Salman Masalha | The Protocols of the Elders of Israel

 

Thoughts of transferring the Arab population from the country had been on the minds of Zionist leaders since the very beginning of the state. 

Salman Masalha

The Protocols of the Elders of Israel

It is common nowadays to attribute the policies of exclusion and discrimination practiced against Arab citizens of Israel to what is known as the Israeli right. It is true now more than ever, as a general election approaches, that the nationalist, religious, and messianic right has gone very far in adopting a racist ideology that rejects democratic reliance on elected officials from Arab parties. However, it must be said that this racist right exists and has long existed both in the current coalition and in the opposition vying for power. 

The authors of the Declaration of Independence knew how to articulate a vision of equality and promised that the State of Israel “will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants… it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex.” They even appealed to the Arab citizens of Israel to “participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions,” but it seems that this entire vision was merely lip service and for the sake of foreign relations.

The arguments being made against the right-wing government these days sweep the bitter truth under the rug. For this right wing is following, step for step, the Zionist ideology of old—the very ideology from which the so-called “Zionist left,” which established the state, drew its inspiration. 

The “Good Old Days” of Mapai:

It is worth taking a brief look back at the “good old days” days of Mapai’s rule A classified document dated February 9, 1960, marked “Top Secret,” reveals the innermost thoughts of those gathered at a forum discussing the Arab minority in Israel. The meeting was convened at the Prime Minister’s Office following a party forum at Beit Berl, chaired by Moshe Sharett, which had discussed the issue of the Arab minority. Teddy Kollek convened a distinguished group that included Shmuel Dibon, Amos Manor, Yitzhak Navon, Yosef Nahmias, A. Natan, Shimon Peres, Mishael Shaham, and Uri Lubrani. He requested that the meeting be held at the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss the issue at a government forum because, in his words: “This issue, which has political and security aspects, is of national importance.”

This forum was convened in the wake of the results of the elections for the Fourth Knesset. In those elections, Maki (the Communist Party of Israel) had suffered a crushing defeat, and its strength was cut in half—from 6 out of 120 Knesset members in the Third Knesset to 3 Knesset members in the Fourth Knesset.

 

Divide and Rule:

Shmuel Dibon, head of the Arab Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who had previously served as the Prime Minister’s advisor on Arab affairs from 1954 to 1965, opens the discussion and poses four key questions: “Where do we stand, what are we doing, where are we headed, and how should we prepare for what lies ahead?” 
Dibon attributes Maki’s defeat primarily to the conflict that had arisen between Abdul Karim Qasim’s regime in Iraq and Gamal Abdel Nasser’s regime in Egypt. The Nasserists in Maki began operating independently and even published the newspaper “Al-Ard”. Dibon emphasizes that as it could lead to the organization of various non-communist nationalist elements and expresses his fear: “If swift action is not taken, it is not inconceivable that we will have Nasserist Knesset members in the next Knesset.” He proposes several ways to address the situation: coordinated security operations by security agencies, the government, the ״Shin Bet״, and the police; actions against Maki and nationalism; a communal policy aimed at fostering the Druze community, cultivating a distinct identity among Christian communities, and “melting the identity of the largest community—the Muslim community.” In short, he seeks to encourage communal division among Arabs and prevent nationwide organization, such as an association of local council heads.

Urbanization of Arabs?

Unlike the concerns expressed in recent years by mayors regarding the migration of Arab citizens to Jewish or mixed cities, in those days Dibon actually proposed opening up mixed cities to the Arab population. Indeed, he viewed the urbanization of the rural population as essential from both a security and an economic standpoint.  In his words: “It is better to have 5,000 Arabs settled in Haifa than 5,000 unemployed Arabs in the vicinity of Nazareth,” Dibon told the secret forum, adding that the transition to urban settlement is of great economic importance: “Settlement in cities must be permanent in order to prevent funds from being drained from the national economy’s cash flow.”
Another participant, A. Natan addressed the Arab intellectual class and stated that the handling of the Arab minority must be meticulously planned and coordinated. He points to a future danger that may arise among this class, which, due to its lack of integration into the economy, may find its way into the “Al-Ard family”. He notes: “The security threat posed by the existence of a disaffected Arab intelligentsia is not so serious today, since the educated are still young and inexperienced, but in the future they are expected to pose a serious threat.”

Transfer:

The idea of expelling the Arab population that remained in Israel after 1948 also came up repeatedly in the “top-secret” discussions of those days. This is evident in the remarks by Uri Lubrani, a Foreign Ministry official who had also served as the Prime Minister’s advisor on Arab affairs in 1956.  Lubrani sought to highlight the question of “Judaization or development of the Galilee,” showing that thoughts of Judaizing this region had already crossed the minds of Zionist leaders across the political spectrum 65 years ago. He added: “I believe there is room to seriously examine the possibility of removing the Arabs from the country and transferring them to other countries.”

Thoughts of transferring the Arab population from the country had been on the minds of Zionist leaders since the very beginning of the state. Evidence of this can be found in a letter from August 1948, which Yosef Weitz, one of the leaders of the Jewish National Fund (KKL), addressed to Moshe Sharett (Shertok), Israel’s first foreign minister: “Please allow me to remind you that during our meeting with Ben-Gurion on Sunday, July 25, you told me that from now on the initiative on the issue of ‘transfer’ would be in your hands and that you would immediately call for consultation and action.” Weitz sought to expedite the discussion of the matter, as he viewed the realization of the transfer as “the crown of our victory in the War of Israel, and the sooner the better.”

Against the Intelligentsia:

Mishael Shaham, the military governor-general, argues that the Arab population cannot be integrated because it is “an inseparable part of the Arab nation in neighboring countries.” At the same time, he adds: “If there is peace between Israel and the Arab states, the Arab population—and especially the intelligentsia—will emigrate from Israel to the Arab states,” which would alleviate the severity of Israel’s demographic problem stemming from “the enormous natural growth rate of the Arabs in the country.” Shaham declares that he is opposed to encouraging Arab intellectuals in Israel. This position does not stem from the difficulties involved in their integration into Israeli society, “but rather because they must not be integrated,” he states emphatically. Furthermore, he calls for measures to preserve the clan-based structure among Arabs, noting that this structure is even preserved in the local elections held in Arab villages. In Shaham’s view, the clan-based structure is “a dam against unbridled tempests.” 

Against Urbanization:

To conclude the discussion, Shimon Peres suggests not thinking too big, but rather focusing efforts on raising awareness about Arab issues within Jewish communities and encouraging consumption in the Arab sector. However, Peres sees a great danger in the migration of Arabs to permanent settlement in mixed cities: “Arab urbanization is a catastrophe of the first order because of the danger of the Arabization of urban centers.” Instead, he concludes with an immortal Zionist phrase: “The Galilee must be Judaized.”

Reading the “top-secret” minutes of the plots hatched by Israel’s elders against the writer of these lines as far back as 1960, when he was only seven years old, it becomes clear that there is nothing new under the sun of Zionist ideology. Then as now, the racism rampant in the country regarding the treatment of Arab citizens—from both the left and the right—is alive and well. 

Thus, these days I find myself compelled to demand, in no uncertain terms, a public apology from the leadership of the Zionist state. I propose a formula for an apology that is surely familiar to them from the Yom Kippur prayerbook:“We have sinned, we have plundered, we have spoken slander, we have wronged, we have oppressed, we have committed crimes, we have tormented, and so on.” Otherwise, I will neither forgive nor forget.

 For Hebrew, press here

 

 

Read More