The following paradox never ceases to amaze me:

Why do mainstream Israelis collaborate with the Occupation? Most of them are unenthusiastic about the settlement enterprise. You may often hear from them “I do not support the settlers”… “I would gladly give up the Territories for peace”. And while nationalist hype exists in Israel, it is limited. During the first two years of this Intifada I accompanied Palestinians in need of treatment to Israeli hospitals. Once they managed to get there, a considerable number of Israelis tried hard to help them. In everyday situation you can find much decency, generosity, tolerance and human warmth in Israel.

And yet the sons of these same people serve in the army, endanger their lives in the Occupied Territories, and shoot at Palestinians when ordered to.

For example: since the beginning of the Intifada, the Israeli army was involved in systematic devastation of the Gaza Strip. Not only in response to recent attacks on Sderot - the Qassams are a relatively new phenomenon. For a couple of years before the Qassams, the army activity in the Strip could only be described as offensive. Military incursion occurred every few weeks - a string of attacks on densely populated Palestinian neighborhoods, in which the inhabitants have nowhere to hide and nowhere to escape. Destruction of fields was carried out – more than half of the arable land in the Gaza Strip was bulldozed. And massive home-demolitions took place – tens of thousands of people became homeless. All that for the obvious purpose of maintaining several thousand settlers on the choice Gazan real estate. (Those Gaza settlers who will supposedly be evacuated in July. But as yet none has been allowed to leave even if willing) Why are Israeli soldiers willing to participate in this villainy?

Similar questions can be raised in connection with recent economic hardships, which affect most of the Israeli public. Why is there no significant oposition to the economic policies? Israel is broke, the state funds are subverted to the occupation enforcement, and to grandiose construction projects settlement expansion, the Fence, a lunatic system of roads and tunnels to make settler life comfortable, and Palestinian life impossible. For all other public sectors – health and social services, education - severe budget cuts are enforced. Recently, vast cuts were announced in the university budgets. The response of my colleagues was meek – and in the past these same colleagues used to organize strikes upon minor infringements on their salary rights. There is no serious opposition to the government anywhere. Sharon is generally perceived as an opponent of settlers and a peacemaker, rather than as the chief settler. At a Women-in-Black (!) demonstration I heard some highly educated ladies wondering “Would you believe that Sharon would change so much?” Why, for God’s sake, are intelligent people willing to believe – again – in the good intentions of an old man with a life-long record of racism, brutality, brazen lies, and blatant disregard for human life?

Of course, there is nothing unusual about ordinary people electing vicious leaders and executing their designs – in the 21st century as well as any other time in history, here and elsewhere. Why did US citizens reelect President Bush? Why did Italians choose for their leader an obvious crook? Why are the Americans and the Brits willing to kill and die in Iraq, and the Russians – in Chechnya? Don’t they see that this is the way to promote terror, not to fight it, and that they themselves carry out terror acts in the process?

But the question “why” is still of interest, and I shall try to address it for the case of my country, since this is the one I know and care about most.

Early socialist Zionists had an upbeat slogan: “A nation without a land to a land without a nation!” The uncomfortable fact that Arabs already inhabited this land, and that we have to learn to share this land with them was not generally assimilated. The average Israeli citizen is encouraged to “imagine the Arabs out”, and he/she generally succeeds at it. Mainstream Israelis do not argue with people like us, who may use the rude word “occupation” in a polite conversation. We are not “in”, we are “people of bad taste”, we do not have “balanced opinions”, and therefore we should be ignored. Descriptions of ugly occupation facts are conceived by them as highly unpleasant opinions, or exaggerations - “Our nice Jewish boys do not do that kind of thing.” Now some soldiers are trying to break this barrier of denial by reporting on what they were actually ordered to do (via Breaking the Silence). The message does not register. A recent newspaper poll showed that a vast majority of Israeli Jews have confidence in their army.

The Israeli leaders have been doing more than just imagining out – they implemented policies of confiscation of Arab land, oppression, and expulsions – the obvious end-objective being to get rid of as many Arabs as possible. But our leaders have a deep understanding of the need of the Israeli bourgeois to feel good about themselves. So a mental “Separation Fence” of axioms and slogans was built around the Israeli collective psyche. The fence is so tall, that most people are unable to see outside. The fence is composed of several tiers of propaganda dogmas (which are taken for granted, no matter how preposterous) – so if a citizen manages to cross the first tier, there are several to go. The fence keeps them cozy inside, and protects them from unpleasant thoughts, but the price is serving the settlers and the occupation. For years, the religious-national parties insisted upon running the ministry of education in all governments in which they participated, and for a good reason.

A major aspect of Israeli (or any other) propaganda system is renaming.
Give an ugly thing – in this case a dirty colonial war – a pleasant-sounding name such as “fight against terror” or “fight for existence”, and you shall be obeyed. Four past heads of the Shabak (Israeli General Security Service) stated in a widely publicized article that the present policy of settlement expansion cum closure-of-Arabs endangers the very existence of the state of Israel. These statements did not register in the heads of Israeli soldiers – or their parents – most of whom still believe devoutly in their Fight against Terror. Their need to imagine themselves the good guys of the storybook is overwhelming.

In the minds of most Jewish-Israeli citizens, their army is unassailable. For years, kids have been taught that being an “idealist” is synonymous witha “soldier in an elite combat unit”. Recently, I spoke to a highly educated gentleman who for years did his reservist service in Lebanon. His son serves now in the Gaza Strip. The man is proud of his military past and of his son’s military present. I did not even try to challenge his pride, just to explain the ugly realities of the Occupied Territories. His face went blank, as if he suddenly heard Chinese. He did not become unfriendly, just switched the subject. On the personal level, this man is respectable, conscientious, and decent. It was as if I were trying to explain a very literal Christian that one cannot have babies without sex - the virginity of the state of Israel is unassailable. The words “Security of State” put most Israelis into a mental equivalent of stand-at-attention. After that a man’s mind goes blank, and you can order him to do anything, including activities highly detrimental to the Security of that same State.

Occasionally one encounters some distinctly left-wing people whose sons serve in the Territories; these parents not only worry about their sons’ safety, but also suffer morally, albeit quietly. An overriding consideration seems to be that the parents want their kids to be “in”. And in this country, the traditional way to be “in” is the army service. People want to be able to say proudly “My boy serves in a paratroopers unit”. And they are unable to confront their young man, proudly wearing his new uniform: “Son, you are participating in a dirty colonial war, which also endangers the State of Israel - get out of the army”.

Moreover, most Israelis console themselves with a belief that it is all temporary. “The Fence can be removed if Palestinians behave. The settlements can be removed but are a valuable chip in future negotiations for a permanent peace settlement. Meanwhile we have to protect the settlers, since they are Israeli citizens. But one may hope for the best. There are positive developments towards peace, promoted by our statesman-like de Gaulle-like Ariel Sharon.” It is hard to believe that people would believe that crap, but they do. This is what they get from the government-sponsored media.

The text tier of the mental “separation fence” is composed of the paranoia-cum-victim-complex, which is diligently cultivated by our government. For example Israelis are told that Europe is anti-Semitic and there are many people there who want to destroy us. Certainly, one can find Jew-haters in Europe. But the European racism is directed much more against Muslims and Africans than against Jews, and in any case the level of racism is nothing compared to that practiced by Israel towards Palestinians. But the government propaganda sinks into Israeli minds - you can hear liberal, apparently reasonable people repeating it. The propaganda has several uses. Most people do not even try to read European media critical of Israel. Every critical article is equated to
“anti-Semitic”. And most people think they have to support the government,
“because the world out there is against us all and we have to stick
together since this is the only country we have”. The thought that we should oppose this government which is destroying the one-and-only country crosses the minds of amazingly few Israelis. It is much more emotionally gratifying to feel sorry for oneself.

Even more, the paranoia-cum-victim-complex is cultivated towards Palestinians. Soldiers are taught that “Every Palestinian is a Potential Terrorist, from whom Tel Aviv children must be saved”. The Sharon tricks are simple – make the life of Palestinians as desperate and as hopeless as possible, and you get a steady flow of terror. Tell the Israeli soldiers that every Palestinian is a terror suspect – and you get dehumanization. Station soldiers in or near the settlements – and you get solidarity (“I met such nice people in the settlements”). And after the army discharge – a young man can get a cheap family home – in a settlement only. It is not surprising that a soldier feels a duty to protect a settler, no matter how violent, and to harass a Palestinian, no matter how peaceful.

Did you see Tom Stoppard’s play “Rosenkrantz and Gilderstern are Dead”? In the play, two ordinary guys (adopted from Hamlet) stumble into a fabulous show with kings, queens and princes, and cannot bring themselves to escape, although the bad end is visibly nearing. Getting out of the play and non-belonging is worse than dying. The same seems to go for my Israeli compatriots. In their collective mind, they live in a nice democratic Jewish state, struggling for its existence. They do not know any other script.

And perhaps it is even simpler. Most Israelis are engrossed in their daily lives, do not personally know any Arabs, and encounter occupation only via the “laundered” Israeli news. Most Israelis understand nothing of what has become of their country. Many are nice gentle people. That’s democracy for you...