HST 372: Lecture 21                                                              R. Adelson

Israel and the Intifada before and after the Gulf War

(supplements Cleveland, chapter 23, as well as chapters 13, 17, and 22)

Recall the colonial watersheds in the Palestine mandate to 1948

            Balfour Declaration called for “a ‘national home’ for the Jews”

            The British White Paper of 1922 limited Zionists to “economic absorptive capacity”

            Zionist collaborators with the British vs. Palestinian rejectionists

            20,000 British troops crushed the Palestine Revolt, 1936-39

            The British White Paper of 1939 limited Zionists to 15,000 per year for next 5 years

            Ben Gurion’s fighting the war as if no White Paper, and White Paper as if no war

            Palestine ethnic distribution, 1931-1946 (Cleveland, p. 249)

            Zionist terrorism: Jabotinsky’s revisionists, Biltmore Program, Irgun, and Stern

            Assassination of Lord Moyne, 1944; blowing up King David Hotel, 1946

            British dump the mandate into the lap of the United Nations

            UN Partition scheme accepted by Zionists, rejected by Arabs

            British announce in 1947 their departure in 1948.

Recall the wars Israel waged against Palestinians and Arab to 1967:

            Military victory in 1948, with diplomatic recognition from U.S.A. and U.S.S.R.,

            increases territory beyond UN Partition scheme

            Military victory in 1956, with Britain and France against Nasser, but diplomatic

            defeat owing to U.S. pressure

            Military victory in 1967, essentially an Israeli effort, the occupation of Sinai,

            Gaza, West Bank, and Golan Heights, but growth in aid and support from U.S. govt.

            Military victory in 1973, defending gains of 1967 against Egypt’s “crossing” of Canal,

            Increased U.S. government association with Israel: the pro-Israel lobbyist and the

Legislative Branch; Executive Branch ties to Israel in the U.S. defense and intelligence;

            and pro-Israel, anti-Arab U.S. media.

On Israeli politics

            The unwritten constitution; the Knesset; proportional representation and many parties

            Ashkenazi Jews dominate; the Labor party rules to 1977

            Sephardic Jews revolt; the Likud part dominates from 1977

On Palestinian politics

            Secularists:

            Al-Fatah (founded in 1950s) secular guerilla organization led by Yasir Arafat after 1967

PLO--Palestine Liberation Organization (government-like) backed by Palestinian moderates recognized by the Arab League in 1964, taken over by Arafat in 1967

Arafat pushed out of Jordan to Lebanon in 1970s, and pushed out of Lebanon to Tunisia (Under the protection of the French and U.S.)

            Islamists:

            Amal & Hizballah founded in Lebanon in late 1980s

            Hamas founded in Gaza in early 1980s

The Intifada from 1987 to 1991

            Shamir’s Likud-dominated government and the occupied territories

            Spontaneous uprising in Gaza late in 1987

            The PLO’s UNL, United National Leadership, vs. Hamas

            Cleveland’s figures: over 1,000 Palestininans killed; 35,000 wounded; 35,000 arrested

            Arafat associates PLO with Saddam Husayn before the Gulf War

            In the Gulf War, President Bush I puts the squeeze on the Israelis

            After the Gulf War, Arafat more dependent upon U.S. aid

The fragile rise and sudden collapse of the Peace Process in the 1990s

            The Madrid Conference of 1991

            The election of Yitzak Rabin as Labor Prime Minister in 1992

            Israelis and Palestinian representatives met secretly at Oslo, Norway in 1993

            Arafat’s PLO recognizes Israel

            Rabin and Arafat shake hands at White House, 1993

            Israeli and Palestinian rejectionists sabotage the peace process

            Rabin assassinated by an Israeli religious zealot in 1995

            Right-wing Netanyahu’s policies on security and settlements (see Cleveland, p. 490)

            Left-wing Barak’s victory in 1999 and President Clinton’s efforts

            Sharon’s presence at Harum al Sharif precipitates another Intifida

            Sharon back in power pledging Israeli security and more settlements

            The suicide bombings in Israel, the retaliations against the West Bank and Gaza continues

In colonial conflicts, where different peoples are fighting over the same land, compromise is rare.

For Israel and the Palestinians, the prospects for peace are dim because powerful people in both camps, inside and outside Israel and the occupied territories, have a vested interest in the conflict continuing, including Sharon and Araft.

Only if the costs become too great for the leaders will they move from undeclared war to peace.

The U.S. government is the only power that can the make Israeli and Palestinian leaders reach agreements, but this is very hard to achieve and risky American politics. There’s a role to be played by Europe, United Nations, and Arab League, but towards all three the Israelis are skeptical, if not hostile.