Witt Raczka - Unholy Land: In Search of Hope in Israel/Palestine

Witt Raczka

Hamilton Books

An Imprint of

Rowman & Littlefield

Lanham Boulder New York Toronto Plymouth, UK

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

To my son, Alexander,
whose presence in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
provided inspiration for this book.
To my wife, Claudia,
who patiently awaited my safe returns from the unHoly Land
and who supported me throughout this endeavor.

My special thanks go to Anne Hayes for her assiduous participation in the elaboration of the manuscript and to Syracuse University for its generous financial support of the project.

One should fear men who have but one book.

ancient Roman proverb

The violence between Jews and Arabs in Israel has reached new heights and relations between the groups have reached new lows... The wave of violence is not limited to one group or another and permeates all of Israeli society. There is violence on soccer pitches and in academia. There is violence on social networks and in daily discourse, in hospitals and schools. It is time to admit honestly that Israeli society is sickand this sickness must be treated.

Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel, October 18th, 2014

I have been fascinated by the Holy Landthe tiny piece of land situated between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, between Mount Hermon and the Red Sea, inhabited by about twelve million people roughly split into two equal groups of Jews and Arabs/Palestiniansfor many years, since my first visit there some twenty-five years ago in the midst of an intifada, a Palestinian anti-occupation uprising. The initial approach based on historical, cultural and purely touristic attractions gradually turned more political. As a political scientist trained in international relations, I saw this professional bias quickly take an upper hand as I began to teach European and Middle-Eastern affairs. Additionally, my earlier interest in exploratory travel through the former communist states, Central and South Asia, across borders and culturally mixed regions, eventually had me develop my own perspective on Israeli-Palestinian relations based on first-hand personal experience. An almost indescribable combination of spiritual and historical charge, lunar landscapes, Israels societal dynamism and complex party politics as well as the explosive Jewish-Palestinian conflict about land and identitiesall that enhanced my need to understand local and regional intricacies. I wanted to feel by myself West Bank tensions and witness to quarrels about the Noble Sanctuary and East Jerusalems neighborhoods. I needed to explore the strategic importance of the Golan Heights and Palestines hilly spine as well as experience personally the wilder side of the Negev where local, traditional Bedouins coexist uneasily with invasive modernity and its promise for a better future. I had to go around the Holy Lands borders as well as plunge into societal deep waters to capture the essence of Israeli and Palestinian domestic politics. The long travels, however, were just a pretext, an introduction or a context for a deeper understanding of a given problem or issue, and the different stages and trips provided a general structure of the book.

Several specific factors made me plan a series of long sojourns in the region shared today by two nations and a variety of small other ethnic and religious communities. First, the memorable Cairo speech in 2009 by the then newly elected US President sent a glimmer of optimism by placing the Israeli-Palestinian issue among his personal priorities, and the peace process one of the top tasks of the new administration. In that address, Obama put emphasis on the aspirations of both peoples to be met through two states where they could both live in peace and security. He reminded the audience that the United States did not and would not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements in the occupied territories but also stressed that the Palestinian Authority (PA) must enhance its capacity to govern and serve its people more effectively. Hamas, the rival and more radical organization currently ruling over the Gaza Strip, should on its part renounce violence, recognize Israels right to existence and accept all previous agreements signed by the PA. Before the enthusiastic young Arab audience, the president ended up by saying, Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day... when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims... (Al-Azhar University, June 4th, 2009). Obamas re-election in 2012 provided a new impetus to the diplomatic steps that the US was ready to undertake to make things move again. Indeed, since the Israeli-Palestinian twins were unable to solve the conflict between them, it was presumed that US role would again be required in any peace process. It looked then as if a new international momentum was gathering pace as the US administration declared its intention to seek actively and aggressively a lasting peace in this protracted conflict. The best evidence of the seriousness of the new American approach, which differed from policies of previous administrations, were the frequent tensions registered between the US and Israelon both personal and diplomatic levelsthroughout Obamas two presidential terms.

Second, just days after the Cairo speech, and barely two months after his election as the new Prime Minister of Israel, Benyamin Netanyahu delivered his personal support to the President by saying, among other, The truth is that in the area of our homeland, in the heart of our Jewish Homeland, now lives a large population of Palestinians. We do not want to rule over them. We do not want to run their lives. We do not want to force our flag and our culture on them. In my vision of peace, there are peoples living side by side in this small land, with good neighborly relations and mutual respect, each with its own flag, anthem and government, with neither one threatening its neighbors security and existence (Bar-Ilan University, June 14th, 2009). He added that, in order to achieve an agreement, Palestinians must recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people and must demilitarize. Certainly, fulfilling this perspective of peace, stability and prosperity would need leaders with vision and a solid backbone. The impression was that, perhaps, the State of Israel would finally become more serious and less hypocritical about its own participation in shaping a fair future for its Palestinian neighbor. This impression was reinforced following Netanyahus re-election in 2013 and the enlargement of the ruling coalition with two centrist parties more positive about prospective negotiations.