Sunday, December 19, 2010

The Elephant in the Room


In so many ways, Israel is just like any other developed nation on the globe. Problems like traffic, jobs, wages, education, and housing are all part of life here too.


The difference in Israel is the elephant in the room. Whatever you call it; the peace process, the Middle East conflict, the Arab - Israeli conflict, it’s always there, no matter how quiet it seems...it is there waiting, taking up most of the space. Yet life goes on, for the most part seemingly undisturbed by this biggest of issues. While the press fills its pages with stories on the conflict, daily life in Israel is about life; the good, the bad, and the regular.


A longtime friend and his wife (non-Jews) recently visited Israel for the first time. Seasoned travelers, they came on a 12-day trip that included Israel, Amman, and Petra on their itinerary. Before their trip my friend had asked that I recommend some books that he might read to get a better perspective on the situation in Israel. I suggested the following three:


  1. Start-Up Nation by Dan Senor and Saul Singer
  2. Saving Israel by Daniel Gordis
  3. Israel: Echo in Eternity by Abraham Joshua Heschel


Following their visit, I received an email from him with some comments and perceptions from a first-time visitor to Israel about the situation on the ground here. I have used some of his comments and questions to help describe how it feels here after four months on the ground; the good, the bad, and the regular; and of course, the elephant in the room. Here is my response (name changed...):


Hi Jerry,


I have so many thoughts about your questions and observations! As you note, many of the issues Israel faces are seemingly overwhelming. You started with an entirely rational observation; how is it possible for such a tiny country, home to approximately half of the world’s Jews, to have a policy inviting all the rest of us to enter as full citizens.


I am glad you opened with this issue because it is the foundation upon which Israel was created. In Psalm 137 it says, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither away...” These words, written following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, have nourished Jewish yearning for a return to their ancestral homeland for more than two millennia.


Being a Jew is more than being a member of a religious group. In my October blog I quoted one of my teachers who described what it is to be a Jew; “To be Jewish is to be part of a sacred religious community, to be Jewish is to live by, and share with the world, the ethical code bequeathed to us, and to be Jewish means to settle this particular land; Israel. To be Jewish is all of these things.” For two thousand years the ideal of settling this land was only a dream, now, in this moment in history that dream has become reality.


Consider some data. During each of the past 10 years the number of new immigrants to Israel from all countries ranged from 15,000 to approximately 50,000. At the same time the number of births among just the ultra-orthodox Jews currently living in Israel is approximately 50,000 per year. Thus most of the population growth in Israel comes from the current population. Yes, the immigration door is open. And I would describe this open door as crucial following the Holocaust when almost no country would let Jews in (including the US). Still, most Jews not currently in Israel are free, and are happy to be living in the Diaspora.


You raised a series of questions about the economy and the difficulties facing Israel. As one who travels a lot too, I would say by observation the economy in Israel is comparatively robust. The unemployment rate in Israel is just 6.6% (versus nearly 10% in the US, 8% in the UK and 9% in France). In addition, Israel was one of the only western economies in the world that avoided most of the global financial crisis. The Israeli banks never permitted the kind of crazy mortgage lending that became so prevalent in the US and elsewhere.


Still there are big problems here too. As you note, nearly a quarter of the country’s population is currently living below the poverty line. Most of these folks are either Israeli Arabs or Ultra-Orthodox Jews. As I described in my last blogpost, many of those Jews are electing to be on state welfare and subsist below the poverty line rather than seek employment. Many of the Arabs rely on construction jobs and while building activity is better here than in most places, it is still not high enough. Further, education achievement among Arab populations in Israel has been lower than that of Jews. No doubt there is shared responsibility for this, though solutions inevitably are long-term and require intense commitment by many.


Inflation and cost of living are issues here too. It is expensive to live here, though not extreme. As a measure, about a month ago the United Nations (an organization not prone to emphasize the positive aspects of Israel) released their annual Human Development Report, The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development. The UN Development Program’s rankings depend on a number of factors: life expectancy, mean years of schooling, and gross national income per capita. Development is defined as freedom for people to engage in a long, prosperous, and above all else, creative life. This year, Israel is again ranked number 15 in the world, sandwiched nicely between Finland and France.


There are some basic quality of life issues here too. You mentioned the painful traffic conditions in and around Jerusalem. This is a two-sided coin...It’s a problem, but on many levels a good one. Tourism in Israel is at an all-time high right now. No doubt this creates some frustration for travelers, and I hope traffic did not mar your experience here. Jerusalem presents some unique traffic challenges. Perched high atop a hill, with many winding old streets, the city simply is not well-suited for the modern tour bus. However, there is a long-planned and “nearly completed” light rail system that should help reduce local traffic in the city. Still this is one of those issues that I think Israelis are comfortable enduring.


Last but not least, you asked about the issue of safety and security and the sense of relentless pressure from hostile neighbors.


Jews have been residents of this particular place dating back to Abraham for more than 3500 years. Unfortunately, the modern State of Israel has never been accepted by most of the Arabs living in the neighborhood. The West Bank Fatah-led Palestinians have never changed their charter to acknowledge the right of the Jewish State of Israel to exist. In Gaza, the Hamas charter vows the destruction of the State of Israel and the elimination of Jews from its land. Kind of hard to see a path to peace with these “partners.”


In 1917 the Balfour Declaration stated; “His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object...”


In 1922 the British Mandate for Palestine was unanimously approved by the Council of the League of Nations, which stated, “Whereas recognition has been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country.”


In May 1948, the UN announced their partition plan drastically reducing the territory originally set-out for Jewish Palestine in the Mandate. Coming on the heels of the Holocaust, the Jewish leadership accepted the UN plan. The Arabs did not. On May 14, 1948 the day Israel declared its independence and the end of the British Mandate, Arab armies from five countries invaded the brand new State.


In 1956, in 1967, in 1973, in 1981...wars were waged against the Jewish State of Israel. Each time the State survived because of its independence and because of its friendship with other democratic nations, most notably the US and in 1956 France.


Israel has unilaterally withdrawn from Palestinian and Arab territory twice. In Lebanon and in Gaza. In return, the Jewish State was rewarded with attacks and more wars. The second intifada with its homicide bombers led to the building of a separation fence and checkpoints at crossings between Israel and Palestinian territories. The bombings stopped. The death stopped.


Of course, this is not the ideal. Someone once said; consider what would happen if either the Jews or the Palestinians agreed to a total cessation of war or hostility and agreed to dismantle their armies. In the case of Israel disarming, the result would immediate and complete annihilation. The end of the Jewish State and the death of many of its citizens. In the case of the Palestinian / Arab agreement to cease violence, there would be immediate and massive investment in the future of the region and the opportunities to combine the power of oil and technology.


So when you ask whether this state can exist given the pressures it faces from so many hostile parties, I can only answer that this State must do everything it can to protect its citizens from the stated deadly intentions of too many of its neighbors. Peace is a dream that Jews (and many Arabs) pray for, yet peace will only be possible when true partners accept that the Jewish State of Israel is a reality and will always be so.


Sources for this blog include the following:


http://www.mfa.gov.il


http://www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.htm


http://www.isrealli.org/un-ranks-israel-15th-best-country-in-the-world-for-quality-of-life/


http://www.mythsandfacts.org/Conflict/mandate_for_palestine/Mandate%20for%20Palestine-11-20-07-English.pdf