Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., October 20, 2009 Cheshvan 2, 5770 | | Israel Time: 19:18 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Share |
Last update - 04:32 15/10/2009
Ari Shavit / Israel needs legitimacy to wage war and peace
By Ari Shavit, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Balfour declaration 

It seems as if everything is fine. Israel's borders are quiet, the state is stable, the economy is recovering. Hezbollah and Hamas have been deterred, real estate prices are skyrocketing, and chemist Ada Yonath is on her way to Stockholm to pick up the Nobel Prize. Even Ra'ad Salah's attempt to ignite Jerusalem has thus far not succeeded: Palestinian sanity and Israeli discretion are still maintaining order. So it is not surprising that according to a recent comparative survey, Israel is one of the 30 countries in the world in which life is just fine.

With a strong shekel, relative security and temporary calm, life here really is good. Corruption and cynicism have both been hit hard, and today's Israel is cruising on still waters. Without major achievements and without major failings, without peace and without war, it seems as if things are all right. Not great, but all right.

But things are not all right - they really are not. Why? Because underneath those still waters on which Israel's ship is sailing lurks an iceberg.
Advertisement
The Goldstone report marked the iceberg's first appearance. Turkey turning its back on Israel was the second. Attempts by European courts to try Israel Defense Forces officers were the third; the boycott of Israeli products and companies in various places round the world was the fourth; and global indifference to the nuclearization of a regional power that threatens to wipe Israel off the map is the fifth. Every week, almost every day, the iceberg peeks above the surface. And when one takes a good look over the railing of this pleasure cruise, one can see exactly what it is: The iceberg is the loss of the State of Israel's legitimacy.

Ninety-two years ago, Lord Balfour sent Baron Rothschild a letter in which he recognized the Jewish people's right to create a national home in the Land of Israel. Sixty-two years ago, the United Nations recognized the Jewish people's right to establish a Jewish state. The 1917 Balfour Declaration and 1947 UN partition resolution gave Zionism the diplomatic foundation on which the Jewish state was established and perpetuated.

But over the past decade, that foundation has been worn away, and the idea of a Jewish state is now open to attack. The Jewish people's right to sovereignty and self-defense is now controversial. Paradoxically, as Israel gets stronger, its legitimacy is melting away. A national movement that began as "legitimacy without an entity" is becoming "an entity without legitimacy" before our very eyes.

The right is the primary culprit of Israel's legitimacy crisis. With the occupation, the settlements and brutality, religious nationalism has fed the destructive forces that seek to trample the natural rights of Jews and Israelis. But the left has also contributed its part to the legitimacy crisis. Those on the radical left did not always make certain that opposition to Israeli policies would not turn into reservations about Israel's very existence.

The right sinned by contaminating Zionism with the occupation, and the left sinned by abandoning the campaign over Zionism's justice. As a result, Israel lost not only its way, but its voice. The fundamental truths that brought us here, and which justify our existence here, have been lost and forgotten.

The campaign to renew Israel's legitimacy is a vital one. Without legitimacy, Israel will be unable to contend with Iran in any way, shape or form. Without legitimacy, Israel will not achieve peace, nor will it be able to wage war. Nonetheless, to give Israel back what it has lost, the prime and defense ministers need to do more than deliver speeches. They need to act.

On one hand, there is an urgent need for a creative, daring diplomatic initiative that would prove that Israel is truly and genuinely striving to end the occupation. Without such an initiative, the world will not listen to Israeli justice, which today remains a concept largely invisible to the world. On the other hand, there is a need to enlist Israeli and Jewish elites in the struggle to once again strengthen the foundations of Israel's legitimacy.

This diplomatic and moral effort is no less important than the struggles that produced the Balfour Declaration and the UN partition resolution. If such an effort is not launched immediately, and does not soon succeed, Israel will become an international pariah.
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Plea to save rabbi
Haredi urges: Give a year of your lives to save ailing Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu
Israel vs. Dovish Jews
After Goldstone and Turkey, right-wing Israel wary of North American Jewry
  1.   Renewing the legitimacy? Easy! 05:10  |  Apa 15/10/09
  2.   "With a strong shekel, relative security..." 05:12  |  Apa 15/10/09
  3.   Legitimacy means something strange in this article 05:21  |  Javier Lobo 15/10/09
  4.   Look inward for why... 05:35  |  John 15/10/09
  5.   incredible 06:03  |  ron 15/10/09
  6.   The Tightest Situation 06:21  |  Shimon Cleopas 15/10/09
  7.   Is there a state in the world that is founded on justice? 06:23  |  Daniel 15/10/09
  8.   The problem is that China can legitimately annhilate 3M Tibetans 06:44  |  And the world 15/10/09
  9.   The problem is that US/UK can legitimately 1M Iraqis and Afgans 06:45  |  And the world 15/10/09
  10.   The problem is that Sudan legitimately annhilate 1M Darfurians 06:45  |  And the world 15/10/09
  11.   Establishment of Israel came at the expense of Palestinian rights 06:49  |  Esther 15/10/09
  12.   Who cares ? Jews have always been the international pariah 07:23  |  Jew 15/10/09
  13.   Shavit on the road to Damascus? 07:39  |  Michael N 15/10/09
  14.   existential threat? You are joking right 08:31  |  Ilan 15/10/09
  15.   The occupation is a huge crime. 08:36  |  Michael 15/10/09
  16.   פושעי אוסלו לדין 10:29  |  Gilad 15/10/09
  17.   Ari Has it half right 10:42  |  Baruch Gold 15/10/09
  18.   Israel needs to be itself 10:44  |  Chaim Ben Kahan 15/10/09
  19.   Legitimacy 11:25  |  Michael F. Morrissey 15/10/09
  20.   Israel won the street brawl, but is losing the peace. 11:34  |  Michael 15/10/09
  21.   Esther #11 proposing 2 states sharing all and the same land... 11:52  |  S 15/10/09
  22.   2nd try... Re `Esther` #11, she/he is NOT me... 14:52  |  Esther 15/10/09
  23.   Confused Lefty - Anti Israelis fueling issues 15:15  |  Garrsion 15/10/09
  24.   Javier Lobo and Daniel are incorrect on the right 15:21  |  r cummings 15/10/09
  25.   Ari Shavit is not Gideon Levy 15:37  |  Yonatan 15/10/09
  26.   A powerful case from Ari Shavit that is beyond 15:46  |  r cummings 15/10/09
  27.   Another good article. 16:12  |  sandra chitayat 15/10/09
  28.   The paradox 16:16  |  Mark Lincoln 15/10/09
  29.   #26 r. cummings - There is more than one impediment 17:00  |  Yonatan 15/10/09
  30.   Balfour and Palestine 17:35  |  BDS 15/10/09
  31.   Legitimate only when respecting Pal rights and international law 18:02  |  O-Dog 15/10/09
  32.   Easy! The Kur`an says Israel belongs to the Jews 18:03  |  Muhamad el-Masri 15/10/09
  33.   Esther #21 - bitte um entschuldigung. 18:21  |  S 15/10/09
  34.   #18- who saves whom? 18:21  |  Michael N 15/10/09
  35.   israeli legitimacy 18:26  |  Barbara Perry 15/10/09
  36.   Yonatan, you perpetuate falsehoods... 18:39  |  BBSNews 15/10/09
  37.   Another precise, radiantly lucid article by Ari Shavit. 19:24  |  Fortuna Benmayor 15/10/09
  38.   ISRAELI SOCIETY IS BENT ON... 19:54  |  EL 15/10/09
  39.   Yonatan, neither are central obstacles 20:02  |  r cummings 15/10/09
  40.   Legitimate 20:31  |  TC 15/10/09
  41.   I agree with you, YONATAN # 25 05:00  |  Fortuna Benmayor 16/10/09
  42.   to yonatan 22:35  |  stephanie 16/10/09
  43.   Israel needs legitimacy to wage war and peace 22:39  |  Geor Hintzen 16/10/09
  44.   yonatan-right of return 22:43  |  stephanie 16/10/09
  45.   But part of Israel is NOT truthfully trying to end occupation 22:56  |  Siam Kerry 16/10/09
  46.   The Solution 00:35  |  Iain 17/10/09
  47.   Why not start with a new constitution? 00:36  |  jon 17/10/09
  48.   More hokum 08:05  |  Colin Wright 17/10/09
  49.   You are what yopu do, you do what you are. 08:03  |  Kris Lazar 18/10/09
  50.   Re: Stephanie 11:12  |  Reina 18/10/09
  51.   Re: Stephanie 11:17  |  Reina 18/10/09
  52.   #45: Right! And the number is higher than 20% 13:36  |  Gray 18/10/09
  53.   to Yonatan #25 - 3rd try 14:56  |  zeev 18/10/09
  54.   to Javier Lobo #3 - 2nd try 14:58  |  zeev 18/10/09
  55.   on the author - 4th try 15:00  |  zeev 18/10/09
  56.   IT`S TOO LATE - PARIAH STATUS ACHIEVED 17:58  |  M.S 18/10/09
  57.   You all make me laugh.... 20:39  |  joseph davidovic 18/10/09
  58.   reina 21:13  |  stephanie 18/10/09
  59.   reina#3 21:35  |  stephanie 18/10/09
  60.   Re: Stephanie 09:02  |  Reina 19/10/09
  61.   reina re #60 16:22  |  stephanie 19/10/09
  62.   reina 17:43  |  stephanie 19/10/09
  63.   to Reina #50 19:14  |  zeev 20/10/09
Special Offers
Advertisement
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Date Local Jewish Singles
Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
More Headlines
17:39 Israel envoy Michael Oren rejects J Street invite
17:49 Defense Minister refuses to discuss inquiry panel on Goldstone report
16:59 Turkey: Syria will accept only us as mediator in Israel talks
15:24 Sources: Would-be U.S. spy worked for Israeli arms firm
17:24 Palestinian calls Blair 'terrorist' during visit to Hebron mosque
17:53 U.S. court refuses appeal of Israeli terror victim
17:55 Goldstone to U.S. rabbis: Lieberman doesn't want Mideast peace talks
10:15 TV ROUND-UP: Basketball exec commits suicide; Swine flu vaccines arrive
13:18 Diplomats: Iran nuclear talks stalled over French role
17:24 U.S. officer: If Israel strikes Iran, U.S. will likely join
12:30 Peres' second Presidential Conference kicks off with gala event Tuesday
12:46 Galilee man gets 9 years for killing girl with ATV on Yom Kippur
19:02 Police arrest 13-year-old suspected of molesting children
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved