by Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen
If the flapping of a butterfly’s wings can ultimately cause a typhoon in Florida due to a chain of events, so can a person’s actions in his struggle bring about a chain of world-changing events.
Hamas Fatah Unity flag, image via CC BY-SA HonestReporting.com
BESA Center Perspectives No. 672, December 5, 2017
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: There is an expectation
that the reconciliation trend between Fatah and Hamas will lead to the
disarmament of the resistance, but the idea of resistance will remain
whether it is armed or not.
The reconciliation trend between Fatah and Hamas
has raised the question of disarming Hamas of its weapons of resistance.
Yet the weapons are merely a physical manifestation of the idea of
resistance. Even if the weapons are dismantled, the idea will remain.
The term “al-muqawama” is
translated as “resistance” in English, but some of its meaning eludes
translation. The concept in Arabic, with its religious baggage, is
broader than the active manifestations of actual resistance.
In essence, the idea of resistance expresses the
duty of the believer to act to promote an eternal religious vision.
Maimonides, whose philosophy was shaped against the backdrop of Islamic
philosophy, describes the way a single person’s actions can affect the
entire universe:
“Each day, a person should look at the world as equally balanced between merit and sin. A single deed of his will tip the scales one way or another.” (Maimonides, Laws of Teshuva, Chapter 3).
A Westerner, looking rationally at the devotion of
one who believes in the obligation to participate in a struggle, may
fail to understand the phenomenon. Maj. Gen. Itzik Ben-Israel, for
example, wrote about the defeat of ISIS: “Terror is ultimately an
ineffective and even stupid strategy. It can harass and hurt, but when
it crosses a certain point, it actually activates a self-destructive
mechanism and undermines its own goals” (Yedioth Ahronoth, October 19, 2017).
Ben-Israel’s linear observation of the strategic
failure of ISIS’s “resistance” ignores the pragmatic religious dimension
that sees reality as non-linear. The strength of one’s actions and
sacrifice have the potential to divert reality from its expected course.
It is precisely according to contemporary understanding, inspired by
chaos theory, that this concept can be explained. If the flapping of a
butterfly’s wings can ultimately cause a typhoon in Florida due to a
chain of events, so can a person’s actions in his struggle bring about a
chain of world-changing events.
Mahmoud Bouazizi, for example, set himself on fire
in Tunis as an act of protest, and in a series of converging
circumstances, initiated the Arab Spring. This was a nonlinear event,
and therefore unpredictable: many others set themselves on fire in
protest without results. Yelena Businova, from the settlement Kedumim,
burned herself to death in Netivot during the disengagement in the
summer of 2005. Who even remembers her name?
Indeed, a person of faith acts in anticipation
that something in their actions will bring about the expected change.
They are aware that this is far from guaranteed and yet act out of duty,
believing it will be completed at God’s will.
This logic, as a motivator for the notion of
resistance, can be described as the pragmatic dialectical conduct
between two compasses. One, the compass of vision, is directed at an
eternal religious and political vision. The second, the compass of
reality, directs the action under the conditions of reality. Vision is
always non-negotiable. It is not questioned regarding the practical
reasoning of resistance, but rather the method and the timing for action
to advance the vision.
Hamas’s new statement of principles, formulated in
early May 2017, is caught in this tension. On the one hand, it
declares: “Palestine is a resistance that will continue till liberation
and return … Palestine within its borders – from the Jordan River from
the east to the Mediterranean Sea to the west … is a territorial unit
that is not divisible and is the land of the Palestinian people…” This
is the vision as eternal imperative. On the other hand, “Hamas believes
in pluralism, democracy, national partnership, acceptance of the other,
and the creation of dialogue in a way that bolsters unity among its
ranks and enhances joint action for achieving the national goals and
aspirations of the Palestinian people.”
This is the background to understanding the words
of Maher Salah, who was recently appointed head of Hamas abroad:
“Resistance is the basis of Hamas’ identity.” He was not only referring,
of course, to arms.
BESA Center Perspectives Papers are published through the generosity of the Greg Rosshandler Family
Source: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/fatah-hamas-reconciliation/
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Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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