Protest in Syria
Photo: MCT
Passover and Arab Spring
Op-ed: Israel should back Arab revolts, which offer rare opportunity for change in Mideast
As I celebrate Passover with my family in my east Jerusalem apartment, I contemplate the meaning of the holiday. Passover is about the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt, but as I look out the window at my many Arab neighbors I realize that today it is the Egyptians, Syrians, and Iranians who are trying to throw off the taskmasters and the modern-day Pharaohs. And it is for this reason that I find myself asking why Israel has not shown public support for the Arab revolts. Does Israel feel safer with the old Arab dictators? Is the fear of virulent Islam’s potential takeover driving my country's silence?
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Israeli experts and officials have expressed reasonable concern that local insurgencies create uncomfortable unknowns as to the nature of future Arab leaders, their commitment to peace agreements, regional stability, and their agendas vis-à-vis Israel. My experience as an Israeli paratrooper and as a seven-year member of the rapid response team in the Samarian town of Beit El has shown me that Jewish security must be maintained with the greatest seriousness. But while caution must play a role, there are also good reasons for Israel to support Arab revolutions and openly back them.
First: Israel should support the Arab revolt because the deposing of ruthless Arab dictators is good for Israel, and good for the world. Any movement that rocks Assad, Mubarak, Gaddafi and Ahmadinejad has my vote. This group has been responsible for an endless array of terror, military attacks, and anti-Israel rhetoric, media coverage, and education. These same tyrants who call for the destruction of Israel deny basic freedoms to their people and now those people are rebelling. Even if new despots take the place of the old ones, the downfall of tyrants is a positive development.
Second: Israel should champion Middle East revolts because they clearly show that the Jewish State is not the cause of unrest in the Arab world. Joblessness, repression, and injustice - these are the real culprits behind the bitter lives of so many Arabs in our region. Arab protesters are willing to die to make their leaders bear responsibility for the decrepit state of affairs in their countries, and they are unwilling to accept the old excuse that Israel is to blame for everything that is wrong in the Arab world.
As Gaddafi saw the wave of rebellion washing onto his doorstep he attempted to thwart it by exhorting Libyans to band together and fight "the real enemy," Israel. As Syrians demanded that Assad relax the draconian "state of emergency" military rule his father imposed in 1962, he announced that a Zionist conspiracy was at play. This has always been the tactic of Middle East despots - to make Israel into the boogie man and the source of all Arab woes. Now, this tired ploy is exposed and Arab peoples are refusing to accept this as an excuse for their oppression. When the Israel-excuse failed to deter the protests, the old dictators turned the guns on their people.
Third: Israel is an oasis of freedom and rights in the Middle East, and should therefore support all those who seek freedoms of speech and association. No matter what the average Arab will hear from the Islamic establishment, he should at least hear it from us that we are concerned with his welfare.
Israel should express moral outrage at the cold-blooded killing of over 200 Iranian protesters in the summer of 2009 and should loudly condemn the massacre of the Syrian people happening right now in and around Damascus. We should always show solidarity with our Arab, Kurdish, and Christian neighbors who suffer injustices daily. Israel is a beacon of freedom to the residents of the Middle East and should encourage those people who yearn for the kind of life that we have worked so hard to achieve.
Fourth: Israel should back Arab revolts because there is a critical linkage between the Arab struggle and the Jewish struggle. Just as Israel supports Arab national self-determination in their lands, so too should Israel uncompromisingly support Jewish self-determination on Jewish land.
As the fault lines of repressive regimes lie exposed, Israel should use the opportunity to shake off the misguided ideas of the past. "Land for peace" is a proven failure and has not given any Jew or Arab a better life or more dignity. The old Arab dictators created and perpetuated the myth of the Israeli occupation of Palestine to cause Israel to relinquish its ancestral lands piece-meal. The "Two-State Solution" was the clever warfare of the media savvy tyrants. But now, as the Arabs rightly throw off those tyrants, Israel should also throw off their legacy and reverse the damage they have caused. By leveraging the new spirit of the Middle East, Israel can cast off the yoke of the despots and reunite Judea and Samaria to the rest of Israel under full Israeli sovereignty.
Fifth: To make it in the Middle East, Israel always needs to be broadcasting confidence. To this end, Israel should publicly back the Arab revolt, regardless of any internal doubts we may have. Recently, while revolution swept across the region, CNN broadly proclaimed "Israel is anxious." Who said Israel is anxious? In fact, Israel is a healthy, strong, and growing society. Israel should never give bogus tyrants like Ahmadinejad, any excuse to smile. Israeli fear awakens the appetite of the Jihad, but Israeli confidence conveys the message that we will never be defeated, suppressing the Jihad and awakening the imagination of those who seek better regional coexistence.
Sixth: Israel should use this moment of instability to articulate a new vision of optimism in our region. The Arab revolt is a political tsunami bringing with it a craving for Middle East leadership that Israel can provide. It is not easy to be positive in an environment of hate but Israel can emerge as an alternative to the despotic tendencies in the region.
The Middle East can benefit from Israel's robust experience in building industry, infrastructure, science, health, education and democracy. Israel's famous efforts in far-away Haiti can be brought to serve locally - like rehabilitating Beirut to the lovely capital it once was. A New Middle East can emerge but only with the unflinching leadership of the Jewish State.
Seventh: Israel must position itself as part of the Middle East civil rights revolution lest organizations such as al-Jazeera portray the Jewish State as a part of the old despotic rule that needs to be overthrown. Israel should be perceived as the champion of the fresh wind blowing in the region, not as a detractor. Israel should be seen as a beneficiary of the destruction of tyrannical regimes, not one of its targets.
It would be a shame to miss this chance to criticize and undermine dictators who are still holding on to power. It would be a greater shame if the difference between the liberties that Israel stands for and the oppression of the despots does not break through to the Arab street as they struggle to see beyond the lies that cast Zionism as the source of all problems in the region.
The Arab revolts are a rare opportunity for change in the Middle East. Ironically, now it is the children of Ishmael's turn for a Passover of sorts, their own spring cleaning, and it just may spell the freedom from mental and physical bondage for which our region has so long waited.
Long live the Arab revolution! Long live Israel! Long live a new and better Middle East.
Yishai Fleisher is founder and director of Kumah and "Eye On Zion" Media
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