DOCSLIB.ORG

Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Standpoint of Its Jewish Victims Author(S): Ella Shohat Source: Social Text, No

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Standpoint of Its Jewish Victims Author(S): Ella Shohat Source: Social Text, No Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Standpoint of Its Jewish Victims Author(s): Ella Shohat Source: Social Text, No. 19/20 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 1-35 Published by: Duke University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/466176 . Accessed: 02/06/2013 12:04 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Duke University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Social Text. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 141.213.236.110 on Sun, 2 Jun 2013 12:04:41 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Sephardimin Israel: Zionismfrom the Standpointof its JewishVictims ELLA SHOHAT Alternativecritical discourse concerning Israel and Zionismhas untilnow largely focussedon theJewish/Arab conflict, viewing Israel as a constitutedState, allied with the West againstthe East, whose veryfoundation was premisedon the denial of the Orientand of the legitimaterights of the Palestinianpeople. I would like to extendthe termsof the debatebeyond earlier dichotomies (East versusWest, Arab versusJew, Palestinian versus Israeli) to incorporatean issue elidedby previousformulations, to wit,the presence of a mediatingentity, that of theArab or OrientalJews, those Sephardi Jews coming largely from the Arab and Moslemcountries. A morecomplete analysis, I willargue, must consider the negativeconsequences of Zionismnot onlyfor the Palestinianpeople but also forthe SephardiJews who now formthe majorityof the Jewishpopulation in Israel. For Zionism does not only undertaketo speak for Palestineand the Palestinians,thus "blocking" all Palestinianself-representation, it also presumes to speak for Oriental Jews. The Zionist denial of the Arab-Moslemand PalestinianEast, then,has as its corollarythe denialof the Jewish"Mizrahim" (the "EasternOnes") who, like the Palestinians,but by more subtleand less obviouslybrutal mechanisms, have also been strippedof the rightof self- representation.Within Israel, and on thestage of worldopinion, the hegemonic voiceof Israelhas almostinvariably been that of European Jews, the Ashkenazim, whilethe Sephardi voice has beenlargely muffled or silenced. Zionism claimsto be a liberationmovement for all Jews,and Zionist ideologistshave spared no effortin theirattempt to makethe two terms "Jewish" and"Zionist" virtually synonymous. In fact,however, Zionism has beenprimarily a liberationmovement for European Jews (and that,as we know,problemati- cally)and moreprecisely for that tiny minority of EuropeanJews actually settled in Israel. AlthoughZionism claims to providea homelandfor all Jews,that homelandwas not offeredto all withthe samelargess. Sephardi Jews were first broughtto Israel for specificEuropean-Zionist reasons, and once therethey were systematicallydiscriminated against by a Zionism which deployed its energies and material resources differentially,to the consistent advantage of European Jews and to the consistentdetriment of OrientalJews. In this essay,I 1 This content downloaded from 141.213.236.110 on Sun, 2 Jun 2013 12:04:41 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 2 Ella Shohat would like to delineate the situation of structuraloppression experienced by Sephardi Jews in Israel, to brieflytrace the historicalorigins of that oppression, and to propose a symptomaticanalysis of the discourses-historiographic, sociological, political and journalistic-which sublimate,mask and perpetuate that oppression. Superimposed on the East/Westproblematic will be anotherissue, related but hardly identical, namely that of the relation between the "First" and the "Third" Worlds. Although Israel is not a Third World countryby any simple or conventional definition,it does have affinitiesand structuralanalogies to the Third World, analogies which often go unrecognizedeven, and perhaps espe- cially,within Israel itself.In what sense, then,can Israel, despite the views of its officialspokesmen, be seen as partakingin "Third Worldness?"First, in purely demographic terms, a majorityof the Israeli population can be seen as Third World or at least as originatingin the Third World. The Palestiniansmake up about twentypercent of the population while the Sephardim,the majorityof whom come, within very recent memory,from countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran and India, countries generallyregarded as forming part of the Third World, constituteanother fifty percent of the population, thus giving us a total of about seventypercent of the population as Third World or Third World-derived(and almost ninetypercent if one includes the West Bank and Gaza.) European hegemonyin Israel, in thissense, is the productof a distinct numerical minority,a minorityin whose interest it is to downplay Israel's "Easterness"as well as its "Third Worldness." Within Israel, European Jewsconstitute a First-Worldelite dominatingnot only the Palestinians but also the Oriental Jews. The Sephardim,as a Jewish Third World people, forma semi-colonizednation-within-a-nation. My analysis here is indebted to anti-colonialistdiscourse generally (Frantz Fanon, Aime Cesaire) and specificallyto Edward Said's indispensable contributionto that discourse, his genealogical critique of Orientalismas the discursiveformation by which European culturewas able to manage-and even produce-the Orient duringthe post-Enlightenmentperiod.1 The Orientalistattitude posits the Orient as a constellation of traits, assigning generalized values to real or imaginary differences,largely to the advantage of the West and the disadvantageof the East, so as to justifythe former'sprivileges and aggressions.Orientalism tends to maintain what Said calls a "flexiblepositional superiority,"which puts the Westernerin a whole series of possible relationswith the Oriental,but without the Westernerever losing the relativeupper hand. My essay concerns,then, the process by which one pole of the East/Westdichotomy is produced and reproduced as rational, developed, superior and human, and the other as aberrant,underdeveloped and inferior,but in thiscase as it affectsOriental Jews. This content downloaded from 141.213.236.110 on Sun, 2 Jun 2013 12:04:41 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Zionismfrom the Perspective ofits Jewish Victims 3 The ZionistMaster Narrative The view of the Sephardim as oppressed Third-Worldpeople goes directly against the grain of the dominant discourse within Israel and disseminatedby the Western media outside of Israel. According to that discourse, European Zionism "saved" Sephardi Jews fromthe harsh rule of theirArab "captors." It took them out of "primitiveconditions" of povertyand superstitionand ushered them gentlyinto a modern Westernsociety characterizedby tolerance,democ- racy, and "humane values," values with which they were but vaguely and erraticallyfamiliar due to the "levantineenvironments" from which they came. Within Israel, of course, theyhave sufferedfrom the problem of "the gap," not simplythat between theirstandard of livingand that of European Jews,but also from the problem of their "incomplete integration"into Israeli liberalismand prosperity,handicapped as they have been by theirOriental, illiterate,despotic, sexistand generallypre-modern formation in theirlands of origin,as well as by theirpropensity for generatinglarge families.Fortunately, however, the political establishment,the welfareinstitutions and the educational systemhave done all in theirpower to "reduce this gap" by initiatingthe OrientalJews into the ways of a civilized, modern society. Fortunatelyas well, inter-marriageis proceeding apace and the Sephardimhave won new appreciationfor their "traditional cultural values," for their folkloricmusic, their rich cuisine and warm hospitality.A serious problem persists,however. Due to theirinadequate education and "lack of experiencewith democracy,"the Jewsof Asia and Africatend to be extremely conservative,even reactionary,and religiouslyfanatic, in contrastto the liberal, secular, and educated European Jews. Anti-Socialist,they form the base of support for the right-wingparties. Given their"cruel experiencein Arab lands," furthermore,they tend to be "Arab-haters,"and in this sense theyhave been an "obstacle to peace," preventingthe effortsof the "Peace Camp" to make a "reasonable settlement"with the Arabs. I will speak in a momentof the fundamentalfalsity of this discourse,but I would like firstto speak of its wide dissemination,for this discourse is shared by rightand "left,"and it has its earlyand late versionsas well as its religiousand secular variants. An ideology which blames the Sephardim (and their Third World countriesof origin) has been elaborated by the Israeli elite, expressedby politicians,social scientists,educators, writers, and the mass-media.This ideol- ogy orchestratesan interlockingseries of prejudicialdiscourses possessing clear colonialistovertones. It is not surprising,in this context,to findthe Sephardim compared, by the elite, to other "lower" colonized peoples. Reporting on the Sephardim in a 1949 article, during the mass-immigrationfrom Arab and Moslem countries,thejournalist Arye Gelblum wrote: This content
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Harem Fantasies and Music Videos: Contemporary Orientalist Representation
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2007 Harem Fantasies and Music Videos: Contemporary Orientalist Representation Maya Ayana Johnson College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons, and the Music Commons Recommended Citation Johnson, Maya Ayana, "Harem Fantasies and Music Videos: Contemporary Orientalist Representation" (2007). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539626527. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-nf9f-6h02 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Harem Fantasies and Music Videos: Contemporary Orientalist Representation Maya Ayana Johnson Richmond, Virginia Master of Arts, Georgetown University, 2004 Bachelor of Arts, George Mason University, 2002 A Thesis presented to the Graduate Faculty of the College of William and Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts American Studies Program The College of William and Mary August 2007 APPROVAL PAGE This Thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Maya Ayana Johnson Approved by the Committee, February 2007 y - W ^ ' _■■■■■■ Committee Chair Associate ssor/Grey Gundaker, American Studies William and Mary Associate Professor/Arthur Krrtght, American Studies Cpllege of William and Mary Associate Professor K im b erly Phillips, American Studies College of William and Mary ABSTRACT In recent years, a number of young female pop singers have incorporated into their music video performances dance, costuming, and musical motifs that suggest references to dance, costume, and musical forms from the Orient.
    [Show full text]
  • Trading with the Far East, How to Sell in the Orient
    TRADING with NATIONAL BAN K. U-B -A TRADE MAP OF AS I A AND THE EAST INDIES Copyright 1919 by. Irving National Bank East from no Greenwich. VvV * TRADING WITH THE FAR EAST ' "... TRADING WITH THE FAR EAST ; HOW TO SELL IN THE ORIENT : POLICIES : METHODS ADVERTISING : CREDITS : FINANCING DOCUMENTS : DELIVERIES SECOND EDITION REVISED AND ENLARGED Is II 2 3 IRVING NATIONAL BANK WOOLWORTH BUILDING NEW YORK COPYRIGHT 1919, I92O IRVING NATIONAL BANK NEW YORK. INTRODUCTORY WORD THE FIRST edition of "Trading with the Far East" appeared a little more than a year ago, the United WHENStates had reached a critical in its stage history. The war had wrought great changes in our life. From a nation that had prided itself upon its independence, and, in a sense, even upon its isolation, we had emerged from the conflict bound by new ties of great economic and commercial importance. We had become world merchants. As our commerce had ex- panded, our perspective had broadened. Commercial relations had been established with markets which formerly were closed to us. American ships were familiar sights in ports where the Stars and Stripes had not been seen in half a century. The pendulum of American trade had swung to a high point. Would some supporting force, some expression of national resourcefulness, energy, enterprise, keep it there? Or, with the return of Europe to something resembling normal activity, would we fall back to our pre-war contentment in our economic self-sufficiency? In part, this question has been answered. Peace has been attained. Most of the nations have made at least a beginning in O *-3 rehabilitation.
    [Show full text]
  • Reimagining US Strategy in the Middle East
    REIMAGININGR I A I I G U.S.S STRATEGYT A E Y IIN THET E MMIDDLED L EEASTS Sustainable Partnerships, Strategic Investments Dalia Dassa Kaye, Linda Robinson, Jeffrey Martini, Nathan Vest, Ashley L. Rhoades C O R P O R A T I O N For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RRA958-1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-1-9774-0662-0 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. 2021 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Cover composite design: Jessica Arana Image: wael alreweie / Getty Images Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute www.rand.org Preface U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual, 2008
    U.S. Government Printing Offi ce Style Manual An official guide to the form and style of Federal Government printing 2008 PPreliminary-CD.inddreliminary-CD.indd i 33/4/09/4/09 110:18:040:18:04 AAMM Production and Distribution Notes Th is publication was typeset electronically using Helvetica and Minion Pro typefaces. It was printed using vegetable oil-based ink on recycled paper containing 30% post consumer waste. Th e GPO Style Manual will be distributed to libraries in the Federal Depository Library Program. To fi nd a depository library near you, please go to the Federal depository library directory at http://catalog.gpo.gov/fdlpdir/public.jsp. Th e electronic text of this publication is available for public use free of charge at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/index.html. Use of ISBN Prefi x Th is is the offi cial U.S. Government edition of this publication and is herein identifi ed to certify its authenticity. ISBN 978–0–16–081813–4 is for U.S. Government Printing Offi ce offi cial editions only. Th e Superintendent of Documents of the U.S. Government Printing Offi ce requests that any re- printed edition be labeled clearly as a copy of the authentic work, and that a new ISBN be assigned. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; DC area (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402-0001 ISBN 978-0-16-081813-4 (CD) II PPreliminary-CD.inddreliminary-CD.indd iiii 33/4/09/4/09 110:18:050:18:05 AAMM THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE STYLE MANUAL IS PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION AND AUTHORITY OF THE PUBLIC PRINTER OF THE UNITED STATES Robert C.
    [Show full text]
  • Said-Introduction and Chapter 1 of Orientalism
    ORIENTALISM Edward W. Said Routledge & Kegan Paul London and Henley 1 First published in 1978 by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. 39 Store Street, London WCIE 7DD, and Broadway House, Newton Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG9 1EN Reprinted and first published as a paperback in 1980 Set in Times Roman and printed in Great Britain by Redwood Burn Limited Trowbridge & Esher © Edward W. Said 1978 No Part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except for the quotation of brief passage in criticism. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Said, Edward W. Orientalism, 1. East – Study and teaching I. Title 950’.07 DS32.8 78-40534 ISBN 0 7100 0040 5 ISBN 0 7100 0555 5 Pbk 2 Grateful acknowledgements is made to the following for permission to reprint previously published material: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.: Excerpts from Subject of the Day: Being a Selection of Speeches and Writings by George Nathaniel Curzon. George Allen & Unwin Ltd.: Excerpts from Revolution in the Middle East and Other Case Studies, proceedings of a seminar, edited by P. J. Vatikiotis. American Jewish Committee: Excerpts from “The Return of Islam” by Bernard Lewis, in Commentary, vol. 61, no. 1 (January 1976).Reprinted from Commentary by permission.Copyright © 1976 by the American Jewish Committee. Basic Books, Inc.: Excerpts from “Renan’s Philological Laboratory” by Edward W. Said, in Art, Politics, and Will: Essarys in Honor of Lionel Trilling, edited by Quentin Anderson et al. Copyright © 1977 by Basic Books, Inc. The Bodley Head and McIntosh & Otis, Inc.: Excerpts from Flaubert in Egypt, translated and edited by Franscis Steegmuller.Reprinted by permission of Francis Steegmuller and The Bodley Head.
    [Show full text]
  • CORE UA 537 Spring 2014 CULTURES and CONTEXTS
    CORE UA 537 Spring 2014 CULTURES AND CONTEXTS: MODERN ISRAEL Prof. David Engel This course will explore the cultural values and expressions through which residents of the modern State of Israel, established in 1948, have tried to come to grips with the manifold challenges their country has faced since its inception. The term “culture” in the course is taken to designate the set of ideas, practices, and objects through which human beings adapt to their physical and social environment. The founders of the State of Israel envisioned that the country would initiate extensive changes in the way its citizens interacted with their environment: they anticipated major modifications in their economic and political behavior, their family life, their attitudes toward their bodies, their relations with their neighbors, their religious outlook, and their view of their place in the world. They expected further that these changes would find concrete expression in literature, art, music, architecture, and intellectual life, all of which would promote their vision of how the State's population should behave. However, for all that they looked forward to cultural change, Israel's founders did not imagine that the environment to which the new culture was supposed to help Israel's citizens adapt would itself change profoundly. In the sixty-five years of its existence Israel has had to confront many challenges, brought about, among other things, by rapid mass immigration, periodic wars, shifting geopolitical alignments, transformation of the global economy, and sweeping technological innovations. The course will analyze these farreaching changes in the context in which the new Israeli culture has functioned and investigate how that culture has responded to them.
    [Show full text]
  • Box Folder 70 5 Miscellaneous. 1969-1990
    MS-763: Rabbi Herbert A. Friedman Collection, 1930-2004. Series I: Wexner Heritage Foundation, 1947-2004. Subseries 2: Writings and Addresses, 1947-2003. Box Folder 70 5 Miscellaneous. 1969-1990. For more information on this collection, please see the finding aid on the American Jewish Archives website. 3101 Clifton Ave, Cincinnati, Ohio 45220 513.487.3000 AmericanJewishArchives.org Jury 11tn. 1~tSJ RABBI HERBE RT A. FRl EDt1AN PROPOSAL TO ESTA RL ISh ON THE CAMPUS OF TEL AVIV UNIV ERSITY AN INTERHATIONAL YOUNG LEADERSHIP HOUSE (a la International House adjacent to Columbia University) l. CONCEPT In the post-philanthropic period, 35 years after statehood, in thinking of what the relationship of concerned Diaspora Jews must be to Israel, one of the clear factors is the necessity of learning the history, geography and sociol­ ogy of Israel in depth by living there for extended periods of time, and by learn­ ing the Hebrew language, so that a genuine approach between Israeli and Diaspora Jew becomes possible instead of a superficial structured stylized dance between ''sabra" and "visiting miss ion member." This was the essence of my talk at the 20th Anniversary banquet of the Y.L. Cabinet in Washington on May 21, 1983. If the above is true for Jews in general, how much more so is it relevant, nay crucial , for the trained, elite, leadership man -and-woman power represented by the phrase "Young Leadership Cabinet graduate. " That latter person is the finest human leader-type produced by the American Jewish community . By any definition, inc1uding all such criteria as ideological commitment, financial generosity, sense of responsibility and power of persuasion , the Young Leadership graduate, man or woman, is the epitome of what can be achieved through years of training, confer­ ences , missions overseas, visits to other co1T1T1unities, reading,exposure to the influence of top Israeli and American government officials.
    [Show full text]
  • “A Person Cannot Walk Away from Jerusalem Unchanged….”
    “A person cannot walk away from Jerusalem unchanged….” 2000 years ago there was a Jewish Kingdom whose capital Destroyed and .ירושלים ,was Jerusalem, Yerushalayim desecrated for centuries, the Jewish People were finally reunited with the holiest of cities central to our faith, our history and our identity. Join us as we celebrate our origin, our return and our connection to Zion, the City of Gold! Yom Yerushalayim: The Reunification of A People And A Past By Elana Yael Heideman There has been a continuous Jewish presence in Jerusalem, and our connection to and passion for the city has been preserved as a memory by Jewish people around the world. Though the modern state of Israel was born in 1948, for years Jews were cut off from the Old City of Jerusalem and the Kotel, the Western Wall - the heart of the Jewish people, the axis of our collective national and historical identity, the center of our faith, and the focus of the history of the Jewish people for generations. Throughout Israel and around the world, on the 28th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, we celebrate being reunited with the city of Zion, Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, our only Jerusalem. History shows that it was the Jews who have made Jerusalem important to the world. In 1004 BCE, King David established Jerusalem as the capital of the Kingdom of Israel (2 Samuel 5:6). Following the first exile, he proclaimed: "If I forget you Jerusalem, let my right hand lose its strength. Let my tongue cling to my palate if I fail to recall you, if I fail to elevate Jerusalem above my highest joy." Three times a day, or even just twice a year, for thousands of years, Jews turn their faces towards Jerusalem and the Temple Mount and pray for a return to Jerusalem and to Tzion.
    [Show full text]
  • Lazarus, Syrkin, Reznikoff, and Roth
    Diaspora and Zionism in Jewish American Literature Brandeis Series in American Jewish History,Culture, and Life Jonathan D. Sarna, Editor Sylvia Barack Fishman, Associate Editor Leon A. Jick, The Americanization of the Synagogue, – Sylvia Barack Fishman, editor, Follow My Footprints: Changing Images of Women in American Jewish Fiction Gerald Tulchinsky, Taking Root: The Origins of the Canadian Jewish Community Shalom Goldman, editor, Hebrew and the Bible in America: The First Two Centuries Marshall Sklare, Observing America’s Jews Reena Sigman Friedman, These Are Our Children: Jewish Orphanages in the United States, – Alan Silverstein, Alternatives to Assimilation: The Response of Reform Judaism to American Culture, – Jack Wertheimer, editor, The American Synagogue: A Sanctuary Transformed Sylvia Barack Fishman, A Breath of Life: Feminism in the American Jewish Community Diane Matza, editor, Sephardic-American Voices: Two Hundred Years of a Literary Legacy Joyce Antler, editor, Talking Back: Images of Jewish Women in American Popular Culture Jack Wertheimer, A People Divided: Judaism in Contemporary America Beth S. Wenger and Jeffrey Shandler, editors, Encounters with the “Holy Land”: Place, Past and Future in American Jewish Culture David Kaufman, Shul with a Pool: The “Synagogue-Center” in American Jewish History Roberta Rosenberg Farber and Chaim I. Waxman,editors, Jews in America: A Contemporary Reader Murray Friedman and Albert D. Chernin, editors, A Second Exodus: The American Movement to Free Soviet Jews Stephen J. Whitfield, In Search of American Jewish Culture Naomi W.Cohen, Jacob H. Schiff: A Study in American Jewish Leadership Barbara Kessel, Suddenly Jewish: Jews Raised as Gentiles Jonathan N. Barron and Eric Murphy Selinger, editors, Jewish American Poetry: Poems, Commentary, and Reflections Steven T.Rosenthal, Irreconcilable Differences: The Waning of the American Jewish Love Affair with Israel Pamela S.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Israel Studies, 8:1, Spring 2003 INTERVIEW with ABBA EBAN, 11
    1 Israel Studies, 8:1, Spring 2003 INTERVIEW WITH ABBA EBAN, 11 MARCH 1976 Avi Shlaim INTRODUCTION Abba Eban was often referred to as the voice of Israel. He was one of Israel’s most brilliant, eloquent, and skillful representatives abroad in the struggle for independence and in the first 25 years of statehood. He was less effective in the rough and tumble of Israeli domestic politics because he lacked the common touch and, more importantly, because he lacked a power base of his own. Nevertheless, he played a major role in the formulation and conduct of Israel’s foreign policy during a crucial period in the country’s history. Born in South Africa, on 2 February 1915, Eban grew up in London and gained a degree in Oriental languages from Cambridge University. During the Second World War he served with British military intelligence in Cairo and Jerusalem and reached the rank of major. After the war he joined the political department of the Jewish Agency. In 1949 he became head of the Israeli delegation to the United Nations. The following year he was appointed ambassador to the United States and he continued to serve in both posts until 1959. On his return to Israel, Eban was elected to the Knesset on the Mapai list and kept his seat until 1988. He joined the government in 1960 as minister without portfolio and later became minister of education and culture. Three years later he was promoted to the post of deputy by Prime Minister Levi Eshkol. In 1966 Eban became foreign minister and he retained this post after Golda Meir succeeded Levi Eshkol in 1969.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel: Background and Relations with the United States
    Israel: Background and Relations with the United States Carol Migdalovitz Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs January 7, 2010 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL33476 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Israel: Background and Relations with the United States Summary On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel declared its independence and was immediately engaged in a war with all of its neighbors. Armed conflict has marked every decade of Israel’s existence. Despite its unstable regional environment, Israel has developed a vibrant parliamentary democracy, albeit with relatively fragile governments. Early national elections were held on February 10, 2009. Although the Kadima Party placed first, parties holding 65 seats in the 120- seat Knesset supported opposition Likud party leader Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, who was designated to form a government. Netanyahu put together a coalition comprising his own Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home), Shas, Labor, Habayet Hayehudi (Jewish Home), and the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) parties which controls 74 Knesset seats. Israel has an advanced industrial, market economy with a large government role. Israel’s foreign policy is focused largely on its region, Europe, and the United States. Israel’s foreign policy agenda begins with Iran, which it views as an existential threat due to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and support for anti-Israel terrorists. Achieving peace with its neighbors is next. Israel concluded peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, but not with Syria and Lebanon. Israel unilaterally withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Hezbollah, which then took over the south, sparked a 34-day war when it kidnapped two Israeli soldiers on July 12, 2006.
    [Show full text]
  • The Occupation and the Employment of the Israel Defense Forces
    Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive DSpace Repository Theses and Dissertations 1. Thesis and Dissertation Collection, all items 2002-12 Breaking consensus : the occupation and the employment of the Israel Defense Forces Scoratow, Leon B. Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/3316 Downloaded from NPS Archive: Calhoun NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California THESIS BREAKING CONSENSUS: THE OCCUPATION AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES by Leon B Scoratow December 2002 Thesis Advisor: Glenn E Robinson Second Reader: Jeffrey Knopf Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED December 2002 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: Breaking Consensus: The Occupation and the 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Employment of the Israel Defense Forces 6. AUTHOR Leon B Scoratow, LT, USN 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING Naval Postgraduate School ORGANIZATION REPORT Monterey, CA 93943-5000 NUMBER 9.
    [Show full text]