Rage Against the Minivan

And this is where it becomes uncomfortable. The Zionist settlers attributed the desert-like qualities of the land to the apparent neglect of the Arab dwellers. This neglect of the land, because of the absence of true Israelis to care for it, validated the Zionist position of resettlement. Zerubavel reminds us of Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, 2nd Israeli President, and his opinion that “the cultivated land became a desert as a result of the Jews’ forced exile and the subsequent inhabitants’ limited means and negligence” (205). Suddenly, the formation of Israel is more than just the reestablishment of an ancient homeland; it is the reinstitution of the “real” inhabitants because those who have resided in the land are “inadequate.” These spatial qualities of desert and settlement became endued with a militaristic and national aura, heightening the sense of survival amidst the threatening presence of the “desert” Arabs.