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Last update - 00:00 15/03/2007
Future Vision vs. dividing and ruling
By Meron Benvenisti

The documents of the "Future Vision of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel" are, as expected, continuing to preoccupy academic circles and Shin Bet investigators, and are enjoying limited public attention. Those who are reacting to them are attributing elements of extremism to the documents.

The historical analysis, the definition of the state as an ethnocracy "trying to preserve the hegemony of the Jewish majority" and "the marginality of the Arab minority," and mainly the demand for "consensual democracy" and participation in the government, are seen as a major attack on the foundations of the Jewish state. Although the rhetoric sounds radical, the initiative and its publication can be interpreted in an opposite manner: an expression of the acceptance of Israel's strategic victory of dividing and ruling.

The Israeli Arabs are complaining that the Israelis are severing "the link in identity between the Palestinian Arabs and the other parts of the Palestinian nation" and are preventing "the maintenance of physical and spiritual ties with their brothers in Jerusalem, on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, and with the Palestinian refugees [in the diaspora]." They enumerate the five splinter groups of the Palestinian nation, but by formulating a separate "Future Vision" for one of the sub-communities that was created by Israel's policy of fragmentation they are confirming the success of this policy. Of course, the "Future Vision" pays lip service to the unity of the Palestinian people and demands an end to the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state in the territories, but its main thrust is the demand for recognition of a national minority, since the Israeli Arabs are "the original natives of the country."
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The very demand to recognize them as a minority, when the demographic ratio in the Israel/Palestine as a whole is approaching equality, serves as proof of Israel's success in forcing arbitrary conditions on each of the Palestinian sub-communities, which require them to formulate a separate future vision in response to the Israeli challenge. Thus Israel can deal separately with over 1 million Arabs who are Israeli citizens, over 1.5 million residents of Gaza who are represented by the Hamas government, over 2 million residents of the West Bank who are represented by the Fatah leadership, over a quarter of a million residents of East Jerusalem west of the separation wall, and millions of refugees in the Palestinian diaspora - all at once without any connection among the various areas of contact.

Israel, which is confronting five weak and separated groups, can dictate the agenda and its priorities. When it comes to Arabs who are Israeli citizens, one talks about their "integration" as second-class citizens in the Jewish state, and the attempt to demand collective equality is "an expression of extremism." As far as the Hamas government is concerned, the discussion is only about "cessation of terror and recognition of Israel's right to exist," and any other subject is not on the agenda.

In their weakness, the Palestinian communities accept the dictates of Israel and do not dare to consolidate a uniform front of a united Palestinian nation, since Israel can exact a price from each one of them.

Israeli Arabs are demanding the redress of a historical injustice "such as the issue of the refugees in their homeland ["present-absentees"] and their return to their original villages and cities." But they do not mention their neighbors-relatives who in 1948 found themselves beyond the armistice lines. If they demand that their injustice be redressed as well, they will be accused of extremism and even of incitement against the very existence of the State of Israel. It is preferable for each Palestinian subgroup to commemorate its own "nakba" (catastrophe) separately for the purpose of the separate agenda it conducts with the Israelis.

The "Future Vision" can be seen as a positive radical step, but also as the opposite: another step on the way to turning Israel/Palestine into Bantustans.
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  1.   ITS TIME FOR REALITY 9IS THER ANYONE OUT THERE 10:51  |  paul harris 15/03/07
  2.   The "Nation" premise 10:58  |  FOX 15/03/07
  3.   With all due respect to Meron Benvenisti, it is obvious to me ... 11:43  |  Nadav 15/03/07
  4.   Short-sighted policy 11:58  |  Nadir 15/03/07
  5.   Root cause of the conflict 12:18  |  Efraim 15/03/07
  6.   The Israeli Arabs are a Cancer to the state. 12:59  |  Steven 15/03/07
  7.   Future Vision 13:28  |  P. J. Casey 15/03/07
  8.   Historical injustice? 13:45  |  Dr David I. Gross 15/03/07
  9.   Steven: I call a racist a fascist 14:04  |  Jeremy Rose 15/03/07
  10.   Jeremy Rose = Racist 14:24  |  Steven 15/03/07
  11.   both Jews and Arabs are misinformed about Israeli-Arabs 14:30  |  Rami 15/03/07
  12.   Jews as a collective, Arabs as individuals 14:34  |  Yaakov Sullivan 15/03/07
  13.   Yaakov, incoherrant #12 14:52  |  FOX 15/03/07
  14.   Jeremy Rose on Cancer. 14:57  |  FOX 15/03/07
  15.   Steven on Ethnic Cleansing. A Mechaya!! #6 14:59  |  Yaakov Sullivan 15/03/07
  16.   #11 Dear Rami,one question 15:07  |  Hastaroth 15/03/07
  17.   Rami 15:08  |  Danite 15/03/07
  18.   #12 Yes,Yakoub Sulleiman,Zionism is Jewish 15:11  |  Hastaroth 15/03/07
  19.   Fox on the Albanians and Kosova #13 15:13  |  Yaakov Sullivan 15/03/07
  20.   People like steve # 6 ae cancer to the state 15:30  |  Rami 15/03/07
  21.   Sullivan, is there anything positive, anything postive at all 15:37  |  Julia 15/03/07
  22.   yaacov sullivan do you remember yout "killers of the ideal" 15:37  |  yirmiyahu 15/03/07
  23.   the only place where muslims enjoy a modicum of freedom is israel 15:53  |  kafka 15/03/07
  24.   Racist Rami 16:01  |  Steven 15/03/07
  25.   Rami second try 16:19  |  Danite 15/03/07
  26.   Anyone who doesn`t agree with seven is racist!!??? 16:20  |  Rami 15/03/07
  27.   Steve, No, Jews Cannot Live in Gaza #22 16:29  |  Yaakov Sullivan 15/03/07
  28.   to # 16 from Ellas: Yes I do 16:34  |  Rami 15/03/07
  29.   Danite 16:37  |  Rami 15/03/07
  30.   Rami 16:44  |  Gene 15/03/07
  31.   Rami do you take stupid Pills? 16:45  |  Steven 15/03/07
  32.   Yaakov Sullivan is ignorant 16:48  |  Steven 15/03/07
  33.   Julia of Dublin and her disturbances #21 16:53  |  Yaakov Sullivan 15/03/07
  34.   to Rami & Steven 16:56  |  Jews for peace 15/03/07
  35.   Rami, I appreciate, as I have written to you before, your concept 17:11  |  Nadav 15/03/07
  36.   Nadav #3 17:24  |  CHGODMK 15/03/07
  37.   Jews for peace = Oslo War = dead Arabs and Jews 17:24  |  Steven 15/03/07
  38.   #31 YAAKOV DEFNDS IRISH BISHOPS WHO ATTACK ISRAEL 17:25  |  paul harris 15/03/07
  39.   Sullivan, why is it not appropriate to ask if there 17:26  |  Julia 15/03/07
  40.   There Were Not a Million Arabs in Gaza 17:41  |  Efox 15/03/07
  41.   to Rami 18:22  |  Joe 15/03/07
  42.   Rami 18:37  |  Jake 15/03/07
  43.   yaakov sullivan is just another catholic hater of israel 18:48  |  yirmiyahu 15/03/07
  44.   CHGODMK, hello, I am not sure I understand your post, No. 34. The 18:55  |  Nadav 15/03/07
  45.   rami... re. steven......the jews 19:13  |  maria 15/03/07
  46.   Nadav on Arab citizens serving in the army#335 19:17  |  Yaakov Sullivan 15/03/07
  47.   IF ALL ARABS THOUGHT LIKE RAMI 19:35  |  alonitzafoni 15/03/07
  48.   to steven 19:36  |  Jews for peace 15/03/07
  49.   Jews for peace loves Tibi 19:51  |  Steven 15/03/07
  50.   yirmiyahu are you the same jew for jesus?? #43 19:55  |  Yaakov Sullivan 15/03/07
  51.   rami ....are you a jew? 20:09  |  maria 15/03/07
  52.   #27 Yakoub Sulliman.....on Jews living in Gaza 20:11  |  Ari ben Yisrael 15/03/07
  53.   yaacov sullivan my questions still stands 20:45  |  yirmiyahu 15/03/07
  54.   yaacov sullivan why did you use the words 20:47  |  yirmiyahu 15/03/07
  55.   yaacov sullivan"and they mocked him and hissed at him" 20:50  |  yirmiyahu 15/03/07
  56.   Yaakov, still incoherrant 20:59  |  FOX 15/03/07
  57.   Nadav, I am talking about Israelis I have met who profess 21:12  |  CHGODMK 15/03/07
  58.   yirmiyahu covers his christian zionism with....#54 21:50  |  Yaakov Sullivan 15/03/07
  59.   to Steven 22:10  |  Jews for peace 15/03/07
  60.   #8 David Gross , The global economy 22:20  |  Dutch 15/03/07
  61.   Vote MosheFeiglin!!! 22:41  |  Yosef 15/03/07
  62.   yaakov sullivan you know the papal encyclicals 22:48  |  yirmiyahu 15/03/07
  63.   NADAV (2nd Try) 22:58  |  CHGODMK 15/03/07
  64.   #55 Sullivan still covers his lack of character, 23:04  |  Ari ben Yisrael 15/03/07
  65.   Sullivan 23:16  |  TT 15/03/07
  66.   To Efox 23:26  |  adam 15/03/07
  67.   #53 Yimiyahoo 00:06  |  Racon-tour 16/03/07
  68.   #21 Julia 00:22  |  Labhras 16/03/07
  69.   #39 Julia 00:26  |  Labhras 16/03/07
  70.   Message for the Jews in ISRAEL 00:35  |  dzone 16/03/07
  71.   One can always find something in Haaretz that transcends the conv 00:39  |  Apartheid 16/03/07
  72.   Yaakov Sullivan 01:17  |  dzone 16/03/07
  73.   to # 47 01:38  |  Rami 16/03/07
  74.   labhras yet another irishman in love with the jews 01:40  |  silverman 16/03/07
  75.   # 42; Thanks for reading and supporting my post. 01:40  |  Rami 16/03/07
  76.   to Nadave: Ans is YES to both. Thank you 01:42  |  Rami 16/03/07
  77.   The semi-literate No.8 02:23  |  Mitch Cohen 16/03/07
  78.   Once again obsessed Sullivan has 10 percent of posts 02:49  |  McQueen 16/03/07
  79.   Israel can`t go on with this kind of discrimination 02:49  |  Dutch 16/03/07
  80.   Rami #11 03:35  |  KT 16/03/07
  81.   HAMAS stopped the PEACE PROCESS. Why Israel continues to bother? 04:17  |  Vittorio 16/03/07
  82.   You know whats really funny about all this? 06:12  |  Danite 16/03/07
  83.   No Division 06:26  |  Carlitos Mendez 16/03/07
  84.   Ya Rami!! You dissapoint me!!!! 11:29  |  Blinky the Fish 16/03/07
  85.   Hey Danite #80 whatever 11:32  |  Blinky the Fish 16/03/07
  86.   Nadir of UK: Whither or Wither? 23:02  |  Beatrix 16/03/07
  87.   wrong. failed elites failing their people again. 14:13  |  ralph 18/03/07
  88.   re: Nadav #3 21:11  |  andrew 12/12/08
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Responses: 12


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