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Who really wants binationalism? By Alexander Yakobson Tags: Alexander Yakobson Have the English and the Scots gone out of their minds? Here in the Middle East, it is clear that there is something to fight about. But what reason is there for the national tension between Englishmen and Scots, who live together happily and prosperously in the United Kingdom? With great seriousness, senior British statesman have recently been discussing the danger of the dismantling of the unification of England and Scotland. According to recent public opinion polls, the Scottish National Party (SNP), which upholds Scotland's resignation from the union, could win the coming elections for the local parliament. Surveys in Scotland show that more than 40 percent of the country's inhabitants support independence (according to another poll, that proportion reaches 59 percent). Also, 52 percent of the English replied that they are interested in Scotland leaving the union, in the sense of "we are here and they are there." The English press reports with concern on "anglophobic" tendencies in Scotland. How has this happened? After all, in Israel, we have heard that Europe has almost entirely rid itself of nationalism and the national state, and that in the near future the victory parade of multi-nationalism and post-nationalism will come to the Middle East, where the masses, as everyone knows, are waiting for it with bated breath. However, it appears that the news of the death of nationalism has not yet reached the distant provinces where the English and the Scots live. Advertisement There we have two nations facing each other, Protestant Christians both, who have undergone profound secularization and are very close to each other in their modern culture. The two peoples have been living in the same state for 300 years; their representatives sit in the same parliament and in the same governments (and also serve as prime minister); they are partners to the same economic system; they intermarry with no difficulty; they live in the same neighborhoods; they fight in the same wars; they agree on the same values of a modern, democratic and liberal society and they speak the same language. Not only has all of this not created a common national identity for the two peoples, it is even possible that this is not enough to keep them in the framework of a shared state. This, even though it is one of the most liberal and least nationalistic states in history, and even though the Scots have received an autonomous parliament and government of their own. It is not easy to explain this, but the reality is that most nationalities, even in Europe, aspire to national independence even when they are offered a reasonable and fair alternative to it. The idea of one state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, which is known to the public as a binational state, has in fact been promoted by the Israeli right, which supports the establishment of Jewish settlements in the territories. Parts of the radical left also believe in the binational idea, but they cannot bring it about. Beyond every other argument, of principle or practice, there is one question that must be answered by everyone who supports this idea: If the vision is realized, will it indeed be a binational state? If today, hundreds of years after the establishment of the United Kingdom, the Scots are still finding it hard to accept it as a true binational framework and about half of them see it as an expression of the hegemony of the English majority, is it reasonable that a state with an Arab-Muslim majority, in the heart of the Arab-Muslim world, will really be "binational," even if it is officially defined as such? It is clear this will be an Arab-Muslim state in every respect. Or is it the case that someone believes that from the moment he has adopted a fashionable slogan that is detached from the reality even in Western Europe he is exempt from responsibility for the practical significance of what he is proposing to the Israeli public Bookmark to del.icio.us   Hitler parody Israeli YouTube Hitler parody infuriates Holocaust survivors. "Like a virgin" Will Virgin Mary TV spoof jeopardize Pope visit to Israel?   1.   Here it is a one Nation - Trireligious state 12:52  |  Bandar Michaels 28/04/07   2.   Only Fools Believe In Bi-National State. 12:55  |  Terry 28/04/07   3.   Scotland? Look at Kosovo ,the blessings of binationality there 13:15  |  Absolute Sweden 28/04/07   4.   Binationalism 15:28  |  Michael N 28/04/07   5.   Case proven 16:35  |  RAB 28/04/07   6.   3 State solution is the only way 17:22  |  marc 28/04/07   7.   Israel is real and is the Jewish State. 17:25  |  Fortuna Benmayor 28/04/07   8.   IF THEY WANT AN ARAB MUSLIM STATE !!! 17:35  |  alonitzafoni 28/04/07   9.   To Bandar - no.1 17:41  |  Go Rimbaud 28/04/07   10.   Unpeacing of Israel 17:52  |  Kevin 28/04/07   11.   Occupation or co-existence? 19:43  |  Jeff Siddiqui 28/04/07   12.   isaeil`s meaning is to be the only jewish state 20:09  |  michel 28/04/07   13.   Jacobson promotes a back door argument for a 23rd Arab State 20:15  |  Chanan 28/04/07   14.   #7 Sparsely populated? 20:23  |  Kevin 28/04/07   15.   European nationalism lives on... 20:40  |  Naftush 28/04/07   16.   3 STATE SOLUTION 20:45  |  alef 28/04/07   17.   B., you`re one nation with the people in Jordan, not Israel 21:22  |  Jake 28/04/07   18.   I guess it`s better than a racist apartheid state 21:24  |  Arab in Excile 28/04/07   19.   22 Arab states+;Israel is binationalism 21:26  |  sam 28/04/07   20.   BiNationalism would spark Jewish Resistance on a Grand Scale 22:31  |  Sam Weinsten 28/04/07   21.   living together 22:48  |  Mike Comay 28/04/07

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