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HOW CAN A JEWISH STATE REJECT REFUGEES AND REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE A GENOCIDE?
Ha'aretz, Israel
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/rosnerBl og.jhtml?itemNo=899071&contrassID=25&subCo ntrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=1&listSrc=Y& ;art=1
Aug 30 2007
The 1952 debate over the reparations agreement with Germany was
one of the bitterest in the history of Israel. "Sons of Jerusalem,
citizens of Israel," cried opposition leader Menachem Begin in the
speech he made while heading a mass demonstration that threatened
to prevent the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, from voting on the
arrangement. "This evening, the most shameful deed in the history of
our people is about to happen."
Prime Minister David Ben Gurion was pushing the Knesset to approve
the deal. Simply put, it was financial compensation for the loss
of Jewish property during the horrific days of the Holocaust. "The
government of Israel," declared Begin, "is selling the honor of Israel
for greed." Less then a decade after the Holocaust, it was a powerful
accusation, and it still is. But Ben Gurion stood his ground. He had
a job to do?securing the future of the young state.
So, he made a deal with the devil. Like it or not, reparations from
Germany helped Israel become the modern, thriving country it is today.
Israel still faces such moral dilemmas. In the past couple of weeks,
they have surfaced again around ongoing controversies in both Israel
and America. It is the inherent tension between making the rational
decision a "normal" country would and the need to occupy the moral
high ground that Jewish history has burdened Israel with.
Last week, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill.,
wrote a letter to Israel's ambassador in Washington, Sallai Meridor.
"Israel has returned 48 Sudanese people to Egypt and intends to
refuse entrance to refugees from the war-torn Darfur region of
Sudan," reported the congressman. "I am writing today to express my
disappointment? [I]f any country should understand the special needs
of those affected by the genocide in Darfur, it should be Israel."
He was not alone expressing discomfort with Israel's decision. Dozens
of Israeli legislators from across the political spectrum made the
same argument. Human rights organizations blasted the deportations.
American Jewish organizations expressed disappointment.
But Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reached an agreement with Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak under which any Sudanese citizens illegally
crossing into Israel through the Sinai Peninsula will be sent back to
Egypt. Ten days ago, Israel deported 50 such infiltrators?and Olmert
ordered that Darfurians arriving at the gates should be rejected.
Only 500 were lucky enough to be absorbed by the country
indefinitely. That number, say Israeli officials, is very high
considering how small the country is?it is the equivalent of 20,000
refugees getting into America (The United States accepted fewer than
2,000 refugees from all of Sudan last year).
It was a calculated decision, but not a pretty one. Accepting the
first wave of Darfurians proved problematic, tempting more Africans to
attempt entry. If he wants to educate himself about such problems,
Emanuel can call his former boss Bill Clinton. After CIA agents
visited him before he was even inaugurated, Clinton had to roll back
his criticism of the first Bush administration's strict policy against
accepting refugees from Haiti. The agents presented him with satellite
photos that showed tens of thousands of Haitians hacking down houses
and trees in anticipation of the new, less restrictive administration.
The memory of the Holocaust and the Jewish refugees who wanted to
flee Europe was a handy weapon for those who criticized Israel for
its cold-hearted decision. It became useful again last week, in an
American-based controversy involving the Anti-Defamation League,
an American Jewish organization that faces mounting criticism from
both Jews and non-Jews over its refusal to acknowledge the Armenian
genocide at the hands of the Turks in World War I.
This story is also an old one, but it never dies. Turkey, an important
international and regional player, refuses to make peace with its
murderous past and threatens to sever its ties with any country that
contradicts its version of events. Israel?among many others?chose a
Turkish connection over truth and justice to history.
The ADL did what it thought was the responsible thing: defending
Israel and Jews in Turkey from the possible consequences of
acknowledging the genocide. But criticism threatened to tear the
organization apart. Eventually, after constant pressure from outside
the organization and also from its own activists, this led to a
change of course by ADL leader Abraham Foxman. Since advocating
against anti-Semitism and hate is the organization's core issue,
its position seemed highly hypocritical.
"The Jewish people will always bear the burden of the memory of the
Holocaust and the comfort of redemption," said then-Prime Minister
Shimon Peres in 1996, while honoring German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
But last week, Peres took a morally indefensible stand on the Armenian
genocide. Israel has not changed its position on the killing of
Armenians, President Peres assured the Turkish prime minister. Ben
Gurion's most brilliant student, the last one standing, reiterated
the always controversial Israeli position: As it has always done,
it chooses Realpolitik over moral purity. Call it an action-oriented
morality.
A slightly longer version of this article was published in Slate
earlier this week
Ha'aretz, Israel
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/rosnerBl og.jhtml?itemNo=899071&contrassID=25&subCo ntrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=1&listSrc=Y& ;art=1
Aug 30 2007
The 1952 debate over the reparations agreement with Germany was
one of the bitterest in the history of Israel. "Sons of Jerusalem,
citizens of Israel," cried opposition leader Menachem Begin in the
speech he made while heading a mass demonstration that threatened
to prevent the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, from voting on the
arrangement. "This evening, the most shameful deed in the history of
our people is about to happen."
Prime Minister David Ben Gurion was pushing the Knesset to approve
the deal. Simply put, it was financial compensation for the loss
of Jewish property during the horrific days of the Holocaust. "The
government of Israel," declared Begin, "is selling the honor of Israel
for greed." Less then a decade after the Holocaust, it was a powerful
accusation, and it still is. But Ben Gurion stood his ground. He had
a job to do?securing the future of the young state.
So, he made a deal with the devil. Like it or not, reparations from
Germany helped Israel become the modern, thriving country it is today.
Israel still faces such moral dilemmas. In the past couple of weeks,
they have surfaced again around ongoing controversies in both Israel
and America. It is the inherent tension between making the rational
decision a "normal" country would and the need to occupy the moral
high ground that Jewish history has burdened Israel with.
Last week, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill.,
wrote a letter to Israel's ambassador in Washington, Sallai Meridor.
"Israel has returned 48 Sudanese people to Egypt and intends to
refuse entrance to refugees from the war-torn Darfur region of
Sudan," reported the congressman. "I am writing today to express my
disappointment? [I]f any country should understand the special needs
of those affected by the genocide in Darfur, it should be Israel."
He was not alone expressing discomfort with Israel's decision. Dozens
of Israeli legislators from across the political spectrum made the
same argument. Human rights organizations blasted the deportations.
American Jewish organizations expressed disappointment.
But Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reached an agreement with Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak under which any Sudanese citizens illegally
crossing into Israel through the Sinai Peninsula will be sent back to
Egypt. Ten days ago, Israel deported 50 such infiltrators?and Olmert
ordered that Darfurians arriving at the gates should be rejected.
Only 500 were lucky enough to be absorbed by the country
indefinitely. That number, say Israeli officials, is very high
considering how small the country is?it is the equivalent of 20,000
refugees getting into America (The United States accepted fewer than
2,000 refugees from all of Sudan last year).
It was a calculated decision, but not a pretty one. Accepting the
first wave of Darfurians proved problematic, tempting more Africans to
attempt entry. If he wants to educate himself about such problems,
Emanuel can call his former boss Bill Clinton. After CIA agents
visited him before he was even inaugurated, Clinton had to roll back
his criticism of the first Bush administration's strict policy against
accepting refugees from Haiti. The agents presented him with satellite
photos that showed tens of thousands of Haitians hacking down houses
and trees in anticipation of the new, less restrictive administration.
The memory of the Holocaust and the Jewish refugees who wanted to
flee Europe was a handy weapon for those who criticized Israel for
its cold-hearted decision. It became useful again last week, in an
American-based controversy involving the Anti-Defamation League,
an American Jewish organization that faces mounting criticism from
both Jews and non-Jews over its refusal to acknowledge the Armenian
genocide at the hands of the Turks in World War I.
This story is also an old one, but it never dies. Turkey, an important
international and regional player, refuses to make peace with its
murderous past and threatens to sever its ties with any country that
contradicts its version of events. Israel?among many others?chose a
Turkish connection over truth and justice to history.
The ADL did what it thought was the responsible thing: defending
Israel and Jews in Turkey from the possible consequences of
acknowledging the genocide. But criticism threatened to tear the
organization apart. Eventually, after constant pressure from outside
the organization and also from its own activists, this led to a
change of course by ADL leader Abraham Foxman. Since advocating
against anti-Semitism and hate is the organization's core issue,
its position seemed highly hypocritical.
"The Jewish people will always bear the burden of the memory of the
Holocaust and the comfort of redemption," said then-Prime Minister
Shimon Peres in 1996, while honoring German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
But last week, Peres took a morally indefensible stand on the Armenian
genocide. Israel has not changed its position on the killing of
Armenians, President Peres assured the Turkish prime minister. Ben
Gurion's most brilliant student, the last one standing, reiterated
the always controversial Israeli position: As it has always done,
it chooses Realpolitik over moral purity. Call it an action-oriented
morality.
A slightly longer version of this article was published in Slate
earlier this week