SOCD 188F – Lecture Notes from 12/1/04

Question: Describe the three stages again.

In 1967:
            Israeli-Palestinian and Arab relations
                        Because of during the Six Day War they conquered:
                                    - West Bank – with Palestinian population and supposed to go toward Palestine’s state (which never happened)
                                    - Sinai – Egypt
                                    - Golan Heights – Syria
                        Significant turning point because:
                                    Egypt put their interests over the Palestinians, so they recovered their territory and felt that the Palestinian state wasn’t important, so in 1977 Israel and Egypt had peace (Israel’s first)

Conflict over territory gained from 1967
- Basis of debate:  Annex? Settle?  Land for peace?
- Increase desire to settle in
West Bank because it was the ancestral land of the Jews and the Judean kingdom, not the coast where they had settle before 1967. “Sacred geography”
- Conquered in 1967 because it was “the beginning of a divine promise” and “the beginning of the messiance era” – say the Religious Jews (fundamentalist)

Three waves of settlement:

  1. Allon Plan 1967-1977:  the land between Israel and Jordan.
    1. Labor Settlement Movement in power until 1977
    2. Homogenous society in areas with sparse Arab/Palestinian populations
    3. For security purposes
    4. They had not settled in the rest, because would mix populations and therefore be impossible to create a Palestinian state, and citizens of Palestine would become half the population and would destroy the Jewish majority (kills the Zionist idea)
    5. Limited Palestinian resistance therefore expansion into main West Bank à Domino Theory
  2. Messianic movement (Gush Emunnim).  1977-1981.
    1. Likud elected in 1977 and supported the Gush Emunnim (Religious Jews that chose to settle in the West Bank)
    2. First usually a Yeshiva (learning house for Bible) and small settlements around holy areas or places mentioned in the Bible
    3. West Bank dotted with settlements, interspersed with Palestinian population, therefore it was difficult to create a partition because it was no longer a homogenous society.
    4. Settlers viewed themselves as pioneers with republican because of their settlements like the original pioneers.
    5. Mostly Ashkenazim.

TANGENT! Israeli Government:

- People vote for a list of representatives
- 120 in the Knesset “proportional” not district based (like in the US)
- minorities have a better chance of getting represented
- creates a non-stable government because there are many parties in the Knesset
- Advantages: All have representatives, not just the majority
- Two largest parties are: the LSM and Likud

§       LSM is republican ideology

§       Likud is Ethno-National ideology

END TANGENT


3. Suburban settlement. Along coastal zone. 1981-

a.     35% of West Bank owned and subsidized by the government

a.     TANGENT! In 2000 Israel offered to annex this part and would give the PLO more land around the Gaza Strip. This was a problem, because the settlers from 2 (the messianic wave), did not want to leave because they settled for religious purposes. Barak offers to give up Messianic Wave settlements and move out of Allon Plan settlements in 10 years. END TANGENT!

Second Intifada

-        Palestinians questioned who was the enemy? West Bank settlers or all Jews.

o      Hamas: All Jews in Israel.

o      Israeli’s built a wall including settlements from Suburban Settlement

§       With about 100,000 – 150,000 Palestinians within the wall, and their land that they cultivate outside the wall

 

Compare With Yugoslavia

-        Break in 1990s

o      Serbia

o      Croatia

o      Slovakia

o      Bosnia

o      Herzegovina

o      Macedonia

o      Montenegro

o      Kosovo (Albanians)

-        Wars with Serbs and others

-        War with Serbia and Slovakia

-        War with Serbia and Croatia

-        War with Bosnia and Herzegovina

-        Serbs where everywhere, a NON-homogenous society

-        This led to attempts at ethnic cleansing

-        ISRAEL: Israel is also mixed and therefore it will be hard to resolve without violent un-mixing, as occurred in Yugoslavia

 

Overview and Conclusion:

To understand formation of Israeli society (from 1882 on)

-        Instead of looking at political

o       1917 Balfour Declaration – Stating that Europe supports a Jewish state

o       UN Partition Plan

-        Instead of looking at legal

o       These are Security Council Resolutions that were adopted regarding Israel and Palestine

o       Meanings of resolutions have changed over time.

§        181 – 1947 – UN Partition Plan

§        192 – Right of Return for Palestinians stating that if Palestinians agreed to live in peace in Israel, they could return

·        PLO opposed because they denied the existence Israel

§        242 – After 1967 War – Israel must return land

·        Israel at first opposed this

·        “Territories conquered in 1967 War must be returned” it does not say “the territories” so it doesn’t necessarily mean ALL the territories must be returned, perhaps just some of them

·        Preamble stated that the conquest of land is not allowed, you can’t go occupy another country

·        But then Israel gave Egypt the Sinai back, and that was good à Land for peace.

·        West Bank was annexed by Jordan after 1948, but was not recognized internationally

·        In the 1970s, Jordan said that the West Bank does not belong to them and gave up their claim on the territory, stating that it was for the PLO

§        338 – After 1973 – Confirmed previous

-        Must look at social factors/processes

o       United Kingdom said to make a Jewish Commonwealth, but no Jews came

o       When the Nazis rose to power in 1933, Jews began to come to Israel

o       Demography

§        An attempt to create majority

·        TANGENT! Arafat says (not a direct quote), “Yay! We have babies faster! Its like a demographic bomb!” (Shafir comments: the late Arafat had a thing for bombs). Then some other guy that lived in East Jerusalem (I think) said (not a direct quote), “But it doesn’t matter! We aren’t equal citizens, so who cares if we have a majority?! Du’h!” END TANGENT!

o       Uses the concept of citizenship to examine society, not just legal terms, but the broader society and the systematic incorporation of groups into society

 

Three Frameworks for Citizenship

-        All lead to rights through institutions

-        Yishuv shaped by Israeli-Palestinian conflict

o       Economic separatism

§        Jewish National Fund (JNF) – gave land for Jews

§        Histadrut – of the LSM, was like a trade union because it represents workers, BUT it also employed them - labor

·        It was a major employer

·        Provided services, such as: pensions, retirement funds, schools, bank (Worker’s Bank), bus, shipping, and supermarkets

·        Members or those that live in Kibbutzim, or associated with the Histadrut all part of it

·        Supported by World Zionist Organization (WZO)

o       WZO also funded the JNF for land

o       Cooperative institutions

o       Kibbutz

 

Maintaining Political & Cultural Hegemony:

-        Kibbutzim emphasized civic virtue of pioneering

o       Collective interest over the individual for the common good (like the formation of the State of Israel)

o       Republican concept of citizenship

-        Ashkenazim used Republican ideas to legitimize and control institutions

-        Jewish community itself was stratified.

o       Ashkenazim:

§        Idealistic workers

·        went to Palestine for a idealistic reasons

·        Chose not to go to the US or Argentina.

·        Quality – they made Aliyah (to move to Israel for religious or Zionistic reasons) (oleh: person who makes Aliyah)

o       Mizrachim:

§        Natural workers, and didn’t have alternatives.

§        Quantity – Jewish majority

§        Economic immigrants

·        British limited immigration to Israel, but after ’48 there was no limit

o       Though both came to Israel escaping persecution the Ashkenazim saw themselves as superior ‘immigrants’ because they were olim (plural of oleh)

o       Ethnic gap:

§        Distinctions became important in the 1950s and 1960s when a huge wave of Mizrachim immigrated to Israel.

§        Between class/ethnicity

o       Histadrut not popular among Mizrachim b/c they felt excluded since they were settled in development towns, far from the institutions that the Ashkenazim could use

-        In 1977 Likud in power from Mizrachim’s votes

-        Comparing Ashkenazim and Mizrachim

o       Occupational Differences: very large

§        Measured at second generation so there shouldn’t be any difference between them since they both are supposed to have gone to the same schools, etc…

o       Educational Differences: very large

§        Measured at second generation so there shouldn’t be any difference between them since they both are supposed to have gone to the same schools, etc…

o       Intermarriage: 20%, which shows more mixing of Ashkenazim and Mizrachim, but mostly from people in the same economic class

o       Residential Segregation

§        No interaction

§        Same education and military

§        Both had equal opportunities

-        Yishuv: Democratic community of Jews and Palestinians:

o       All Jews (Ashkenazim and Mizrachim) share the Ethno-Nationalist citizenship.

§        Get equal civil and political rights, but not social rights.

§        The Mizrachim live further away, so can’t use all the education and stuff that is offered to them.

§        Pension was given more money than children allowances because the Ashkenazim tended to be older than the Mizrachim, which were mostly younger families.

o       The ethnic gap persisted and widened.

 

Liberal

-        Palestinians also part of this and became citizens

-        Today around 17%, a large minority

o       Langauges are Arabic and Hebrew

o       Palestinians want more institutional rights

§        Arab language university

-        Mizrachim lived sometimes in old Palestinian neighborhoods

-        Palestinian rights as individuals

o       1966 – Palestinians were under a military government

o       They still do not serve in the army

-        Government decides who will settle where

-        It is a legal barrier (unlike the Ethno-National and Liberal barrier between Ashkenazim and Mizrachim)

o       Example: the Kadaan (Quaddan) family who wanted to live in a Jewish village but wasn’t allowed to for many years

Democratic and Jewish State

-        divided loyalties, so Palestinians do not serve in the army

o       benefits from serving in military are not given to them

§        Children’s allowance

o       If can’t go to the army, so serve nation in other ways (teachers, volunteer, nurses)

o       Israel and the PLO met and discussed in the 1990s, and now the Palestinians DO get child allowances

-        Palestinians work and get paid equally, and so pay equal taxes, but they do not get all the same benefits.

-        1967 – Palestinians were not citizens, so they had NO rights

o       integrated into economy

o       civil law from Jordan changed to Israeli military government

o       two distinct laws for two populations

Orthodox Jews

-        Some are Zionist, others are not

-        Both get privileges

-        Cultural autonomy

o       Own educational system that government finances

§        One modern orthodox and one ultra orthodox

o       Control all Jewish marriages/divorces

§        No civil marriage

§        No religious intermarriage (have to go to Cyprus)

o       They do not serve in the military

§        Yeshiva students exempt

§        Women who claim to be orthodox are exempt

-        A corporate identity

o       Social group with separate rights and privileges (like Jews in the Middle Ages)

Dynamics of Society

-        Exclusion vs Inclusion

o       Exclusion was pioneering (Ethno-Nationalist)

o       Inclusion was liberal

-        Fixed until 1980s

o       Republican still significant even after 1948, when there was no pioneering anymore because state was viewed as pioneering goals

§        Pioneers with institutions and support

o       Treated citizenship how they did during the Yishuv

§        Contribution toward the common good (now the State of Israel)

o       State centered economy

§        Education, military etc…

-        In the 1980s the importance of Israel supporting institutions went down because they were undermined from both the top and the bottom.

o       Top: They had everything to gain, Ashkenazim

o       Bottom: Non-citizen Palestinians living in Gaza or West Bank, had nothing to lose

o       Middle: Mizrachim and Citizen Palestinians did not revolt because they did not want to rock the boat and the Citizen Palestinians wanted to prove their loyalty to the state. The Mizrachim voted for Likud in 1977 but they didn’t do much to help them.

-        In 1987 the First Intifada started in Gaza, then spread to the West Bank

o       They were NOT citizens and wanted to end Jewish settlements and create a state for Palestine

o       The Palestinian citizens did not join the intifada because they had other ways to get their needs across and they didn’t want a Palestinian state.

-        After 1967 the Palestinians were a National minority and interacted with the Palestinians living in the West Bank

-        Non-citizens

o       Different religion, language, institutions, etc

o       Retained their identity because they remained non-citizens

-        East Jerusalem

o       Most Palestinians didn’t ask for citizenship

o       Less money was spent in East Jerusalem than in West Jerusalem

o       In 1993/1994 when East Jerusalem looked like it would become part of a Palestinian state, many tried to get Israeli citizenship

-        First intifada did not hurt the IDF, but it came at a time when there was depression in the economy (inflation at 500%)

o       1973 Oil Embargo – OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) didn’t sell oil to certain countries and limited the amount of oil produced to drive the prices up

§        No Arab countries would do business with Israel

§        No Arab countries would do business with any company that did business with Israel

·        Example: Coca-cola

o       Before 1967 10% of the Israeli budget went into the military

o       By the 1973 Yom Kippur War and onward, 30% went to the military

-        Social rights declined because inflation went up

-        In the 1980s

o       Private economic interest grew

o       Less government subsidies (no need for jobs for new immigrants)

o       State-centered economy went down

-        1985 – reduced role of government in economy so business began to grow (capital)

-        Stages of society

o       Yishuv: Pioneering with Histradrut

o       1948: State with the military

o       1985: Businesses took over the economy

§        Few corporations wanted to invest in Israel because it was so unstable

Globalization

-        It can sometimes increase poverty (like in Latin America)

-        It increased standard of living in Israel because they had the economic infrastructure

o       Increased education

o       Military industrial complex

§        Modernized the economy

§        creation of high tech industries

-        increase in privatization

-        connection with Palestinian conflict and economy

o       unstable so no one wanted to invest

o       Arab boycott was hurting them since no one could do business with them

-        Ashkenazi elite lost interest in Republican ideas of the common/public good

o       They focused more on economic or corporate ideas

o       Emphasized Liberal

§        Increase equal rights

§        Decrease state rights

May 1994

-        Labor lost control of the Histadrut because it was privatized, but the health insurance was nationalized

-        Transformed Israeli elite under Rabin and Perez

o       Allowed Palestinian flags

o       Negotiated with PLO

o       Sep 13, 1993 – Declaration of Principles signed

Liberalization

-        Israel has no constitution because of Orthodox opposition (they wanted only traditional Jewish law)

-        Early 1990s finally adopted Basic Laws

o       Freedom of Occupation – can choose which job you want

§        Couldn’t raise pigs on Israeli land, went to court

§        Amended that it doesn’t’ apply if it contradicts with Halacha (Jewish law)

o       Human Dignity and Freedom

§        Kadan family

-        Republican challenged by liberal and ethno-nationalist

o       Palestinian conflict would be resolved when the argument between religious and liberal is resolved

Jim Ron’s Book

-        He adds another circle around the non-citizens in the West Bank and Gaza: Lebanon

-        He worked for human rights not citizenship

No one could say the thesis of his argument, so read the intro at least.

The difference between a ghetto and a frontier:

-        Ghetto: Non-citizens live there, Israelis have obligations and Palestinians have human rights. Groups watch over how they are treated. So Israel is limited in what it can do to them.

o       Policing (ethnic policing)

§        Has limits but can include negative tactics

-        Frontier: Under no one’s responsibility. No laws and no institutions to appeal to.

o       Can have expulsions

§        Example: expelled Albanians in Kosov

-        1971 – Jordanians turned on the Palestinians because the PLO was using Jordan as a base to attack Israel

o       PLO moved to Lebanon

-        This is not more threatening to Israel, but the Israeli response was larger

o       1982 the IDF invaded southern Lebanon

§        emptied out villages of Lebanese population (about 200,000 to 300,000 people)

o       it was the responsibility of the Lebanese government to maintain peace on their border, but they let the PLO launch terrorist attacks on Israel, so the IDF invaded

§        Lebanese people shouldn’t protect the PLO

·        Disproportionate attacks, and eventually the IDF withdrew and the Lebanese people returned

-        1969 – Lebanon signed an agreement with the PLO allowing them to launch attacks from their southern area

o       Lebanon became a frontier since their government backed out and the PLO was in charge

§        People couldn’t complain to anyone since their government left them

o       Israel invaded three times

-        In the West Bank they may be brutal, but they never have expulsions

o       Some argue that at some point the Palestinians could be expelled from the West Bank, and they are just waiting for the right opportunity.

-        1994: Israel withdrew, but then reoccupied in 2002 because of terrorist attacks

o       now the West Bank is more like a frontier since it is not part of Israel

§        Internal Affairs Bureau of the IDF looks into killings but not beatings, so now beatings are okay

§        An occupied territory, Geneva Convention doesn’t apply to terrorists but only to soldiers of armies

§        Attempts to change West Bank into more of a frontier but the Israeli government stopped them because they are opposed to freelance vigilantes

§        Not only Israeli governments fault, the PLO failed to enforce authority in the West Bank leaving a vacuum which led to the West Bank to become more of a frontier

Read the intro and glance through the chapters in Ron’s book to get a feel for his arguments.