I can guess that most readers are surprised or even dubious concerning this Post’s title. What does the author mean? How could Israel of all nation suffer from and identity crisis as it likely is the country with the most affirmed identity on Earth? Well, that is in fact true and the problem but let us first offer context.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-01/29/c_126076468.htm
The above piece from today’s Xinhuanet Chinese news source discusses the normal views on the present Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. It mentions the Peace Talks driven by American Secretary of State John Kerry and correctly posits that Israel’s Prime Minister is in a difficult situation. Either he does not intend to conclude the peace process, hoping for instance that the Palestinians will ultimately reject it, or he will be faced with dissent from his governing alliance of parties if he does go on. In both cases, of course the talks will fail which may be included in his computations. The paper also offers the idea that Netanyahu may just not be strong enough, either in will or in position, to take the necessary steps towards a solution. I have made that analysis myself in a recent Post serving as eulogy to Ariel Sharon’s passing, underlining that peace is more often than not signed by warriors, strong men that know the price of it, for strength and confidence alone allow one to give and forgive. I still don’t think and thus concur with Xinhuanet that PM Netanyahu has the required fortitude nor that the conditions are there to give it to him. He does not have the majority needed to enforce a signing and likely lacks the political guts ( which I say without disrespect ) to call for a referendum the result of which would anyway be uncertain to say the least.
But while mentioning the rejection by Naftali Bennet ( head of the right-wing Habayit HaYehudi party ) of Netanyahu’s openness to Israeli settlers continuing to live in a tentative future Palestinian State as some Arabs do in Israel now, that article forgets to mention both the words of Bennet and a more disturbing affair that shook Israel a couple days ago. you can find those in here :
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.570714
“Two thousand years of longing for the Land of Israel did not pass so we could live under the rule of [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas], and whoever even considers having Jews live in the Land of Israel under Palestinian sovereignty undermines our presence in Tel Aviv.”
To which a Likud deputy added :
“We will not leave settlers across enemy lines,” added Danon. “I would not wish upon my enemies to live under Palestinian sovereignty.”
Another even added that “ the wolf will ( not ) lie down with the lamb “ without noticing that in this case, the wolf is actually Israel which sorts of makes his point moot. The virulent nature of these comments is central to our subject but let us complete them with the other matter :
Yair Netanyahu, Benjamin’s son is dating a Norwegian cutie and that has the religious extremists as those of the Shas party enraged. Its leader called the situation a woe and others went further as the editor of a haredi ( Orthodox cult ) newspaper :
“If this relationship leads to marriage, it will serve as a de facto declaration from the highest official in Israel that Israel is a state of all citizens and not a Jewish state.”
Wow, if the nature or future of Israel depends on the love relations of its politicians’ relative, that makes it the shakiest country on earth! Good thing that it is only the racist delusion of a minority.
Having read the above will finally allow us to examine why Israel is indeed suffering from an identity crisis! When we are young, our identity is linked to that of the family which is why many orphans later have such a hard time of “fitting in. and feel a sense of lack. Identity is formed during adolescence when the construct of the self shifts to a relationship between the individual and the world. The attachment to family led to a conscience of one as part of a group and that is further extended to more global concepts such as the Nation ( but not necessarily as evidenced by stateless persons who usually refer to the human race or even the Earth as their group ). The concept of Nation is practical as it is well covered by geographical borders and a set of laws known as a Constitution. This in turn allows for inter-national dialogues and is the base of modern states relationships as evidenced in the UN, United Nations. The most advanced of nations consider that all citizens inherit by citizenship equal rights. Thus racial, religious or ethnic divisions are all left out of the sphere of the nation for equalitarian considerations and considered to be of the resort of the individual. Although many lands take a variety of liberties with such views, the fact remains that a state is not defined by a single variable. When it so happens that one of these normally subjacent identities overweighs other, the concept of nation is jeopardized and so are de facto the civil liberties of its citizens. By definition, Israel if it is a Jewish state is not a Nation in the full sense. By reality, Israel is not Jewish state as we speak either. There are non-Jewish citizens of Israel which factually defeats the definition. This dichotomy is the source of tensions that recently led to proposals of different transport means for Palestinians and “true” Israelis. Let me add here that such notions are dangerously close to those witnessed last century in South Africa under the Apartheid which was a regime by the way and not a viable national concept? Quod erat demonstratum?
At this point, I would have skipped how such acts would be utterly shameful if applied by the very same people that suffered so much in ostracism through their long history if it was not that it is intrinsic to our point of view. For virtually all the length of 2000 years of diaspora, the Jewish people showed unparalleled fortitude in its identity, keeping its roots and traditions alive on account of its religious persona. That in turn kept it from integration in the lands ( future nations ) where its descendants resided. Yes, the hate of the Jews by so many people through the ages stems from their strong identity! No though, of course, does that strength in any way justify that hate, proof being that many Jews are exemplary citizens of other nations than Israel. That should be enough in itself to circumvent the problem and allow to find a solution except that …
the same cannot be said of all of those that returned to the Promised Land since 1930-40some.
As a teenager needs at some point to leave home to form a definite image of its identity as an individual, I am convinced that there are by now two kinds of Jews. All or almost of those that have grown into a National conception of their lives outside Israel are adults in identity and so are those that had formed that vision and simply carried it over to the Middle-East upon returning from exile to be applied to the Nation of Israel. The same cannot be said of those who revel in the exclusiveness of the Jewish condition, eternal adolescents through a strange inversion of functions as the exile was in fact for them inherently a duplicate of never leaving home since as we said above they carried it with them on their peregrinations ( pun intended ). They thus never moved to the larger group construct and formed an overly restricted, restrictive and autocentric view of their self. Their fear of the other, their hatred of foreigners ( which carries over to “improper Jews” as in the former or those living abroad ) confirms that.
The former are ready to built a new promised land to outgrow all past incarnations and sure enough of their identity ( up to the point yes of not being fully concerned with faith for some ) to do so with magnanimity, generosity and to share the good fortune of being an Israeli national with others ( as was applied to them elsewhere ). The latter don’t want a new ( i.e. modern ) promised land. Eternally stuck in the past ( i.e. eternal adolescents ) they want the old one back!
This dilemma simply cannot be solved or resolved. It stems from hurt suffered too long ago the wounds of which never healed nor closed and its implications are soul deep uncertainty and fears. The only thing that can be done is to wait. Soon enough, the majority of Jewish Israelis will be of the former sort and peace will come easily. Of course if the rest of the gang around them could hold back from flaming things up in the meanwhile, it wouldn’t hurt either!
Good luck all, peace out, Tay.
Definitive Lapse of Reason 