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News item:

During a press conference on Monday, in response to journalists’ questions, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he had nothing to say about the relationship with Turkey at this time. He said he had expressed his appreciation to the Turks for their assistance in putting out the Carmel fires, as well as his hope that the relationship with the Turks would improve.

Turkish sources say that an agreement is likely to end the political crisis between Israel and Turkey.

Earlier Monday, the American Arabic television network, al Hura, reported that Israel responded to most of Ankara’s demands, and based on the proposed agreement, Israel said it would apologize to Turkey for the flotilla raid and pay reparations to the families of those who were killed in the incident.

It’s not clear yet if this is true or, if so, the details.

I understand the importance that good relations with Turkey, a regional power, would have for Israel. I understand that Turkey made a serious gesture of good will by sending fire-fighting planes to Israel.

The terms of an agreement would have to be such that Turkish PM ErdoÄŸan could announce that Israel had accepted its guilt and bears responsibility for the deaths of 8 Turkish citizens. It might be worded in such a way that Israel could spin it differently, but this is what it will have to say.

I can’t find words strong enough to express my belief that Israel must not apologize.

Here are some reasons:

1. Israel will not get good relations with Turkey anyway. ErdoÄŸan’s problem with Israel is based on Islamist ideology. Even if his motives were totally pragmatic, it seems to me that Turkey has decided to place its bet on the ‘strong horse’ in the Middle East, which it believes to be Iran.

2. An apology would be an admission of guilt, that is, an admission that Israeli soldiers did not act in self-defense. Even if one accepts the Turkish position that the blockade was illegal, self-defense should never require an apology. An apology betrays the naval commandos who put their lives on the line. Explain it to the young man who had his abdomen cut open by the terrorists.

3. An apology would be an insult to truth. Those commandos were attacked in a brutal and premeditated way, an attack which may have been planned by elements high in the Turkish government, and of which Turkish officials were certainly aware.

The loss of dignity and respect — not to mention deterrence — that would result from Israel apologizing for defending herself, against Hamas and against the IHH terrorists on the Mavi Marmara would be incalculable.  And the ‘good relations’ would last exactly as long as convenient for ErdoÄŸan and the rest of the Iranian bloc.

How is it possible to think for more than a moment about the advisability of apologizing for self defense? What are the consequences of such an apology the next time it’s necessary to defend yourself? What will be the result of such abject abasement in cultures like those of Turkey and the Arabs?

How is it possible to not understand that this will be seen throughout the world as a validation of the false and ugly picture of Israelis as Nazis that her enemies broadcast every day?

Don’t apologize.

Turkish human rights activist on board the Mavi Marmara

We do not wish, we do not need to expel the Arabs and take their place. All our aspirations are built upon the assumption — proven throughout all our activity in the Land — that there is enough room in the country for ourselves and the Arabs. — David Ben-Gurion, 1937

The statement above — which was misquoted in the English edition of Benny Morris’ book The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949 to precisely reverse its meaning — has more or less characterized the approach of the state of Israel to its Arab minority since Israel’s founding.

Unfortunately, it seems, more and more, that that minority doesn’t agree that there is room for both peoples.

Eric Rozenman described Arab attitudes in 1999 thus:

The late Tawfiq Zayyad, mayor of Nazareth and parliament member, was also a poet whose work reflected an uncompromising streak of Palestinian Arab nationalism. More than a decade ago, his poem, “Here We Will Remain,” admonished Israeli Jews:

We will lie on your chest like a wall
Stick in your throat like a piece of glass … .
We will sing the songs
Fill the streets with demonstrations
Fill the jails with honor and make children
Each generation more revolutionary than the one before it.23

Zayyad was hardly alone in holding these sentiments. During Israel’s fiftieth anniversary observances, ‘Azmi Bishara, now a Knesset member [who fled the country in 2007 under suspicion of helping Hizballah in the 2006 war- ed.], explained that the Palestinian national movement is not primarily about self-determination for Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip but about the return of Palestinian refugees to the land that became Israel in 1948.Bishara asserted that “the Jewish state idea is not a legitimate one and … I am not prepared to confer historical legitimacy on Israel.” No comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace would be possible, he added, until Israel “de-Zionized,” dropped the Law of Return (which automatically permits Jews to move to Israel), and became a “state of all its citizens.” Echoing the PLO charter and Hamas, Bishara claimed that “Judaism is a religion, not a people, and the Jewish group in the world has no nationality status whatever. I don’t think this group is entitled to self-determination.”

Tawfiq al-Khatib of the Islamic Movement, a fundamentalist Muslim organization, represents another stream in Israeli Arab thought that negates Jewish nationalism. Also a member of parliament, Khatib stated (in Hebrew) during a religious dialogue with Israeli Jews, that “there is a precedent for Muslims accepting non-Muslim rule. But in Palestine, the Holy Land? Only Muslims can rule here.” Then how, he was asked by another dialogue participant, could he take an oath to uphold the state and sit in the Israeli parliament? Khatib replied that “there is a verse in the Qur‘an which states that God doesn’t place impossible burdens on the believer. If all the Jews moved to Uganda, my problem would be solved. But it’s not going to happen. So I have to take care of the million Arabs who’ve been given Israeli citizenship.” Asked about his long-term solution, Khatib called for a treaty of non-belligerency between Muslims and Jews, renewed every ten years, presumably an allusion to the Prophet Muhammad’s Treaty of Hudaybiya [a ten-year truce with the Quraysh tribe that Mohammad abrogated, and then massacred the Quraysh – ed.].

These two streams of thought — the nationalist and Islamist ideas — have only grown stronger since then.

Especially in the US, it’s sometimes suggested that the problem is that the Arab citizens are discriminated against and/or are denied their civil rights. To some extent there is discrimination, but the problem can’t be solved in the framework of civil rights — employment, education, infrastructure, political participation, etc. The fundamental issue is ‘whose land is it?’

Both Palestinian nationalism and Islamism provide a different answer to this question than Zionism does.

In 2007, Israeli Arab intellectuals and “political activists” published a manifesto called the Haifa declaration. In essence, it demanded that Israel be transformed into a binational state, and the Arab refugees be granted a right of return. It described Israel as a colonialist power, presented a historical narrative based on Arab victimhood, and celebrated incidents of violent conflict between Israel and its Arab citizens. Its implementation would mark the end of the Jewish state as well as a rejection of the Zionist idea.

The Carmel fire — which preliminary reports say may have been caused by ‘negligence’ by Arab teenagers — gave rise to numerous arson attempts which succeeded in starting several subsidiary fires. Officials say that arson by Israeli Arabs is common and has been a problem for years.

One of the lessons of the fire is that problems that are swept under the rug, like the lack of funding for the pitifully inadequate fire service, can result in large disasters.

The problem of the attitudes of the Arabs inside Israel has also been swept under the rug. It’s possible that there is no ‘liberal’ solution to it. It’s possible that Ben-Gurion was wrong.

This conclusion is extremely disquieting. But the fact that the consequences of a proposition are bad does not imply that it isn’t true.

Those who insist that the present trend can be reversed and that coexistence is possible need to present a scenario in which nationalist and Islamist attitudes are likely to become weaker rather than stronger over time. I don’t see one.

Update [5 Dec 1416 PST]: Corrected reference to the treaty of Hudaybiya.

Technorati Tags: Israel, Israeli Arabs

You’ve probably heard about the huge wildfire presently burning out of control in northern Israel. The Muqata blog has been providing continuous updates here.

At least 42 people [updated 3 Dec] are dead, more than 15,000 evacuated and damage in the millions. This is the worst fire in Israel’s history and one of its worst natural disasters. In a particularly horrible incident, a bus carrying prison service officers on their way to assist in the evacuation of the Damon prison was trapped by the flames, and 40 of them burned to death.

Remains of Prison Service bus in which 40 died

You can see a live Google Map of the area of the fire (in Hebrew) here.

Media have been quiet about the cause. There are unconfirmed reports that the fire started simultaneously in several locations. I don’t have to tell you what this means, if true.

The UK, Greece, France, Cyprus, Croatia, Azerbaijan, even Turkey are among countries sending planes, chemicals and equipment to fight the fire.

According to the NY Times, Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad “expressed his condolences to the people of Israel on behalf of the Palestinian people.”  There are also reports of less friendly expressions from some Arabs — again, unconfirmed.

Firefighters are presently trying to contain the fire and evacuate those in its path. Efforts to put it out won’t begin until daylight. We’ll know more in a few hours.

Fire in the Carmel area (AFP)

Update [3 Dec 0802 PST]: Two suspects have been arrested trying to start additional fires with Molotov cocktails. There is also some evidence of arson at the sources of the three major blazes. The Muqata’s live account is here.

Meanwhile, here is video of a Turkish fire-fighting aircraft landing in Israel. Remarkable, given the recent political climate. Jordan has also sent equipment, and Russia and Bulgaria as well.

Another interesting report from Elder of Ziyon here. See also the Jerusalem Post here.

Technorati Tags: Israel, wildfire, Haifa, Carmel