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Israeli Perceptions of the Peace Process
| Article
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19925 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
4 / 1992 |
5,828 Words |
| Author
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Bernard Reich
Bernard Reich is professor of political science and
international affairs at George Washington University,
Washington, D.C. He is the author of Israel: Land of Tradition
and Conflict (1985), as well as numerous other articles and
books on the politics and foreign policty of Israel and the
Middle East. |
Israel has long recognized that peace and cooperation with its neighboring Arab states is vital for the long-term survival and development of the Jewish State. Beginning with its Declaration of Independence, Israel has consistently reiterated this desire, but for four decades the Arabs refused to deal directly, openly and formally with the Jewish state to achieve peace. The presence of Israel's Arab neighbors at the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference and the subsequent Washington talks have raised expectations, but there remains skepticism that there has been a real change in Arab views and policies beyond symbolic meetings. Converting the need for an Arab-Israeli peace into reality and taking advantage of the changed international and regional environments and of the breakthrough(s) symbolized by the Madrid conference are the major tasks. For Israel, the central questions remain: Has the Arab world altered its position, and is it ready for serious, face-to-face negotiations to achieve a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and to accept Israel's position as a Jewish state in the Middle East?
The Historical Background
Israel's perspective of its position and of the peace process derives from historical factors and current circumstances. The modern state of Israel is a product of centuries of Jewish heritage that affect all aspects of its national life. At the same time, its existence derives from an unparalleled convergence of forces and events in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As the world's only Jewish state, Israel approaches all issues from a unique perspective born of tradition imbued with history. It sees itself as a spiritual center for world Jewry, with links to all Jewish communities, and as a haven for its persecuted numbers. There is a national obligation to absorb new immigrants, whether they are from Ethiopia, the Soviet Union, or elsewhere.
Israel reads a Jewish history replete with episodes of persecution and clashes with outside forces seeking to overrun its homeland and to defeat and enslave its people. It records the exile of the Jews and the creation of the Diaspora. European anti-Semitism led, in the nineteenth century, to the founding of modern political Zionism, the Jewish national movement, and of the World Zionist Organization, whose goal was to establish a Jewish state in Palestine. The Holocaust served as a reminder that the some seek the destruction of the Jewish people and that there can be no reliance on external guarantees or on the efforts of others to ensure Jewish survival. It lent urgency to the need for a Jewish
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