Girls from Al Quds making something called Al Qashani in 1930, and Old Akka, before 1948.

Understanding the Deep-Rooted Consensus in Israeli Society and Its Implications

Many willfully ignorant people seem to think that the problem lies chiefly with Israeli leaders who, being extreme and fanatical, are committing mass crimes. This take is so devoid of any appreciation of reality that it would be akin to describing Israeli's reaction as exemplifying excessive force.

Anyone with a keen respect for the facts, which are stubborn things indeed, will recognise immediately that there is broad consensus amongst the Israeli society for the current military pursuit, even if their confidence in this current leadership has evaporated. This is a society which was happy to live in relative peace whilst its neighbours lived in some of the most abhorrent conditions known to man, such that even a staunch Zionist like former British Prime Minister David Cameron had to describe as a prison camp. This was a society that failed to take any meaningful action against illegal settlements that were being propped up everywhere. This was a society that watched Palestinians being harassed at checkpoints every single day for years. 

It is no surprise, then, that 45 influential Rabbis signed a letter addressed to Netanyahu and the heads of state and security apparatus that explicitly affirming the right of the state to bomb the Al-Shifa’ hospital in Gaza. It is also no surprise to anyone who has a semblance of knowledge about the history of Palestinian persecution that nearly 100 Israeli doctors signed a letter urging the bombing of hospitals in Gaza.

This is the ugly truth. These are not merely fringe movements within Israeli society. In an important poll conducted recently, when Jewish Israelis were asked whether Israel should take into account the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza, only 5.2% answered very much. 47.5% answered not at all whilst 35.9% answered not so much. In clearer terms, over 80% didn't consider it very important to account for the civilian suffering in Gaza. This is the Israeli society. 

An appreciation of these facts makes comparisons between Israel and ISIS with respect to a minority movement ruining the image of the majority completely spurious. ISIS was nearly unanimously condemned, hated and fought by Muslims, who were one of its chief victims. To make this comparison viable, one must show that support for Israel and Zionism is something held only at the fringes, by very extreme groups. This is clearly not the case. What is true is that Zionism seeks to suggest that no Jewish person can resist or oppose the Jewish state without being a self-hating Jew; an absurd and preposterous idea that ought to be ridiculed. Some of the most prominent and influential voices against the Zionist movement are Jewish voices. Their efforts to stop the ongoing massacres are laudable. In times where malicious accusations of anti-semitism are thrown about to smear all dissenting voices, Jewish voices that recognise what these smears are about, are absolutely vital.

- A.J.

Photo of Jerusalem in the 1930s when Muslims, Christian and Jews lived peacefully side-by-side.

Jerusalem 1934-before Israeli occupation of Palestine

GAZA UPDATE

- Israel has cut off all communication with the outside world

- Israel is “expanding operations” on the ground - Israel is intensifying bombing in all areas

- Israel has killed over 7,326 Palestinians in Gaza, including at least 3,038 children in less than 3 weeks