributing to the discrepancy may include poorer funding for schools in Arab communities, cultural bias in college-entrance testing, and the fact that Arab students must study in their second language at Israeli universities.

206
a political transformation:
Hussein Jbarah and Abd al-Aziz Abu Isba Maswari, interviews.

206
representation in the Knesset:
In the 1965 election, the only independent party receiving its support primarily from Arab citizens was Rakah (New Communist List), which won three seats; two other Arab parties that won a total of four seats were clients of Mapai. In 1984, two independent parties primarily supported by Arab voters won six seats. In 2009, three Arab-backed tickets won a total of eleven seats in the Knesset. “Kol Haknasot,” www.knesset.gov.il/history/heb/heb_hist_all.htm, acc. 1 Dec. 2010.

207
halfway inside the system:
Tawfik Jabareen, Dany Tirza, and Hashem Mahameed, interviews.

208
was to exclude Arabs:
Yiftachel,
Ethnocracy
111, 142.

208
before the High Court of Justice:
HCJ 6698/95, ruling issued 8 Mar. 2000; Adel Ka’adan, interview; Dan Yakir, interview.

209
“it cannot do indirectly”:
HCJ 6698/95, ruling issued 8 Mar. 2000.

209
buy a lot in Katzir:
HCJ 8060/03, petition filed 7 Sept. 2003, 194.90.30.84/hebrew-acri/article.asp?id=719, acc. 5 Jan. 2011; request for expenses, filed 1 Jan. 2006, www.acri.org.il/pdf/petitions/hit8060baqasha2.pdf, acc. 5 Jan. 2011.

209
building their home:
“Anashim Ketanim She’asu Mahpekhot Gedolot,”
The Marker,
27 Nov. 2008, www.themarker.com/tmc/article.jhtml?ElementId=skira20081127_1041224, acc. 5 Jan. 2011.

209
case is still pending:
HCJ 8036/07, petition filed 23 Sept. 2007 by Adalah—The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, the Jerusalem Open House (for LGBT rights), Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow, and others, www.adalah.org/features/land/admission-p.pdf, acc. 5 Jan. 2011; postponement of hearing, 23 Dec. 2010, elyon1.court.gov.il/files/07/360/080/n60/07080360.n60.pdf, acc. 5 Jan. 2011.

210
danger of domestic enemies:
This section is based in part on Gershom Gorenberg, “The Minister for National Fears,”
Atlantic Monthly
, May 2007. Lieberman’s position on the system of government is expressed most sharply in a 2006 bill for change of the governmental system submitted by Israel Is Our Home: 17th Knesset, P1072, Hatza’at Hok Yesod: Hamemshalah, Avigdor Lieberman, et al. Under the bill, the prime minister could appoint ministers without parliamentary approval. If the Knesset approved a state of emergency, the cabinet could enact emergency regulations temporarily superseding laws—and if “the prime minister sees that the cabinet cannot be convened, and there is a pressing and vital need for emergency regulations, he may enact them.” The effect of the law would be to allow the prime minister to assume dictatorial powers.

210
total political division:
Avigdor Lieberman, interview.

210
torture of the conspirators:
Alexey Tolstoy,
Peter the First
, trans. Tatiana Shebunina (New York: Macmillan, 1959).

210
and began to read:
Avigdor Lieberman, interview.

211
shattered relations with his party colleagues:
Ha’aretz
, 12–25 Nov. 1997.

211
“anti-Semite would invent him”:
Jean-Paul Sartre,
Anti-Semite and Jew
, trans. George J. Becker (New York: Schocken, 1965): 13, 27.

212
advocated expelling Arab citizens:
DK, 2 June 2004.

213
“among them the United States of America”:
Tochnit Medinit Liyisrael: Matza Yisrael Beitenu
(Israel Is Our Home platform, received from party officials in 2006); Fania Kirshenbaum, interview.

213
citizenship to non-Estonians:
Yiftachel,
Ethnocracy
29–32.

213
Jewish upper house in the Knesset:
Moshe Feiglin, “Tokhnit 100 Haymim,”
Manhigut Yehudit
, he.manhigut.org/content/view/2457/153/, acc. 9 Nov. 2008.

213
hard-liners fill the party ticket:
Ha’aretz
and
Yediot Aharonot
, 9 Dec. 2008.

214
on a two-state solution:
Ma’ariv
and
Yediot Aharonot
, 23–24 Feb. 2009.

215
“its Jewish and democratic values”:
Hatza’at Hok Mirsham Ukhlusin, 2009, P/18/811; Hatza’at Hok Sherut Hamedinah, 2010, P/18/2792; Hatza’at Hok Hakolno’a, 2010, P/18/2307; Association for Civil Rights in Israel,
Knesset 2010 Winter Session: Expectations and Concerns
, Oct. 2009.

215
require a loyalty oath of everyone:
Ynet
and
Ha’aretz
, 10 Oct. 2010.

215
economic equality, and other liberal causes:
Full disclosure: the Association for Civil Rights in Israel represented me in my High Court of Justice suit against the Israel Defense Forces Archive, and I have been a paid speaker at New Israel Fund events.

216
invasion of Gaza in 2009:
Im Tirtzu,
Hashpa’atam Shel Irgunei Hakeren Hahadashah Liyisrael Al Doh Goldstone
, 10 Feb. 2010, imti.org.il/Uploads/GoldstoneHE5.pdf, acc. 10 Feb. 2010. For the New Israel Fund rebuttal, see “Analysis of the Im Tirtzu Report on the New Israel Fund,” www.nif.org/media-center/under-attack/lies-damn-lies-and-the-im.html, acc. 11 Feb. 2010. The official name of the UN report is
Human Rights in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories: Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict
25 Sept. 2009 (www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/12session/A-HRC-12-48.pdf, acc. 19 Oct. 2009). It is generally known by the name of the South African jurist who headed the mission, Richard Goldstone.

216
“serves Communist interests”:
Ronen Shoval, interview.

216
“attempts to purchase its land”:
Knesset votes diagrammed, 5 Jan. 2011, www.knesset.gov.il/vote/heb/Vote_Res_Map.asp?vote_id_t=15118, www.knesset.gov.il/vote/heb/Vote_Res_Map.asp?vote_id_t=15119, acc. 12 Jan. 2011.

217
“weakening the IDF”:
Video excerpts of Lieberman’s widely broadcast speech of 10 Jan. 2011, at www.ynet.co.il/articles/1,7340,L-4011576,00.html, acc. 10 Jan. 2011.

217
allegations that terror groups:
Danon’s allegations are cited in a post on his website: “Beyozmat Danon: Va’adat Hakirah Baknesset Al Irgunei Smol,” 6 Jan. 2011, www.dannydanon.com/he/index.php?view=article&catid=35:media&id=256:2011-01-05-21-35-05, acc. 10 Jan. 2011.

218
racist interpretation of Judaism:
“Gilui Da’at,” www.zefat.net/images/stories/10_2010/esorrav.jpg, www.bhol.co.il/article.aspx?id=22296, acc. 16 Jan. 2011; Eli Ashkenazi, “Kenes Rabbanim Lidehikat Ha’aravim Metzfat Ne’erakh Bemimun Hamedinah,”
Ha’aretz
, 20 Oct. 2010, www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1194347.html, acc. 20 Oct. 2010.

218
“match the social-cultural fabric”:
Hok Letikkun Pekudat Ha’agudot Hashitufi’ot (Mispar 8), 2011. http://www.knesset.gov.il/Laws/Data/law/2286/2286.pdf, acc. 13 Apr. 2011. The law does state that a candidate must not be disqualified on the basis of his or her “race, religion, gender, nationality, handicaps, personal status, age, parental status, or sexual orientation.” However, the Ka’adan case showed that it would be easy enough to disqualify a candidate by citing another criterion. By explicitly allowing disqualification based on the “social-cultural fabric” of the community, the law empties of content the ban on discrimination.

219
“most meaningful national issues”:
Yishai Friedman, “Eikh Kipah Srugah Mityashevet Al Madim Kehulim,”
Olam Katan
, Rosh Hashanah 5771 (Sept. 2010): 6.

219
“people at a very high level”:
“Ani Ma’amin Shehakol Patir,”
Olam Katan
, Rosh Hashanah 5771 (Sept. 2010): 6.

219
with thirty-five recruits:
Yediot Aharonot
, 3 Oct. 2010.

220
“the corruption of individuals”:
Yeshayahu Leibowitz,
Judaism, Human Values and the Jewish State
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1992): 225.

VIII. The Reestablishment of Israel

222
to be a Jewish state:
To some extent, the belief in this either-or choice is a response to demands by Israeli Arab politicians and activicts that Israel transform itself from a Jewish state to a “state of all its citizens.”

223
homeland, or part of it:
Chaim Gans,
A Just Zionism: On the Morality of the Jewish State
(Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2008): 18–20, 25ff.

223
in contrast to utopias:
As Emmanuel Sivan writes in his afterword to the Hebrew edition of Raymond Aron’s
La Tragédie Algérienne
, “Utopias are not within reach; advancing one goal always comes at the expense of another.” Raymond Aron,
Hatragediah Ha’aljirit
(The Algerian Tragedy), first published in France as
La Tragédie Algérienne
, Hebrew edition, with afterword by Emmanuel Sivan (Tel Aviv: Sifrei Aliyat Gag, 2005): 87.

224
for which they were born too late:
Paul Berman,
A Tale of Two Utopias: The Political Journey of the Generation of 1968
(New York: W. W. Norton, 1996): 30–56, describes how the founders of the 1960s New Left were often children of Old Left activists and longed to match the heroism of their parents; they feared becoming “veterans of the cinemathèque.” In a paler version, the same dynamic may connect the antiapartheid activism of the 1980s on Western campuses and some activism targeting Israel today.

228
one-tenth of the per capita wealth:
The per capita GDP of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2008 was $2,900 (Central Intelligence Agency,
The World Fact Book,
www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html), and for Israel was $29,000 (www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html, both acc. 1 Jan. 2011). The figures may be distorted by including Israeli settlements as part of Israel rather than of the West Bank.

229
stay in Israeli hands:
“Static Maps,” Geneva Initiative, www.geneva-accord.org/mainmenu/static-maps/, acc. 27 Jan. 2011. Cf. the more complex border options suggested by David Makovsky et al.,
Imagining the Border: Options for Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Territorial Issue
, www.washingtoninstitute.org/pubPDFs/StrategicReport06.pdf, acc. 27 Jan. 2011. Another proposal for annexing settlements is that floated during the Sharon and Olmert governments—using the security fence as a baseline for a new border. As discussed on page 114, that line is unworkable as a border, and offers no compensation to the Palestinians for land annexed by Israel.