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Michael Kadish
Introduction to Israeli History
4/21/99
The Declaration of Independence of Israel manages to offer a lot of promises. It reads:
Provisional Government of Israel
Official Gazette: Number 1; Tel Aviv, 5 Iyar 5708, 14.5.1948 Page 1
The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel
The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books. After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom. Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses. Pioneers, defiant returnees, and defenders, they made deserts bloom, revived the Hebrew language, built villages and towns, and created a thriving community controlling its own economy and culture, loving peace but knowing how to defend itself, bringing the blessings of progress to all the country's inhabitants, and aspiring towards independent nationhood.
In the year 5657 (1897), at the summons of the spiritual father of the Jewish State, Theodore Herzl, the First Zionist Congress convened and proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to national rebirth in its own country.
This right was recognized in the Balfour Declaration of the 2nd November, 1917, and re-affirmed in the Mandate of the League of Nations which, in particular, gave international sanction to the historic connection between the Jewish people and Eretz-Israel and to the right of the Jewish people to rebuild its National Home.
The catastrophe which recently befell the Jewish people - the massacre of millions of Jews in Europe - was another clear demonstration of the urgency of solving the problem of its homelessness by re-establishing in Eretz-Israel the Jewish State, which would open the gates of the homeland wide to every Jew and confer upon the Jewish people the status of a fully privileged member of the community of nations.
Survivors of the Nazi holocaust in Europe, as well as Jews from other parts of the world, continued to migrate to Eretz-Israel, undaunted by difficulties, restrictions and dangers, and never ceased to assert their right to a life of dignity, freedom and honest toil in their national homeland.
In the Second World War, the Jewish community of this country contributed its full share to the struggle of the freedom- and peace-loving nations against the forces of Nazi wickedness and, by the blood of its soldiers and its war effort, gained the right to be reckoned among the peoples who founded the United Nations.
On the 29th November, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz-Israel; the General Assembly required the inhabitants of Eretz-Israel to take such steps as were necessary on their part for the implementation of that resolution. This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their State is irrevocable.
This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign State.
Accordingly we, members of the People's Council, representatives of the Jewish Community of Eretz-Israel and of the Zionist Movement, are here assembled on the day of the termination of the British Mandate over Eretz-Israel and, by virtue of our natural and historic right and on the strength of the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.
We declare that, with effect from the moment of the termination of the Mandate being tonight, the eve of Sabbath, the 6th Iyar, 5708 (15th May, 1948), until the establishment of the elected, regular authorities of the State in accordance with the Constitution which shall be adopted by the Elected Constituent Assembly not later than the 1st October 1948, (#1) the People's Council shall act as a Provisional Council of State, (#2) and its executive organ, the People's Administration, shall be the Provisional Government of the Jewish State(#3)to be called "Israel." (#4)
The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration (#5) and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; (#6) it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; (#7) it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; (#8) it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, (#9,#10) race (#11,#12) or sex; (#13,#14) it will guarantee freedom of religion, (#15) conscience, (#16) language, (#17) education (#18) and culture; (#19) it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; (#20) and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. (#21)
The State of Israel is prepared to cooperate with the agencies and representatives of the United Nations in implementing the resolution of the General Assembly of the 29th November, 1947, (#22) and will take steps to bring about the economic union of the whole of Eretz-Israel. (#23)
We appeal to the United Nations to assist the Jewish people in the building-up of its State and to receive the State of Israel into the community of nations.
We appeal - in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for month to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship (#24) and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions. (#25)
We extend our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East (#26).
We appeal to the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora to rally round the Jews of Eretz-Israel in the tasks of immigration and upbuilding and to stand by them in the great struggle for the realization of the age-old dream - the redemption of Israel.
Placing our trust in the Almighty, we affix our signatures to this proclamation at this session of the provisional Council of State, on the soil of the Homeland, in the city of Tel-Aviv, on this Sabbath eve, the 5th day of Iyar, 5708 (14th May, 1948).
Politicians are not generally known for keeping their words, and the above list includes two future Prime Ministers, and two future presidents of Israel. It should not be a complete surprise that Israel's founding parents did not come out 100% on their promises. On the other hand, they didn't come out batting .000, either.
Promise number one did not come forth. The Constitution, promised by 1/10/48, was over a year and eight months over-due, not fully agreed upon by the Knesset to create one until 13/6/50.2 Two through four, though not exactly promises of giving away first-borns, were fulfilled, Israel by the first paragraph hits .750.
Despite the protests of the African Israelites3 , the late Oswald Rufeisen4, the children of Benjamin Shalit, Meir Lansky5, or any members of the self-proclaimed lost tribes6, most would agree that Israel has come through on her promise to be the home for the Jews. However, the next part of the line, despite the capitalization of the "Exiles," Israel, with her exile of Palestinians, managed to directly contradict her promise. (Now batting .667)
Promise #7, in virtually any scenario, would be impossible to fulfill. Nearly any action taken by a government will adversely effect a segment of the population. In a country so segmented and divided as Israel, violations of this promise, should not be a surprise. This can be shown quite easily. If Israel makes peace by giving land, she then will not "foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants," as she is directly hurting the settlers. If Israel takes the position that she refuses to return land, then, as was pointed out to Golda Meir in 1970, Israel does not "foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants." With has a chance to stop the deaths and not accepting, the 18-21 year olds, or any soldier, is not having their interests looked out for.7 Israel has not fulfilled her promise here, though it is unlikely any government could make that promise work.
Promise 8 is a bit strange. When thinking of the prophets from the Tanach the concepts of "freedom, justice and peace" aren't exactly quick to come to mind. Justice may be seen there, especially in the book of Shoftim but freedom is mainly encountered from other tyrannical kings who continuously capture the children of Israel, and peace is pretty much a non-entity in the scriptures. So, ok, yes, achieving the "freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel," has pretty much been fulfilled, if not more so, but it isn't much of a promise.
"Social and political rights of equality for all religions in this country" is a bit of a joke. With the Law of Return, the Jews get the upper hand politically. The Declaration of Independence strangely says "residents," which includes non-citizens. Does any person who stays in this country automatically have an easier time than any other does? Yes, a Jew can quickly get citizenship, whereas a gentile must wait, and then be approved for citizenship. Socially, since Arabs cannot purchase land like the Jews, for whatever the reason, the two groups are not equal. Has Israel gotten better at this? Yes. Have they fulfilled the two promises? No. (Now at .500.)
Have Sephardim, or more to the point, Morrocans, been mistreated enough to violate numbers 11 and 12? At present, it isn't bad enough to incite more Wadi Salibesque riots 8, nobody at present has had the Chutzpa of Golda to say anything like "�� �� ������ ",9 and no DDT has been thrown on them since 1957.10 Nevertheless, we had Ori Orr's comments this past summer11, not to mention general mistreatment of the Ethiopians,12 so, clearly socially there is not equality. Politically however, there is little to indicate that there is little mistreatment. (6\12, .500)
Women may not have the greatest amount of respect, and rapists may be out after a year13 but women have full rights in the country. (8\14, .571)
Despite the fact that this is a Jewish country, citizens have the opportunity to embrace any faith of their choosing. Certain religions may come into dilemmas while practicing their religion, for instance, Evangelical Christians14, but one is allowed to embrace any faith. (9/15= .600)
Freedom of conscience has only recently been permitted. The scandal in 1986, dubbed the GSS Affair involving two brutal killings of terrorists by the Israelis. It was the protest to the forced censure, plus a couple of resignations that lead to a freer press.15 Now especially, many students choose to be anti-Zionist16, as per their right, but it is only very recent. During the Rabin administration of the '90's, protesters of the government were, in cases, locked up for the maximum time (approx. a year) without trial. Anti-anti-Zionist counter-attacks are now largely made by individuals, rather than the government17. (10/16=.625)
Freedom of language has become an issue since Glasnost. As it stands, and has stood since 1948, there are three official languages, with three languages on the currency, (Hebrew, Arabic, and English) with nearly all official documents available in all three languages. But with one million Russians who, right or wrong, have to fight to be able to speak their language in schools, the promise is not being fulfilled.
Israel to a phenomenal extent has furthered the education and culture of her citizens. Some schools are better than others, some get less funding, but nobody is refused an education. Much of the country may not be "cultured," but the cultures of the country, for the most part, are being maintained. The same holds true for the religious sites. After capturing the Temple Mount, the Arabs were given control of the Dome of the Rock, and maintain control of Maarat Hamachpayla , the biblical burial ground of the Jewish, and Arab ancestors. (13/20=.650)
It can be shown rather quickly that the bi-national division of Palestine, as proposed by UNSCOP was not, until lately, fulfilled. Granted, the partition plan was not very realistic, and it did technically favor the Jews18 , but Israel had made no effort, to have a Palestinian land until recently. This promise has been fulfilled, however.
Israel was smart enough, in the Declaration, when announcing their respect for the U.N. to make the situation temporary with, "The State of Israel is prepared to cooperate with the agencies and representatives of the United Nation in implementing the resolution of the General Assembly of the 29th November, 1947." Most of the UN decisions since have been rather anti-Israel and Israel has not tried to go out of her way to abide by U.N. sanctions. Nevertheless, the promise was fulfilled.
Israel, despite the shakiness of her economy, has tried to "bring about the economic union of the whole of Eretz-Israel."
The last three are rather simple to answer. Do Arabs have equal citizenship? No. They can't buy land as easily as Jews can. They can run for PM19, win the Miss Israel pageant20, be given the Israel Prize21, are named to ambassador posts22, but they are not equal.
Do they have due representation? Well the 1.2 million Arabs comprise 20% of the nation's population, yet of the 120 Knesset seats, only eight are held by Arabs.23
Does Israel really "do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East?" To her allies, yes, she does give water to Jordan, and offered help to Egypt24 , but Israel is not exactly selflessly helping out the Arab world. She is not in Lebanon to help the Lebanese, she is there to protect her own. Israel, for obvious reasons, shows no sign of offering help to Saudi Arabia, Syria, Kuwait, Iraq, or Iran.
That comes to 16/26, or 61.5%, which is a failing grade, but .615 is enough to put a team in first place. Credit must also be given to Israel in that in every one of the incompleted promises above, Israel has improved to an extent making them better than where she was. Most all the promises, it should also be pointed out, created problems, even the seemingly mundane promises such as number four, that the land be called Israel. That only passed by one vote.
Israel has attempted to fulfill five and six (The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles) to a great degree, more than people at the birth of the country probably would have guessed. (To the extent of Jewish exiles, as was intended in the D o I.) Israel had four Israeli organized main mass migrations where she went about, at great expense, illegally, helping the Jews to escape. In 1949, Operation Magic Carpet brought 50,000 Yemenite Jews at the price of $700,000, which was, at the time, higher than the state budget25
In 1950, Operation Nechamia and Ezra brought 130,00 Iraqi Jews,26 Operation Moses brought over 7,000 Ethiopian Jews starting in 1984, with 15,000 more brought over in 1991 under Operation Solomon27. The Russian immigration, possibly eclipsed by Sharansky's arrival in 1986, has been the largest absorption of immigrants, at a combined total of almost one million.
Even with those, Israel set up Amishav to find the "missing tribes 28 or at least to investigate, the groups, such as; the Pathans of Afghanistan, the Chiang-Min in China, or the Shinlung of India-Burma.29
Israel has also tried to assist gentile exiles. Again, not to the extent of the Jewish "Exiles," but Israel took in some Vietnamese refugees in 197730, Albanians, and has even, at times, tried to build houses for the Palestinian refugees. 31
I think it's clear that Israel has focused on these two promises, spending millions, and using great resources to absorb these immigrants, Israel has done an amazing amount to be the land, of and for the Jews.
1From the reader