Israel's Vicious Circle

Uri Avnery

Description

Uri Avnery is one of the best-known peace activists in Israel and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement. He has been involved in, and written about, all major events in Israel's history since its creation in 1948, and was the first Israeli to meet Yasser Arafat. This is a carefully selected collection of his articles from the last 10 years. Additionally, he has written a rigorous introduction that shows how peace can be achieved.



Avnery offers a unique perspective on the Middle-East conflict, drawing on his enormous experience of advocating Palestinian rights from within the system as a member of parliament and from outside as a peace activist. Written with passion and wit, his articles reveal and analyse the 'facts on the ground', always pointing out opportunities for reconciliation between the two sides and exposing those who exacerbate the conflict.



This book is a must-read for everyone who wants peace in the Middle East.
Foreword

Introduction by Sara Powell, ed. 'Truth Against Truth' an introduction to the issues by Uri Avnery

1. In the Beginning--Avnery's Basis of Thought

2. Facts on the Ground, Devastation all Around

3. All Process, No Peace

4. Squaring the Circle: Palestinian and Israeli Resistance

5. Other Players, Other Wars--The Global Context

6. Will the Circle Be Unbroken?

Appendix: Complete list of Uri Avnery's articles for Gush Shalom

Index

Sujets

• Political Science
• Peace
• Palestine

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 20 août 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781849643757
• Langue: English

Extrait

Israel’s Vicious Circle
Ten years of writings on Israel and
Palestine
Uri Avnery
Edited by Sara R. Powell
Pluto PressFirst published 2008 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Uri Avnery 2008
The right of Uri Avnery to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7453 2823 2
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by
Curran Publishing Services, Norwich
Printed and bound in the United States of America
All footnotes and commentary outside the original essays are by Sara Powell
(ed.). They do not necessarily represent Uri Avnery’s views.
All articles were originally written in Hebrew by Uri Avnery for an Israeli
audience; they were originally edited in the English translation by Chris Costello.
“Truth against truth” by Uri Avnery was originally published in pamphlet form
by Gush Shalom.RACHEL
Wife, editor of the original Hebrew text, invaluable critic
“I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine
espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land
that was not sown.” (Jeremiah 2:2)
vContents
Foreword ix
Introduction by Sara R. Powell (ed.) 1
“Truth against truth”: a completely different look at the Israeli–
Palestinian conflict. An introduction by Uri Avnery 7
1. In the beginning—the basis of Avnery’s thought 29
Uri Avnery’s speech November 22, 2003 29
Omelets into eggs November 24, 2007 33
A nation? What nation? September 25, 2004 38
Anti-Semitism: a practical manual January 17, 2004 41
Unearthing the truth July 27, 1998 45
Israel at 50: a pronounced case of
split personality July 4, 1998 47
The mother of all pretexts October 13, 2007 51
One state: solution or Utopia May 12, 2007 55
2. Facts on the ground; devastation all around 66
Dear settler November 25, 2000 66
May your house be destroyed July 20, 1998 69
Olives, stones, and bullets November 18, 2000 71
Love of the cannibals May 14, 2000 76
A slap in the face August 18, 2001 77
The evil wall May 3, 2004 80
Blood on our hands April 14, 2007 83
Children of death June 14, 2003 87
... To the shores of Tripoli May 26, 2007 91
The right of return January 14, 2001 95
Reform now June 22, 2002 104
At midnight, a knock on the door April 19, 2003 107
viiviii CONTENTS
3. All process, no peace 110
Oslo revisited August 11, 2007 111
The peace criminal July 21, 2001 115
How to torpedo the Saudis March 2, 2002 118
A Roadmap to nowhere, or:
Much Ado About Nothing May 4, 2003 121
To Aqaba and back July 6, 2003 124
With whom, about what? October 19, 2003 129
Sharon’s speech: decoded version December 22, 2003 132
Sharm-al-Sheikh, we have come back
again ... February 12, 2005 136
Voices from prison May 13, 2006 139
“The tumult and the shouting dies …” December 1, 2007 142
4. Squaring the circle: Palestinian and Israeli resistance 148
All kinds of terrorists November 3, 2001 148
The stalemate January 29, 2005 150
A queue of bombers March 23, 2002 154
Three generals, one martyr March 27, 2004 156
You brought the boycott upon
yourselves April 26, 2005159
A tale of two demonstrations April 30, 2005 161
The magnificent 27 September 27, 2003 165
Vanunu: the terrible secret April 24, 2004 168
5. Other players, other wars: the global context 171
Two knights and a dragon October 6, 2007 171
Baker’s cake December 9, 2006 176
America’s rottweiler August 26, 2006 181
Lunch in Damascus October 7, 2006 185
So what about Iran? September 29, 2007 188
An Israeli love story July 7, 2007 192
6. Will the circle be unbroken? 197
A plan for the 21st century January 3, 2000 197
A new consensus September 24, 2005 199
A bruised reed September 1, 2007 202
Inshallah March 17, 2007 206
The Palestinian Mandela September 15, 2007 210
Notes 217
Index 225Foreword
In the early days of the State of Israel, one of our most prominent
journalists was an editor who always strove to give the public exactly
what it wanted to hear. More than once, when he had inadvertently
diverged from the public mood, he presented the opposite view the very
next day. In some cases, he even switched his positions the same day,
from one edition to another.
Abba Eban, the sharp-tongued Israeli foreign minister, once
threatened him: “If you don’t stop attacking me, I shall publish a collection
of all your articles!” The attacks stopped at once.
In the spring of 1954, I started a weekly column with the Hebrew
title Hanidon, which can be rendered as “re:,” “concerning,” “in the
matter of.” Not having missed a single week since then, I must have
published something like 2,810 articles, comprising some 4 million
words. If somebody threatened to publish all of them, I would just tell
them: “Make sure you don’t omit any.”
I am in the happy position of having nothing to fear from such a
threat. I have not trimmed my views to match the general mood. I have
never believed that it is a commentator’s job to “reflect” public
opinion. Rather, it is our duty to tell the truth, as we see it.
In the old days, that was the role of the prophet. In biblical times,
a prophet was not a person who foretold the future, but one who stood
at the gate of the town and berated the people for their faults and the
rulers for their misdeeds.
This did not make for popularity. One of these unfortunates,
Jeremiah, cried out: “Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a
man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither
lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury, yet every one of them
does curse me.” (Jeremiah 15:10)
When Judea was in danger of being defeated by Babylon, the
ministers beseeched the king: “Let this man be put to death, for thus he
ixx FOREWORD
weakeneth the hands of the men of war … this man seeketh not the
welfare of this people but the hurt.” So they took him and threw him
into a dungeon full of mire. (Jeremiah 38:4)
Far be it from me to compare myself to such an august figure, but he
has served me as a model to emulate. I have always admired his courage
and his steadfastness, even though he was a bit of an egomaniac.
Humility hardly goes with the job, neither then or now.
This book consists of essays written during the last few years. They
were not penned in the proverbial ivory tower by a detached professor.
They were composed in the thick of the struggle, by someone very
much involved. Perhaps I would phrase some sentences differently
today. I was certainly wrong in some assessments. But I have not asked
the editor of this volume to change, add or omit a single word. For all
of them give testimony to the emotions and thoughts of the moment.
A few words about myself: I am an Israeli. I consider myself an
Israeli patriot. Those who seek the destruction of the State of Israel will
find no comfort here. All my criticism, even when extreme—especially
when extreme—stems from love.
From the first hour of the state, when I heard the Declaration of
Independence on the radio as my unit was preparing for battle, I was
in opposition—not because I am “against,” but because I am “for.” In
my mind’s eye, I see an alternative model of the state. In the words of
Thoreau, I hear a different drummer. A drummer calling for a different
Israel, an Israel one can be proud of—moral, democratic, secular,
progressive, egalitarian, not lording it over another people, at peace
with its neighbors, an integral part of the region which is our extended
fatherland, in the front line of humanity’s struggle for a better world.
I believe in this other Israel. I believe that it will come about. I hope
that I shall see it with my own eyes. With the approach of my 85th
birthday, there is not too much time left.
Uri Avnery
Tel Aviv, spring 2008Introduction by Sara R. Powell
My name is Sara Powell and I am honored to have been asked to edit
a compilation of Uri Avnery’s writings. Avnery is the pre-eminent Israeli
peace activist—co-founder of Gush Shalom, the largest Israeli peace
organization, and largely responsible for the fact that Palestinian and
Israeli officials are able to negotiate with each other for an end to their
decades-long conflict. His is one of the most powerful voices calling out
to other Israelis to pay attention to what is being done in their name
and to take responsibility for it. Moreover, through translating his
essays into English, and making them available through collections
such as this, and on the Internet, Avnery is introducing many citizens of
the world to a situation that has been frequently misrepresented and
misunderstood. The fact that his is an Israeli voice documenting the
problems of Israeli occupation makes his observations difficult to
refute. His life and his work authenticate the unpopular truth he tells,
and his engaging style draws in even those who have no direct interest
in the region. Moreover, he has been—and continues to be—actively,
physically engaged in (sometimes dangerous) demonstrations and
direct action for many years. He has also been—and continues to be—
an inspiration for all those interested in peace and justice in Israel and
Palestine.
I first became aware that there was an issue surrounding
Palestinians and Israelis as a small child in Beirut, Lebanon, in the early
1960s. My notions of the situation were, of course, fuzzy and
unformed; I only knew that there were nice people I knew who, because
they were Palestinian, could not go back home. The issue was discussed
at the family dinner table, but I absorbed little of the details of the
debate.
Later, as an adolescent in Tehran, Iran, in the late 1960s and early
1970s, I learned more about the issue in school—where we studied the
history of the region, Israel and various Palestinian organizations,
12 ISRAEL’S VICIOUS CIRCLE
including Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liber