by Yishai Friedman
Translated from Hebrew by Sally ZahavThe Arab-Zionist camp is indeed small, but is becoming increasingly prominent in recent years.
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Abdul
Abu-Ghosh totally identifies with the State of Israel and the Jewish People.
He always has words to defend Israel, and absolutely rejects the Palestinian
claims of a “Zionist invasion” or “colonialism”. Israeli society, as he
perceives it, is not racist, but fearful, and it is reacting to the
murderous terror with relative
restraint. And when he personally encounters insensitivity or intolerance he
tries to ignore the flaws and find explanations for the weaknesses among
Israeli Jews. So, for example, he chose not to take it to heart when a passerby
pestered him while he was working as a security guard at the shopping mall.
When the argument between them rose in volume, the man asked what his name is.
“my name is Abdul Rahman Abu-Ghosh”, was the answer, with an emphasized Arabic
accent. The man immediately called over to the shift supervisor – “Why do you hire
Arabs here? Don’t let him work here any more”.
Then
perhaps the Left is correct, and we really have become racists?
“I
pitied that man. He doesn’t know who I am, what I am and where I come from. And
even if he did what he did out of racism or anger – he would not have been able
to enter the mall if I hadn’t allowed it. I mean, the security company where I
worked would have backed me up. Racism is marginal in the general Israeli
public”.
Have
you ever met Kahanists?
“I have met
all the political sides of Israel, even Kahanists. When I tell them that I am
loyal to the state and love it, they treat me with respect. I know people on
the extreme Right who have been harmed personally
by the terror, and nevertheless, they have no problem to sit with me and talk
about everything. With hundreds of events per month, and with people losing
family members or friends, I am not surprised that there are people in the
State of Israel who view the Arabs suspiciously”.
On
your Facebook page Jews say things like “Good for you, you don’t even look like
an Arab”. Don’t tell me that that doesn’t irritate you.
“I do
not look Arab, that’s right. In general, the residents of Abu-Ghosh are closer
to people from the Caucasus region than Arabs”, he says, half-sarcastically,
half-seriously. It’s true that you can always find radical talkbacks, but I
don’t pay attention to them. The Jewish radicals are a small minority among a
varied and open society”.
And
how do you live with Netanyahu’s statement about the Arabs who were streaming
to the polling stations?
“The
Arabs were actually flocking to the polling stations more than in previous
times. The last time that the Left won here was when the Arabs voted for Ehud
Barak. Netanyahu’s message on election day was very clear: ‘If you want the
Joint List to form the coalition, then don’t vote for me, and Zahalka and Tibi will
determine the structure of the government’. The polls showed that he was right.
Everyone knew that the more Arabs went to the polling stations to vote for the
Joint List, the greater the chance for the Left to win”.
Did
you see how Zahalka yelled about Stav Shaffir*?
“In
general, I don’t agree with even one word of what Mr. Zahalka has to say, but
what he said about Stav Shaffir – good for him. Everything that he said
was correct. It was the Left that built the settlements, which today they so
much wants to dismantle, and now they blame everyone [for this project]. It was Rabin [of the
left-leaning Labor party] who talked about breaking the Arabs’ arms and legs. On
the one hand, they act arrogantly toward you, [come down on you] and despise
you, and on the other hand they think that you should be a soldier in their
wars against the Right and the settlers. Zahalka was right, they do not say
hello”.
In
your opinion, is the solution to the conflict a Palestinian state?
I would be happy if there were two states
here, an Arab state beside the Jewish state – on the condition that I would be
living here, in the Jewish state. I want the conflict to end, but there can be
no solution without recognition of the Jewish state and without Israeli control
of security. Therefore I doubt that a Palestinian state will be established.
The Palestinians want to harm the State of Israel more than they want to
establish their own state”.
Within
the Israeli public there are many who believe that the Palestinians have a right
for a state no less than the Jews.
“I
believe in the Jewish People’s right to this land, and not to tell them all the
time that they are invaders or occupiers or that they are living in a land that
they have no connection to. I also admire the Jewish People, its journey and
its struggle over thousands of years. In my opinion, to establish a state after
two thousand years of exile and turn it into one of the most developed
countries in the world – this is amazing. The Jewish People has contributed to
humanity in science, in spirituality, in the economy and in hi-tech. How many peoples
here in the Middle East can say something like that about themselves?”
“I
cannot live one minute under an Arab or Muslim regime, that’s for sure. I look
around and know what to choose. And I am not alone. There are many like me in
Israel who know that they are living in one of the best and most unique places in
the Middle East, and it’s only because the Jews rule here that they have the
freedoms that they do”.
The
Palestinians would tell you that the Jews returned to this land at the
Palestinians’ expense.
“Okay, this is not true. First of all, even
the Muslims came here as occupiers. It’s not as if the Muslims lived here from
time immemorial. They were occupiers and also the Jews were occupiers. The
difference is that the Jews, contrary to the Arabs, came for the good. Why, there
was a war here that the Arabs started, and they are still paying the price for
this. I belong to a village that chose not to fight the Jews, because they
thought the Jews were right”.
Arabs who Sing the Anthem
Abdul Abu-Ghosh’s voice is no longer alone,
even if his position is not common. The Arab-Zionist camp is indeed small, but
is becoming increasingly prominent in recent years.Among the Arabs who wave the
blue and white flag is Father Gabriel Nadaf, who is the head of the Israeli
Christian Recruitment Forum, Shadi Halul from Gush Halav, Muhammad Ka'abiye, who is
active among Bedouin youth, educator Nael Zoabi and his son Muhammad Zoabi, who
has become a well-known figure on Facebook, and Annette Haskia, who ran for a
spot on the list of HaBayit HaYehudi. It is Haskia who organized the
demonstration in Tel Aviv University last October. “Annette works to raise the
self-esteem of many youths in the Arab sector, who will fearlessly tell you
what they think”, says Abu-Ghosh. Haskia’s two sons, he says, are now in the process
of conversion.
Do you sing the national anthem?
“As long
as within the heart…”, he sings in response.
“…A
Jewish soul still yearns”. Do you feel a connection to the rest of the line?
“I
connect to the understanding that the Jewish People has a right to exist. I
live under the governance of the Jewish State, and it is my duty to be a loyal
citizen. Why is this so surprising? This country is good for me, and I don’t
want any other government. Why shouldn’t I sing the national anthem?
And wouldn’t
you want there to be some mention of your people in the national anthem?
“This is
a Jewish state and the national anthem is an expression of this. I am a
minority living in the state, but there is no reason why I cannot be a proud
citizen, who can also sing the national anthem”.
Many of the Arab members of Knesset define themselves as “Palestinian
citizen of Israel”. Doesn’t this relate to you, too?
“I am a proud Israeli. I don’t identify with the Palestinian
flag. The Arab members of Knesset like to talk about the Palestinian state, but
they would be the last ones to move there. They don’t actually want to live
under Arab rule, so everything they say about the way they define themselves is
hypocrisy and phoniness”.
Has it ever crossed your mind that you might want to join
the Jewish People? Maybe it is not really possible to be an “Arab Zionist”, and
even a Rightist, and perhaps it is better to convert?
“I’ll tell you something”, says Abu-Ghosh, for the first
time he doesn’t answer immediately, but slows slightly the pace of his speech. “I
have thought about it, but I am not a religious person. I admire what the
Jewish People has created, but I am also proud of what I am, of my own culture
and the values that I grew up with from home. I have come to the conclusion
that there is no contradiction between who I am and what this country
represents, and therefore I do not intend to change. I am happy the way I am,
with my culture, with the Israel I flag is waving over my head and over my
family.
*Stav Shaffir (of the Zionist Union party, which was
previously known as the Labor party) is the youngest female Knesset member in
Israel's history, outspoken for demanding fiscal oversight of settlement
funding and supporting a wide array of social justice-related issues
Yishai Friedman
Source: Makor Rishon, Nov. 13, 2015, Diokan section, issue 953 section, pg. 24-28
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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