Israeli Elections: Hegemony Over Homogeny

I have been trying to find something positive to write about the recent Israeli elections. I just cannot. There is simply nothing good about it. It simply is just the continuation of the status quo and that is not good for Palestinians and really not good for Israelis as well.  For the Palestinians, the status quo means the continuation of the occupation and the deprivation of the human spirit to be free. For the Israelis, it means that the lack of a clear expressive desire for peace in the election outcome ignores the ever increasing demographic boiling point which is turning Israel into the old Apartheid regime of South Africa.

The basic result of the Israeli election is that the right wing and center-right parties are likely to end up with 61 of the legislative seats in the Israeli Knesset, thus continuing the status quo of the Benjamin Netanyahu Government.

The status quo of domination over the Palestinians is what Israel wants for the region but this only exasperates and heightens the inevitable inner Palestinian human spirit to evolve towards the will to be free. Israel prefers hegemony over--instead of homogeny with--the Palestinians; it would rather dominate the Palestinians rather than treat them with equality. This is the crust of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The result of the Israeli elections elevated this inherent perplexity to the forefront; yet, Israelis seem oblivious to the fact that this clash between Israeli dominance and the Palestinian spirit to be free will come crashing down when the current trends in the demographics will result in an anticipated Palestinian majority in 2016. 

I have written about the human spirit to be free and my article can be read at http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6942645014941809001#editor/target=post;postID=7408208507238483659. In essence, I argue that inevitably Israel cannot suppress the will of 4.29 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who desire to be free of occupation and a relentless siege.  By 2016, it is projected that the Palestinian population in Israel, West Bank and Gaza will outnumber the Israeli non-Arab population.

Suppressing the Palestinian desire to be free perpetuates the status quo. Keeping the status quo is rooted in the aspiration of maintaining a Jewish homeland as Jews around the world feel secure in having Israel be a safe haven given world history of atrocities toward Jews. Thus, The Israeli election also tells me that Israelis are horrified of losing the concept of a Jewish homeland and therefore are clinging onto the status quo. Given the history of the Jewish people, that fear is warranted; but this aspiration driven by historical fear comes at the expense of the Palestinian people.  Finding a solution that would alleviate that fear while acknowledging the inevitability of the Palestinian human spirit to be free is what is needed to resolve the conflict.

The Israeli election did not shift Israeli politics to the left or right but rather left it smack where it has been—standing still.  Peace talks are standing still because Palestinians feel that there is no use in endless talks that lead to nowhere.  The Occupation of Palestinian land is standing still—continuing in its fifth decade.  Yet the fermenting Israeli suppression of Palestinian aspirations is about to boil over.  The Israeli elections did not alleviate this tension.

Israelis have consistently expressed security concerns in the 20 plus years of attempts at trying to negotiate a final solution with the Palestinians.  I interpret this security concern to mean a safe haven for Jews all over the world.  This security may ultimately be elusive however, if it comes at the expense of the Palestinians, for the natural course of human development is to be free from the oppressor’s chains that bind the collective individual conscience. 

This has been demonstrated time and time again with the thirteen American colonies breaking away from the British King; with the French masses overthrowing the absolute monarchy; with Black South Africans breaking the White Minority Rule apartheid chains; with Gandhi leading his people to overthrow the mighty British Empire; with the eventual American realization that slavery cannot long endure; and with many countless other examples where peoples all over the globe repelled imperialist colonial hegemony.

The Palestinian human spirit is no different than the American colonists, the French masses, India’s masses and the Black South Africans.  The Israeli election did not negate the Palestinian spirit; in fact that spirit has regenerated and grows with each Palestinian generation. 

The social revolution which opens the world to all also opens the spirits of the Palestinian people. Palestinians are not oblivious to the freedoms enjoyed around the world and they desire that same freedom in their daily lives.  As Palestinians interact with the globe community on social network sites, their human spirit to be free grows. Social networks exponentially inspire the Palestinian youth to lift off the chain that suppresses their collective bondage that the Israeli occupation imposes upon them.

The Israeli election takes little note of this growing social internet revolution and shows that Israelis would rather continue to believe that the colonial aspirations of the past several centuries is still prevalent in today’s age. That belief is antiquated and it leaves Israel further isolated around the family of nations.

Recently, the Palestinian human spirit has gained from international recognition and international intervention.  The upgrade in Palestine’s status at the United Nations has inspired Palestinians in that it gave them faith in the world community, while the truce between Israel and Hamas,  brokered by the US and Egypt and international pressure against a ground assault, excited the Palestinian will to fight off Israeli aggression.

Again, the Israeli election results seemed oblivious to growing worldly sentiment that the Palestinian human spirit is on the road towards freedom. The question is will Israelis ride along with the Palestinians or will Israelis fate be that of the White Minority rulers of South Africa.

            Israeli’s fate is really in their hands—or more accurately in their right to vote.  Palestinian’s fate is in the natural evolution of their human spirit.

ضرب اسرائيل حيث يضر اقتصاديا

"التفكير من خلال مربع"

( قمت بترجمة هذه المقالة على Google. كما هو محدود لغتي العربية لقراءةالكلام والقليل جدا، لا أستطيع أن يشهدوا على دقة الترجمة، وأنا لا تقدم سوىأنها على سكن لقرائي. )

ونحن ندخل عام 2012 ، نحن الفلسطينيين ، جنبا إلى جنب مع انصار لدينا ، والحاجة إلى البدء في التفكير "من خلال" مربع. وأقول "من خلال" مربع لمسيرتنا من خلال الاستقلال لا يختلف عن مسيرة جنوب افريقيا للاطاحة نظام الفصل العنصري وليس خلافا لمسيرة الهند للإطاحة استعمار بريطانيا العظمى.يمكننا أن نتعلم أيضا من الأميركيين الأفارقة في نضالهم من أجل المساواة العرقية. يمكننا أن نتعلم من ما فعلوه ، وفي الوقت نفسه ، أن تكون خلاقة أيضا.
في جنوب أفريقيا ، تحمل نيلسون مانديلا أكثر من 27 عاما من السجن لجلب الدعم الدولي ضد نظام الفصل العنصري الأبيض في جنوب افريقيا.المهاتما غاندي ألهم شعبه على الثورة ضد الإمبراطورية البريطانية الاستعمارية من المشي أكثر من 240 كيلومتر من المحيط إلى جعل الملح ، الذي كان حتى ذلك يمكن استيرادها من انكلترا في التعريفات الجمركية المرتفعة جدا. نظم الدكتور مارتن لوثر كينغ مقاطعة في شركة الحافلات لسياسات العزل ومسيرة لسلمى ، ألاباما للاحتجاج على القيود المفروضة على حقوق التصويت للأميركيين من أصل أفريقي. أدى كل من هؤلاء القادة لحقوق الإنسان بفعل ما كان الأكثر عملية لبيئتهم.الفلسطينيون بحاجة إلى أن تفعل الشيء نفسه.هناك أولئك الذين يريدون مقاطعة المنتجات الإسرائيلية بسبب الفصل العنصري والممارسات العنصرية للدولة الفصل العنصري في إسرائيل عبر تأشيرة دخول للفلسطينيين. بينما أتفق مع هذا الرأي مع تلك التي تعيش خارج فلسطين ، ويمكن لتلك التي تعيش في فلسطين ليس مقاطعة البضائع الإسرائيلية تماما الفصل العنصري. السبب هو أن نظام الفصل العنصري قامت به اسرائيل للفلسطينيين يعتمد كليا على بضائعها.اسرائيل ، من خلال خنق انها تعقد على غزة وانها نحت تصل من الضفة الغربية ، وقد فعلت ذلك عن طريق تدمير الصناعة الفلسطينية والحياة الزراعية. المستوطنون يدمرون الفصل العنصري بساتين الزيتون من قبل مئات الافدنة.وبسبب هذا الاعتماد على السلع والبضائع الإسرائيلية ، يمكن للفلسطينيين في فلسطين ليس تماما مقاطعة جميع البضائع الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي. أنه ليس من العملي. لذا ، علينا أن نفكر من خلال مربع. نحن بحاجة إلى مقاطعة البضائع محدودة من الفصل العنصري اسرائيل لدفع رجال الأعمال الإسرائيليين والمجتمعات الزراعية لتصبح خائفة.قيل لي من قبل أحد الأصدقاء في غزة انه اذا كان يريد الخيار ، وانه يحتاج الى الحصول عليها من المزارعين الإسرائيليين الذين توفيرها لسكان غزة. أجبته يمكن أن تذهب من دون خيار لمدة أسبوع أو اثنين؟ تخيل لو أمرت الفلسطينيين ، وقال نعم أنا أمر ، محلات البقالة على التوقف عن شراء الخيار وبعد ذلك بعيدا مع الفلسطينيين لم الخيار من احتياجاتها الغذائية. ماذا سيحدث للمزارعين خيار الفصل العنصري في إسرائيل؟ فإن الخيار تتعفن في مستودعاتها. وهذا خيار دفع المزارعين إلى الإفلاس. سوف تخرج من المزارع التجارية. ثم لا يمكن للفلسطينيين الأسبوع التالي المقاطعة ثم الموز أو أي منتج آخر الذي يتم توفيره من قبل إسرائيل الفصل العنصري. وسوف يتم في الأسبوع التالي قاطعوا منتج آخر الإسرائيلية... وهلم جرا.تخيل مدى قلق الأعمال الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي والمجتمعات الزراعية والتي يمكن أن يتساءل من ناتجها سيكون المستهدف.هذه هي خطة بسيطة. فمن غير العنيفة. هذا ما هو مطلوب لتغيير الوضع الراهن.إذا كان الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي الأعمال والمجتمعات الزراعية سعداء مع الوضع الراهن ، فإن الوضع الراهن لن يتغير. لدينا لتغيير الوضع الراهن.الفلسطينيون في فلسطين بحاجة إلى المقاطعة ، ولكن المقاطعة واحد أو العديد من المنتجات في وقت واحد. دعونا دفع الشركات الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي والمجتمعات الزراعية مجنون.علينا أن نكون مبدعين. نحن بحاجة إلى مساعدة أنفسنا. نحن بحاجة إلى السيطرة على مصيرنا. علينا أن نفكر من خلال مربع.(Zanayed © ، فادي يسمح نشر أو توزيع هذه المواد شريطة أن لا تغيير محتواها وأشار المصدر وصاحبه).

HITTING ISRAEL WHERE IT HURTS---ECONOMICALLY

"Thinking through the box!"

As we enter 2012, we Palestinians, along with our supporters, need to start thinking “through” the box. I say “through” the box because our march through independence is not unlike that of the South Africans march to overthrow apartheid and is not unlike India’s march to overthrow the colonization of Great Britain.  We can also learn from African Americans in their struggle for racial equality. We can learn from what they did and at the same time, be creative as well.

In South Africa, Nelson Mendala endured over 27 years of prison to bring international support against the White Apartheid Regime in South Africa. Mohandas Gandhi inspired his people to revolt against the imperialist British empire by walking over 240 miles to the ocean to make salt, which theretofore had to be imported from England at a very high tarriff. Dr. Martin Luther King organized boycotts at a bus company for its segration politices and march to Selma, Alabama to protest the restrictions on voting rights of the African-Americans.   Each of these human rights leaders led by doing what was most practical for their environment.

Palestinians need to do the same.

There are those who want to boycott Apartheid Israeli products because of the apartheid practices of the Apartheid State of Israel visa via the Palestinians. While I concur with this sentiment with those that live outside of Palestine, those that live in Palestine cannot totally boycott Apartheid Israeli goods. The reason is that Apartheid Israel has made the Palestinians totally depended on its goods.

Israel, through it’s strangle hold on Gaza and it’s carving up of the West Bank, has done this by destroying Palestinian industry and agricultural life. The Apartheid settlers are destroying olive groves by the hundreds of acres.

Because of this dependency on Israeli goods, Palestinians in Palestine cannot totally boycott all apartheid Israeli goods. It is not practical.  Therefore, we need to think through the box. We need to boycott limited goods from Apartheid Israel to drive the Israeli business and farming communities to become scared.

I was told by a friend in Gaza that if he wanted a cucumber, he needed to get it from an Israeli farmer who supplied it to the Gaza residents.  I replied can you go without cucumbers for a week or two? Imagine if Palestinians ordered, yes I said ordered, their grocers to stop buying cucumbers and then Palestinians did away with cucumbers from their dietary needs.  What will happen to the cucumber farmers in Apartheid Israel? The cucumber will rot in their warehouses. This will drive the cucumber farmer into bankruptcy.  The farmer will go out of business.  Then the following week Palestinians can then boycott bananas or any other product that is supplied by Apartheid Israel. And the following week another Israeli product will be boycotted…and so on.

Imagine how worried the Apartheid Israeli business and agricultural communities will be wondering which of their product will be targeted.

This is a simple plan. It is non-violent. It is what is needed to change the status quo.

If the Apartheid Israeli business and agricultural communities are happy with the status quo, the status quo will not change.  We have to change the status quo.

Palestinians in Palestine need to boycott, but boycott one or several products at a time. Let’s drive the Apartheid Israeli businesses and agricultural communities crazy.

We have to be creative. We need to help ourselves. We need to take control of our destiny. We need to think through the box.


( © Copyright, Fadi Zanayed.  Publication or distribution of this material is allowed provided its content is not altered and the source and its author are cited.)