There is an obvious reciprocal connection between racism that expresses in the form of collective attitudes, prejudices, and individuals. Individuals derive what “everybody” knows from their neighbors, and neighbors derive “what everybody knows” from us. We individually can affect the tenor of prejudicial attitudes, even if only incrementally.
The political signficance occurs when racism changes from prejudice to institutionalization of harms when applied by states or ideological or resistance political movements.
The stimulus for this series on racism was a discussion of Israel and Palestine which is widely described as racialist conflict.
Palestinian solidarity describe the conflict as a result of Israeli racism towards Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims. Many describe Zionism itself as racism, as the institutionalization of privilege based on racial screens, and encouraged through commonly held stereotypes of Palestinians and Arabs. They describe Zionism as racist in design, and amplified racist in application.
While it is painful to acknowledge, it is a truth currently in application, clearly in many areas controlled directly and indirectly by Israel particularly in the West Bank and Gaza, but also in the form of segregation and unequal access to the features of Israeli democracy.
It is difficult to distinguish which of the laws and policies originate in racist thinking and institutional relationships, and which originate in legitimate defense needs.
Sadly, the combination serves the various opportunist forces in the region. The presence and support for militant Palestinian factions, allows the Israeli state and the IDF to exagerate their fears into institutionalized suppression.
It becomes a tragedy, rather than a health.
Ideology institutionalized. Common fears institutionalized, not confronted particularly by any serious self-inquiring movement in Israel.
At the same time, virtually all of the reported Palestinian factions actively promote anti-semitic propaganda that to western eyes is trivially and ignorantly racist and violent.
I personally regard the slogan “Zionism is racism” as itself racist. The Jewish people are a people. Those that choose to assimilate into western society may choose to live and primarily identify elsewhere. Those that choose to settle as Jews with other Jews in Israel are a nation.
Those Jews that are a landed people, deserve to self-govern, rather than be governed by others. Those that identify as primarily civil in orientation, not national, can live successfully as minorities in other countries, or as part of a prospective single state. But, unless that comprises the vast majority of Jews in Israel, then anti-Zionism is also a form of suppression, of racism.
The history of the region, is of attempted ethnic cleansing responded to by attempted ethnic cleansing. It is not surprising that the majority of Palestinians regard the history of intentional settlement, then wars, then expansion as supporting the contention that “Zionism is racism”. And, it is not surprising that the majority of Israelis regard the history of intentional restriction of immigration, attempted ethnic cleansing in 1948 by Arab armies (Syria and Egypt moreso than Jordan), multiple wars, terror and confrontational low-violence agitation (not non-violent) as supporting the contention that “anti-Zionism is racism”
Too many in each community wishes that the other would just go away, and each institutionalize that sentiment in law, policies, actions. Racism opposing racism.
Very very few are seeking to heal the attitudes, to humanize them. There are many Israelis that continue to speak for Palestinian rights, but a small percentage of 15 years ago. There are fewer Palestinians that I’ve been made aware of, that speak in any measure against racism towards Israelis or Jews as Jews.
It is painful to see.
To confound the problem at reconciliation, Israeli and Palestinian communities are not free agents. In too many ways they are pawns or frontier proxies for larger geo-political efforts. Pawns are either expendible or held insenstively. “They can struggle. Better far from us.”
Israel is regarded by many Arabs and Islamics as the intrusion of western, ironically Christian, frontier into what was growing and unbroken chain of Islamic society (North Africa through Middle East, Central Asia, Southern Asia). And, many regard Israel as a proxy state specifically for the US superpower relations. (Shadow of the cold war, morphed into post cold war relations.)
Many Europeans speak of Israel in the “clash of civilizations” terminology also as the frontier for civil democratic states and institutions relative to apparently unsophisticated and/or tyrranical Islamic society. Others speak in more geo-political terms in strategic outposts to secure the supply chain for oil and now capital, now that the oil states are so prominent.
Now that China is becoming more predominant in the world economy, the former favored proxy role relative to the middle east is shifting east. China needs the supply chain of oil currently confidently and is on the fence whether and how to retain relations with both Iranian, Sunni Persian Gulf, and Indonesian sources of oil, however long the oil lasts.
Palestine/Israel is the tip of the pan-Arab society (the pet language/orientation of the Saudi monarchs). Palestine/Israel is the tip of pan-Islamic society.
Israel/Palestine is the tip of European society. Israel/Palestine is the tip of western democratic society.
Some versions of Zionism participate in the pan-democratic expansion enthusiastically. Thats how Netanyahu markets Israel to the world. Some versions of Zionism regard Israel as entirely independant, an island, and distrust both the European and the Islamic world.
All surfaces, compared to getting to know one another. On the ground community should overcome geo-political, if strong.
It would be wonderful if Israelis and Palestinians joined in asserting “We are not your pawns. We are people”.
Neither militant or ideological forms of Zionism or Palestinian nationalism adopt that view. Each are content to be more movement/ideology than person.
Ironically, some of the settlers do, and some of the ultra orthodox (not many). (I spent yesterday evening with a chabad rabbi who described for me his respect for the monotheism of Islam and how close in many ways Islamic theology was to Jewish – to the extent that he was aware, that that differed from the relationship of Christian theology to Jewish – also to the extent that he was aware.)
On a few other blogs that I post, because of my respect for Zionism as a potential, I am called racist. The equation “Zionism is racism”. You support Zionism (even in your own language of it, that differs from the current application).
In sum, a=b and b=c, therefore a = c.
In contrast, I describe my effort as the OPPOSSITE of racism. Specifically, to adopt accepting views, accepting of my Jewishness and accepting of my participation in the Jewish community and support of Jewish nation (as irritating as that can be often). And, to accept the humanity of individual Palestinians and their collective right to similarly self-govern confidently and healthily in the manner that they find most useful and fulfilling for them.
Live and let live as the antidote to political expression of institutionalized racism. (Anarchy in the form of self-determination and mutual aid. Opposed to anarchy in the form of “smash the state”.)
I’ll do a fourth on my thoughts of the institutionalization of racism relative to other communities tomorrow.
