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Posted by Nakba In Hebrew on December 14, 2005
By Eitan Bronstein, 2004
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Palestinian women and children leaving their homes during Nakba. Note the absence of men, most likely they were sent to labor or concentration camps
In March 2004 a memorial event was held near the 'Cinema City' ( Hertzeliya) for the Palestinian village of Ijlil which had existed at the site until 1948. Its inhabitants fled upon hearing of massacres committed against Palestinians by Zionist forces in the area. A detailed report about the village, its uprooting and the fate of its refugees, was published in the local paper 'Sharon Times' on the occasion of the memorial. One week later the same paper published a letter to the editor written by a reader who was outraged at the paper for "providing a stage (...) to some Arabs who claim to have once lived on the site of the recently constructed, magnificent Cinema City." An educator working in Natanya was surprised to hear from high school students that, "before the Jews there were the British in the country." These are two rather incidental examples for the denial of the Palestinian Nakba by Jews in Israel. While it would certainly be possible to find even stronger examples, there appears to be no need for proof of the argument that the Jewish public in Israel denies the occurrence of the Nakba. The Nakba denial is found in the geography and the history taught in schools, on the maps of the country and in the signs marking places on its surface. All of them ignore almost completely the event which made possible the establishment of the Jewish State as a state with a Jewish majority and a Palestinian minority, after the majority of the indigenous people of the country were evicted, their properties destroyed and/or confiscated for the benefit of the new state.
Can it be explained in psychological terms as the denial of an event that
cannot be comfortably accepted?
Could we also say that recognition of the suffering inflicted on the
Palestinians would 'remove' Jews in Israel from the status of the ultimate
victim which justifies almost each evil action?
Or maybe the denial is a result of plain ignorance?
There may be various correct explanations for this phenomenon. This article will try to shed light on one aspect of the discourse about the Nakba in Israel (before and after its establishment). It will show that the Nakba represents for the Zionist subject an event that cannot possible have occurred and - at the same time - had to occur. From early on, Zionism ignored the existence of the Arab inhabitants of Palestine. It is, therefore, not possible that some 800,000 persons were ethnically cleansed from the country and that more than 500 Palestinian villages were destroyed. On the other hand, the expulsion of the Palestinian majority from their country was inevitable for Zionism that aimed to establish a Jewish State, i.e. a national home for the Jewish people in the world on a territory ruled by a Jewish majority on the basis of law.
Zionist identity was built from the beginning on a two-fold negation: it
negates time and space of the Jews outside Zion, a 'negation of exile' which
extends beyond the realm of religion, and it negates time and space of those
indigenous to the territory of Zion. The latter is best defined by the
well-known statement of Zionist leader
Israel Zangvil about, "a
people without land returning to a land without people." Attitudes of the
leaders and architects of Zionism towards the indigenous inhabitants of 'Zion'
were situated between their perception as (temporary) guards or holders of the
land on one end, and their absolute non-existence as a relevant factor on the
other extreme. In this aspect, Zionism resembles other colonialist projects.
Edward Said writes in his book 'Orientalism,' that for the Orientalist there is
"no trace of Arab individuals with personal histories that can be told (...) The
Arab does not create existential depth, not even in semantics" (...) The oriental
person is oriental first, and human second." According to the approach of
Zionism, a typical orientalist movement, indigenous Arabs of the country exist
and live in it, but they are of no importance in the sense of deserving a
relationship similar to that shown to 'European humans.' They certainly do not
constitute a people or a collective able or interested in realizing itself as
such, or similar to the Jewish national collective.
If Palestinians do not 'really' exist, as opposed to the 'reality' of Zionist
existence, then also their expulsion cannot occur. It is not possible to expel
somebody who is not present. According to Zionism, the violent events around
1948 did in fact occur, but only in form of an unavoidable response to the
disturbance caused by the 'locals,' who did not accept the establishment of the
new entity, the Jewish State. Therefore, what is important to understand, teach
and tell about this period is the story of 'liberation' and 'independence' of
the Jewish people in its homeland. According to this approach there was
certainly no Nakba or tragedy for any other, because the other had never really
existed in the land. Hundreds of villages in the costal areas, in the south and
in the center were not expelled; rather 'territorial continuity' was created
according to the Haganah's Plan Dalet.
The space is thus 'naturally' Jewish. It must only be realized and transferred
to Zionist control. Jewish territorial continuity and Jewish demographic
homogeneity in Palestine represent the core of the Zionist project. Therefore,
the Zionist subject cannot understand or see the catastrophe inherent in this
project, especially since what is involved is the historical realization of an
idea that derives its relevance from the Bible and a modern nationalism turned
into a religion in many aspects. The Zionist subject cannot see the Nakba or
seriously debate its circumstances. It must strip off its inner essence, in
order to start to see it as an event that has shaped the space in which Zionism
realized itself.
Ever since 1948 the Nakba is dismissed, and must be dismissed, from the
consciousness of the Zionist subject, because its existence challenges the basis
on which it was built - a people without land for a land without people.
Recognition of the Palestinian Nakba signifies the destruction of the ground
underneath the feet of this subject which understands itself as autonomous, or
as a closed unit [MONADA]. Therefore, any such recognition, or even the attempt
to look at this tragedy as something that happened to somebody else here, is
outrageous and almost incomprehensible. It is possible to recognize that some
massacres happened here and there, as a
result of local battles and fighting; it is possible to recognize that all Arab
armies tried to destroy us, the subject that wished to form itself. It is
impossible, however, to look at the Nakba as a catastrophe committed by this
subject in order to form itself, or as a necessary process for the Zionist
subject.
On the other hand, and paradoxically, the Nakba - the violent expulsion of
the inhabitants of the country and the transformation those remaining into
refugees in their homeland, or into incomplete citizens - is a necessary event,
because it brought about the realization of the ethnically pure, closed and
autonomous Zionist subject which builds itself in the framework of a state aimed
exclusively for him/her. Without the Nakba, the Zionist subject might have
become contaminated intellectually by foreign ideas and practices, such as
bi-nationalism, or even physically from living in a space over which s/he does
not exert exclusive and absolute control. Benny Morris, for example, describes
eloquently how the idea of transfer was found strongly in the heads and writings
of Zionist leaders back in the early decades of the 20th century, based on the
profound understanding that the establishment and existence of the Jewish state
will require the eviction
of the native inhabitants of Eretz Isra'el.
Morris then proceeds to show that also in the process of the Nakba Zionist
leaders decided immediately, and in his opinion rightly so, not to permit the
return of the refugees so as not to infringe upon the possibility of the
establishment of a Jewish state. The decision then, by the Israeli government,
to prevent the return of the Palestinian refugees, clearly indicates that its
members were aware of their capability to bring about ethnic cleansing and also
justified this indirectly. Some Arab villages had maintained good neighborly
relations with the Jews until 1948 and some intervened for leave of the Arabs to
stay in the country, however even this did not help them to remain in their
homes. Zionism was not concerned with this village or that, depending on its
attitude or behavior towards the new state. Arabs stayed in the country as a
result of mercy, and, according to Morris, this was a mistake. The Zionist
project had to evict the inhabitants of the country in order to realize itself.
Yosef Weitz, one of the
heads of the Jewish National Fund at
the time, provides evidence which is surprising in its honesty. He tells of the
destruction of the village of Zarnouka
after its inhabitants had been expelled, despite of numerous calls by Jews to
abstain from their expulsion. He describes how he stood in the village watching
the bulldozers destroy the buildings which until recently had housed their
inhabitants, feeling nothing. The destruction of Palestinian lives does not
cause any doubts or emotional disturbance. He is even surprised about the fact
that he feels nothing. As if this destruction was expected and premeditated.
The Nakba continues as a non-event and causes anxiety when it appears
If the basic argument outlined above is correct, it can help explain two
processes related to the Nakba, one situated in the reality of the violent
conflict, the other in the consciousness of Israeli Jews who become exposed to
the Nakba..
The Nakba as an event that did not occur in the past continues to not occur also
today. Extra-judicial assassination of Palestinian leaders, confiscation of
land, barring of Palestinian farmers from working their land by means of the
wall under construction and the denial of their basic human rights are
understood by the Zionist subject as means of the war against terrorism and as
defensive acts necessary in order to fight the intolerable and illegitimate
terror of the Palestinian people, who, according a recent statement by an
Israeli leader, are seen as a genetically abnormal species. If the Nakba never
happened, it is impossible that millions of Palestinians today are refugees who
demand restitution of their rights. It is also impossible that the Palestinians
demand control of at least one fifth of Palestine, because they also had nothing
before. In the eyes of the Zionist subject, everything that is happening today
is completely disconnected from the historical context of the Nakba. Reference
to the past of 1948 is made only in line with the Zionist narrative which holds
that, 'just like they did not accept us here in the past (e.g. according to the
UN Partition Plan), they continue to try to throw us into the sea also today.'
The above also helps explain the indifference, in Israel, towards the question
of Palestinian return. On no other issue related to the conflict is there a
similar and broad consensus like the consensus against Palestinian return. As a
matter of fact, there is not even a need to oppose return, because the very
discussion of this topic is perceived as an existential threat. It is therefore
excluded from the agenda of public debate without meaningful reference. All
Zionist Jewish political parties share this approach, which meets the logic of
the argument that the Nakba never happened and results in a situation where the
rights of millions of people remain denied until this day. If the Nakba was
perceived by the Zionist subject as an event that really took place, there could
be some Israelis, at least among the Zionist left, who would realize that some
responsibility must be taken by the Israeli side for what happened in 1948.
However, if there was no Nakba, there is also nothing to take responsibility
for.
Another interesting process related to the denial of the Nakba is what happens
to Jewish Israelis who become exposed to it for the first time, whether through
activities organized by Zochrot or
otherwise. The Jewish Israeli individual experiences the encounter with the
Palestinian Nakba as a kind of surprising slap in the face. Suddenly, and
without prior warning or preparation (a result of years of denial), s/he is
confronted with a tragedy that happened to the Palestinian neighbor, while s/he
feels part of the side that had caused it. This creates intolerable feelings of
guilt and helplessness. Guilt may be relatively easy to cope with, because it
can be recognized and forgiveness can be requested. If we are ready to really
listen to the voice of the Nakba, the major problem, however, is the challenge
of all we have grown up with. The Zionist subject stands on somewhat shaky
ground. It established itself by means of a violent process that is denied as an
event that did not happen. When the ghostly spirit of this process is risen (by
Zochrot, for example), it triggers astonishment and anger. If, however, we rise
above these emotions towards a more objective perspective of this threatening
past, we may be able to find the key to conciliation almost sixty years after
the Nakba.
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Zionist are like Muqtada Al Sadr, every one are afraid to trace the origins of their leaders, but when you have the courage you understand them.
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Dear Editor and readers,
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For Raanan Geberer I say, I do disagree with you, my mother lived in Jerusalem all her young life (nineteen hundreds and forties..), they had Jews Palestinians as neighbours and they used to visit and have normal relationships.
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Clearly the "Nakba" was wrong insofar as Zionist forces expelled peaceful civilians from their homes. But let's look at what led up to it. For 30 years, and especially after the UN Partion resolution, Arab politicians such as the Mufti were making blood-curdling threats like "We don't expect that one Jew will be left in Palestine after we win" and "We will make a war of extermination, like that of the Crusades."
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VIVA PALESTINA!!!!!! |
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Israel A.K.A Azrael A.K.A Bogeymen of Satan
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Khadra: "Israel" had no right to exist. It was created by Zionist officials who helped the Nazis, Mussolini, and ran the Bolshevik gov. in Russia. These Khazar Askhenazi Jews had absolutely no way to prove their alleged, I mean alleged, Semitic heritage. They were Europeans. Also the Zionist Jews are the most bloodthirsty people in all of mankind. Just read about the 100+ million non-Jews the Judeo-Bolsheviks murdered in the Soviet Union under the Soviets almost completely Jewish leader. Search specifically for Genrikh Yagoda, Naftaly Frenkel, Lenin, Sverdlov, Politburo, NKVD, Cheka, and on and on. Holodomor and the Jewish butcher of the Ukraine the Jew Lazar Kaganovich who murdered 7-10 million non-Jewish Christian and other Ukrainians in the 1932-1933 genocide famine. |
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for years,I wondered why isreal was not Palestine.the stories of the great crusaders traveling to palestine.the old world maps,depicting the state of palestine.even the world atlas,fails to include their flag.the world seems blind to this,but I don t think for long.spread your story.Put Palestine back on the map.May GOD Bless you,and help you.
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ÇäÇ ãÓÊÚÏ áÇì ãÓÇåãÉ ÇÓãì ÇÍãÏ ÇáÍãÇÑäÉ ãä ÛÒÉ ÎÑíÌ ßáíÉ ÍÞæÞ |
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The Nakba has to the worst thing that had happen to a group of people ever. Jews use the holocaust to spread their propaganda throughout the world, Arabs must use the Nabka just as the Jews use the holocaust. We will win one day and it doesn't matter how long it takes, so to anyone who doesn't want a Palestinian state beware because we are going to be around for a long time. Keep this site alive. |
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