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Israel, Split and United

(Times of Israel) Prof. Sam Lehman-Wilzig - People have forgotten that the Zionist project was beset by serious internal strife from the very start. Uganda vs. Palestine; Socialists vs. Revisionists vs. Agudat Yisrael; Ben-Gurion vs. Jabotinsky; the newly formed IDF attacking the Irgun's Altalena armaments ship; the German reparations riots; Mapai vs. Mapam; Western Ashkenazi elites vs. Eastern/North African Mizrahi immigrants. The question isn't why Israel has had so much domestic discord, but rather how the country and society have managed to stay together with more than a semblance of unity. The answer: external enemies. There is nothing as useful to putting out flames in the kitchen as a forest fire outside threatening to engulf your entire home. This has been going on for over a hundred years, beginning with the 1921 and 1929 Arab pogrom attacks against Jews. Circling the wagons when under attack, at least temporarily negating internal discord, is not something unique to Israel. This past week Finland joined NATO. This was close to unthinkable two years ago, until Russia invaded Ukraine. That palpable, external threat unified NATO's nations like it hasn't been since the Cold War. This is the blind spot of most autocracies like Russia, Hamas, Hizbullah, and Iran. When they see disunion in their enemy, they take it for "the beginning of the end of the Zionist entity," not realizing that disunion does not entail civil war or domestic military dysfunction. Attacks from the outside, despite strife from within, ultimately achieve the opposite of what they seem to be doing at first: strengthening Israel's will to survive and flourish. The writer taught at Bar-Ilan University (1977-2017), where he served as head of the Journalism Division, Political Studies Department Chairman, and School of Communication Chairman.
2023-04-13 00:00:00
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