"The true miracle of Israel" (Ramzy Baroud)

 

"If there is any miracle in Israel's
existence it is that the lies upon
which it is founded could be
perpetuated for so long, despite
 glaringly obvious truths to the
contrary. Indeed, it is a miracle
 that such grave injustice could
reign for so long uncontested."

 

The true miracle of Israel

What is remarkable is not Israel's creation,
but rather the perpetuation of the lies and the
 injustice upon which it survives, Ramzy Baroud*

Israelis and their supporters tend to depict
 Israel as a country of miracles. What else could
explain the country's astonishing "birth" and
 subsequent survival against all sorts of
"existential threats"? How else would Israel
develop at such a phenomenal pace, making
the "desert bloom" and continually scoring a
 high ranking amongst developed nations in
most noteworthy aspects?

 

Meanwhile, Palestinians continue to be
depicted as "their own worst enemies", a
people who "never miss an opportunity to
 miss an opportunity" and who stand outside
 the parameters of rational human behaviour.
Israel is often, if not always, contrasted against
a regional backdrop of "backward",
"undemocratic" and essentially violent
Arabs and Muslims.

 

Such depictions -- of luminous, civilised Israelis
 facing wicked, backward Arabs -- are the building
blocks of a polemic sold tirelessly by Israeli,
American and Western media. Most often, it
goes unchallenged, thus defining the West's
understanding of Israel and its moral "right to
exist". The argument is rooted in the horrors of
the Jewish holocaust; however, Israel's handlers
have managed to turn deserved sympathy for
 that tragedy into an unwarranted assertion,
 somehow equating Palestinians with Nazi
 Germany in order to justify a constant state
of war in the name of self-defence.

 

In this specific context, the power of the
media cannot be over-emphasised. It has
defined a fallacious reality based on a skewed
narrative. Never in history has a story been so
slanted as that of Palestine and Israel. Never
 has the victim been so squarely blamed for
 his own misfortunes as the Palestinian.
This is not an arrogant counter-narrative to
 Israel's concoctions. It's a glaring truth that
continues to be either ignored or misunderstood.

 

The "miracles" often associated with Israel
 are not random; they are assertions. Miracles
 are a religious notion, referring to the
 unexplained and supernatural. Thus they
become exempt from rational questioning.
This formula has served Israel's strategic
purposes well. On one hand, Israel's existence
 is portrayed as a resurrection of sorts: from
near-annihilation to a "miraculous" rebirth. Indeed,
considering how the birth of Israel story is offered,
the narrative is no less impressive than
biblical legends. Such discourse has been used
successfully to appeal to a much larger group
than those who identify with Israel on ethnic or
 religious grounds. It has impressed tens of millions
 of Christian fundamentalists worldwide.
In the United States, Christian Zionists represent
 the popular backbone of the pro-Israeli camp.
While American Jews tend to vote based on
economic or political interests, Christian
Zionists see their allegiance to Israel as a
religious duty.

 

Like all religious miracles, Israeli miracles are
"matters of faith". They can either be accepted as
one package or rejected as such; the bottom line
 is that they are beyond argument, beyond the need
for tangible proof. Those foolish enough to
deconstruct this -- and thus question Israel as
a state accountable to law, like all others --
are subjected to the wrath of God (in the case
 of the "true believer") or the wrath of the media
 and the Zionist lobby (in the case of the sceptic).
When an American politician, for example, is
accused of not standing "fully behind Israel",
the accusation doesn't warrant justification.
It stands on its own, like a biblical command
that has survived the test of time and reason:
Thou shalt stand fully behind Israel. The
accused politician can only defend his record
of support for Israel; he cannot question why
 this is necessary in the first place, or ever
acknowledge the fact that the latter's track
record is soaked in blood, sullied by illegal
occupations, and grounded on human rights
violations and defiance of international law.

 

As the 60th anniversary of the so- called birth of
Israel draws near, a most impressive -- albeit
grotesque -- misrepresentation of that history
will be offered in abundance. Media pundits
and politicians will celebrate the miracle,
omitting how Israel was delivered on top of
the ruins of hundreds of Palestinian towns
and villages. The killing and ethnic cleansing
that became known as the Palestinian Catastrophe
 -- or Nakba -- was not the work of invisible and
 miraculous seraphs, but rather well trained and
 well-armed Zionist gangs and their supporters.

 

Nor did Palestinians lose the battle due to their
 laxity or backwardness. Their bravery, for those
 who care to consult serious historical works
(such as those of Israeli historian Ilan Pappe
or late Palestinian Professor Edward Said), is a
 badge of honour that will be carried by
Palestinians for years to come. They lost
because, as parallel historic experiences
demonstrate, neither bravery nor fortitude
are enough to withstand so many powerful
forces at play, all plotting for their downfall.

 

Moreover, those celebrating Israel's miraculous
 efforts in making the desert bloom -- the
 inference being that "nomadic Palestinians"
failed to connect with the "neglected" land, and
 only the "return" of its rightful owners managed
 to bring about its renewal -- will most likely forget
 that its was the Palestinian proletariat -- the
cheap, oppressed, and dispossessed labour
 force -- that mostly worked the land, erected the
homes and tended to the gardens of the miracle
 state. No less than $100 billion of American
taxpayers' money contributed to Israel's current
economic viability, as well as military preparedness.

 

All of this is likely to be overlooked as Israel
 and "friends of Israel" around the world
celebrate another miraculous year of surviva
l and affluence. Will they pause to wonder why
 over five million Palestinian refugees are
 dispossessed and scattered around the world?
Will they lend a moment's silence to the many
 thousands who were brutally murdered so
that Israel could live this fallacious miracle?
Will they ever understand the pain and the
tears of successive generations dying while
 holding onto the keys of homes that were
destroyed, deeds to land that was stolen, and
memories of a once beautiful reality from
which they were violently uprooted?

 

If there is any miracle in Israel's existence
 it is that the lies upon which it is founded
could be perpetuated for so long, despite
glaringly obvious truths to the contrary.
 Indeed, it is a miracle that such grave
injustice could reign for so long uncontested.

 

"Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be
compelled to have recourse, as a last resort,
to rebellion against tyranny and oppression,
that human rights should be protected by the
rule of law" (From Preamble to the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights of 1948)

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