The Holidays of the Revolution Myth, Ritual and Identity Among Tel Aviv Communists, 1919-1965
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Holidays of the Revolution Myth, Ritual and Identity among Tel Aviv Communists, 1919-1965 by Amir Locker-Biletzki A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of PhD in History Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Amir Locker-Biletzki, March, 2013 ABSTRACT THE HOLIDAYS OF THE REVOLUTION MYTH, RITUAL AND IDENTITY IN AMONG TEL AVIV COMMUNISTS, 1919-1965 Amir Locker-Biletzki Advisor: University of Guelph, 2013 Alan McDougall The Israeli Communist Party (MKI) and its precursor, the Communist Party of Palestine (PKP), were a unique Arab-Jewish organization. Marginalized and persecuted for most of its formative years, the Communist Party developed, from 1919 to 1965, its own distinctive subculture. Negating and absorbing the Zionist-Socialist and Israeli statist cultures, influenced by both Soviet and left wing European traditions as well as Jewish traditional elements, the Jewish Communists developed their own cycle of holidays. Through the examination of primary sources, ranging from internal Communist documents and newspaper articles to photographs and posters, as well as interviews with contemporaries and comparison with parallel Communist experiences in the United States and in the Arab world – this thesis examines the myths and rituals reflected in the holidays, as practiced by the Jewish Communists in MKI and the Israeli Young Communist League (Banki). The thesis scrutinizes the identity these cultural practices produced. By examining the Jewish holidays, the Israeli civic holidays, May Day, the Soviet November 7th and May 9th holidays, and the rituals concerning the relations between Palestinians and Jews, it is shown that between the years 1919 and 1965 the Jewish Communists created a local, Jewish-Israeli, anti-Zionist patriotic identity. This identity, although sensitive to the working class, was not a working-class identity; it was philo-Soviet and interested in civic rights of Palestinians. A minority of Party Members were Palestinians. The thesis concludes that, nevertheless, the Jewish Communists were not able to withstand the attempts of some factions among themselves to favor the nationalist over the socialist principles. Burdened by the weight of the conflict between Arabs and Jews, the MKI finally split in 1965, ending a significant phase in the development of Communist subculture in Israel. For my father and Yael Acknowledgments The origins of this research lie in two classes that I took with Professor Yuval Dror and Professor Avner Ben-Amos at Tel Aviv University during my Masters studies. My decision to write an essay about the Israeli Communist Youth Movement exposed me to the primary sources that became the building blocks of this dissertation. When dealing with rituals and national memory in Europe and Israel I encountered the ritualistic aspects of political culture, which stimulated my interest in ritual and myth carried on into this research. I want to thank the History Department of the University of Guelph that supported me in writing this research. This thesis was guided and encouraged by my instructor, Dr. Alan McDougall, whose keen interest and care set an example of superb professionalism that I can only wish to achieve. Observations of my committee members, Dr. Jasmin Habib and Dr. Renée Worringer, challenged my thinking and greatly improved the quality of this research. The proofing of this work was aided by Joan King. I want to especially thank Ruvik Danieli, a paragon of creative and efficient editor whose help at the crucial final stages of this research was vital. Additional thanks are also due to Ben Yishai Danieli for locating and sending articles from Israel, and to Robin Bergart for doing the same at the Guelph University Library. I want to thank all my interviewees, present and ex-members of the Communist Party and its youth movement, and mainly Yair Tzaban, who gave me a lengthy and fascinating interview, and Tamar and Yoram Gozansky who opened their house and their memories to me. Another thank you goes to my parents in-law, Anat and Alex Biletzki, who constantly supported and advised me throughout this research. Their political and intellectual commitment will always be a guide to me. A special place in my heart is held by my wife Yael, the first v reader and editor of my work; without her constant support I could not have gone through the rigorous process of a Ph.D. Also a great thank you to my two children Eyal and Illy. I hope that the values of solidarity with the weak and downtrodden, and of human dignity above cultural and ethnic boundaries, will be yours. Last but most important: To my parents, whose undying love sustains me always, I owe more than I can put into words. My consolation is that my father, who passed away recently, saw me finish this thesis. This work is dedicated to him. vi Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 1.1 Continuity and Innovation in the Research of Israeli Communism ......................6 1.2 Thesis Structure ...................................................................................................14 1.3 Concepts ..............................................................................................................16 1.4 Myth, Ritual and Symbol in the U.S.S.R ............................................................51 1.5 Myth, Ritual and Symbol in the GDR .................................................................55 1.6 Zionist Myth, Ritual and Symbol ........................................................................57 1.7 History and Historiography of Israeli Communism ............................................68 Chapter 2: The Creation of Jewish Progressive Tradition .................................................73 2.1 The Holidays .......................................................................................................75 2.1.1 Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot ...................................................75 2.1.2 Hanukkah .....................................................................................................77 2.1.3 Nature Holidays ...........................................................................................98 2.1.4 Purim .........................................................................................................100 2.1.5 Passover .....................................................................................................104 2.2 Tradition and Communism in Europe and Israel ..............................................111 2.3 The Jewish Progressive Communist ..................................................................115 Chapter 3: Holucaust, Independence and Rememberance in Israeli Communist Myth, Symbol and Rite, 1919-1965 ...............................................................120 3.1 The Holocaust in Communist Consciousness and Narrative, 1933-1965 .........120 3.2 The Communist Holocaust Rite ........................................................................138 3.3 Independence and Remembrance in the MKI and Banki, 1919-1965 ..............144 3.4 Heroes of the Anti-Imperialist Struggle ............................................................158 3.5 Ritual, Narrative, Discourse and Identity ..........................................................179 Chapter 4: Workers Utopia and Reality among Tel Aviv Communists, 1919 to 1965 ...184 4.1 The Working Class and the Jewish Communists ..............................................184 4.2 May Day ............................................................................................................192 vii Chapter 5: Revolution and the Soviet Union among Tel Aviv Communists, 1919 to 1965 ..................................................................................................217 5.1 The Jewish Communist, the Philo-Soviet Community and the U.S.S.R ...........217 5.2 The Colossus Trimphant ...................................................................................224 5.3 The Cosmology of Revolution ..........................................................................237 Chapter 6: Jewsih-Arab Fraternity – Language, Perception Symbol and Ritual, 1919-1965 ......................................................................................................258 6.1 Language – The Language of Arab-Jewish Fraternity ......................................258 6.2 Symbol – The Symbolism of Arab-Jewish Fraternity .......................................280 6.3 Palestinians in the Eyes of Jewish Communists ................................................285 6.4 Arab-Jewish Ritual ............................................................................................289 6.5 Arab-Jewish Communitas .................................................................................292 6.6 The Jewish Communist and the Arab Other .....................................................295 6.7 Colonialism and Imperialism in Communist Thinking in Palestine/Israel .......301 6.7.1 Zionism as Settler Colonialism ................................................................302 6.7.2 Imperialism and Colonialism in Marxist-Leninist Thinking ....................308 6.7.3 Imperilaism and Colonialism and the Jewish Communists ......................311 6.7.4 Representation of the Palestinian in Communist Thinking – The Assessment of the Progressive Anti-Imperialist ......................................317