A carrot and stick approach towards Israel

While the world is busy watching the fight against Daesh (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) in Iraq and Syria, the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demolishing quietly the homes of its Bedouin citizens in Naqb. The Prawer-Begin plan to demolish the villages of Israeli Bedouins had been shelved last year amid international condemnation. The interesting part in this tragedy is that there is a cry from the Israeli left. An organisation called Rabbis for Justice has been calling activists to join them to oppose the illegal demolitions.

This fact makes me pose the following question: Should we categorically reject all Israelis as imposed by the Arab League’s official boycott? Should people belonging to Rabbis for Justice or Breaking the Silence, whose members have defected from the army and have spoken against the abuses by Israeli army in Palestine, be included in this boycott? Should we alienate those people or should we encourage them in their struggle against the injustice inflicted on the Palestinians?

Of course the boycott imposed by the Arab League towards the government of Israel until it gives the Palestinians their rightful state is a must. Of course, the Boycotts Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement is an excellent tool to pressure Israel into recognising a Palestinian state and stopping the illegal colonisation of the West Bank. The boycott, as stated in the Arab League chart, is categorical and includes the Israeli government as well all its citizens — even the Arabs ones. However, the question that I am posing is that if we apply the boycott blindly to include peace activists such as Breaking the Silence, Rabbis for peace, Association for Civil Rights in Israel and others then are we not shooting ourselves in the foot by alienating those very people who want to help us? Those people can be our ally and they can create a foundation on which to build peace with the Jewish state. Those people are the ones who can educate their kinsmen and change public opinion in Israel. They can fight racism, discrimination and apartheid inside Israel.

Zionism is a dying ideology, the upcoming generation does not care about archaic Biblical concepts as much as about standards of living. The new generation is different from the early generation that was born out of the holocaust and that grew up with indoctrination and hate. The young people are pragmatic, they want to build start-ups, do business in new markets and in neighbouring countries. Of course, there are ideologues and hateful people, but more and more people in Israel are interested in civil rights and living conditions than they are about Judea and Samaria and this shows a shift in the Israeli psyche.

However, if this is the case, then why does someone like Netanyahu get elected? The answer is simple: The right wing in Israel is playing its last card: Fear. Extremists like Netanyahu thrive on fear and this is embodied in his famous line stating that if Arabs lay down their weapons there will be no war, but if Israel lays down its weapons there will be no Israel. Fear transcends ideologies and directly hits the human instinct of survival. Hence fear is the best tool to mobilise the crowds.

Reaching out to peace-loving people, while strengthening the grip of the boycott on the Israeli government and working hard to promote the BDS, will ultimately help peace. Reaching out to those people will serve two purposes. First, it will break the fear barrier that the average Israeli has from the word “Arab”. If this fear disappears, the loathsome narrative of the Israeli right will have no echo among a significant part of its existing audience. The second purpose is to make these peace activists feel that their efforts are being appreciated and this will encourage them to take their endeavour one step further.

Maybe, the Arab League and Arab countries should think of a new strategy for their boycott policy — a carrot and stick strategy: Being tenacious with the Israeli government and standing united against its unjust policies, while lending a hand to those who want peace.

Dania Khatib is a communication specialist. She was recently awarded a PhD in politics from Exeter University, UK.