When our plane touched down at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday, November 1, last week, there was complete silence. While we were getting our "blue cards", which were customary before passport control, the officers who normally assist the passengers were not at their place this time. The passport counters were so empty and the number of people in the hall was so large that they "invited" our group of 35 directly to the country. Thus, we skipped that tedious procedure that sometimes results in hours of waiting.
The reason for the extraordinary calm I mentioned was the general elections. The country came to a complete halt so that different segments of Israeli society, which had been divided into hostile camps and became bloodthirsty, could easily share their trump cards at the ballot boxes. The outcome was already a clear election, though: The "extreme right" bloc formed by Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies was expected to lead the race. Indeed, it happened as predicted. As we walk the streets of Jerusalem, on the other side of the city, “Death to the Arabs!” Celebrations were held with slogans. For the Palestinians, the elections were just a show. Whoever we listen to, he described the Israeli political scene in one word: “Zebale!” So “Trash / dump!” Looking closely, it wasn't hard to guess what prompted them to talk like that. The "table of eight", which came together to overthrow Netanyahu, actually included some racist and anti-Arab figures as much as Netanyahu. For example, Ayelet Şaked, who assumed the duty of interior ministry, said, “Let's not just kill Palestinian terrorists. Let's also kill their mothers so that they can't give birth to terrorists!” His words were still in memory. Shaked was the female version of Itamar Ben-Gvir, now again assuming the same post, that's all. From the Palestinians' point of view, this was the view.
In Israel, where general elections have been held for the 5th time in the last 3.5 years, the state of social anarchy and chaos is getting deeper. While the life of the state has barely passed 70 years, it is not surprising for those who know the history of Israel and its founding ideology, Zionism, that the internal chasms have become so sharp. We only observe that the conflicts that already exist from the first day become permanent and become more widespread.
From the very beginning, there have been figures who advocated peaceful coexistence with the Arabs within Zionism. Moshe Sharett (1894-1965), for example, who sought to soften the first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, who was a staunch anti-Arab, and to break his prejudices about Arabs. Sharett, who also served as prime minister for a short time between 1954-1955, was fluent in Arabic and sympathized with the Arabs, as he spent two years of his childhood in an Arab village near Ramallah. Likewise, the famous Austrian Jewish philosopher Martin Buber (1878-1965) was the advocate and spokesperson of a modern state where Arabs and Jews could live together until the end of his life. Also, Henrietta Szold (1860-1945), one of the pioneers of the American female Zionists, was an unyielding advocate of the "one-state solution". Szold, who settled in Jerusalem in 1933, turned the aid organization "Hadassa", which he founded in New York, into a large hospital here. When Szold died, he was buried on the Mount of Olives, at the southernmost end of the range of hills, where Hadassa Medical Center still stands, one of Jerusalem's (and Israel's) largest hospitals...
However, as can be expected, the names I have mentioned above (and others like them) could not avoid being a tiny minority in the Zionist Movement, being pushed behind the scenes and not being included in the mainstream. Arab hostility and racism dominated the race. This is an atmosphere in which those who wink at Arabs and Muslims, even if for pragmatic reasons or for political gain, are accused of "betrayal of Zionism". In fact, a state of insanity that may attempt to eliminate Israeli Zionist politicians by not finding enough Zionists, as happened to Yitzhak Rabin in the middle of Tel Aviv on the evening of November 4, 1995...
Historical experience shows that this situation, which has become the dominant trend in Israel, will also shorten the life of the state. A little bit of history is enough to see the "how" and the "why". As a matter of fact, sane Israeli historians and social scientists are trying to make this truth known to their communities. But their efforts are also lost in loud delirium and fits of fascism.
In short, the end of the tunnel looks extremely dark for Israel.
