Do ALL Arabs and Jews Really Hate Each Other?

(Group of Arab women console each other over their destroyed homes)

Among the many years of conflict between Arabs and Israelis, there has been speculation as to whether all Arabs and Jews hate each other. My answer to this notion is emphatically no, not all Jews and Arabs hate each other, it is simply that the views of the peaceful minority are being overshadowed by hate. One recent topic of controversy between the Arabs and Jews is the destruction of Arab homes by the Israeli government. In an article from Haaretz titled “Hundreds of Arab and Jewish Architects Call for End toArab Home Demolitions”, author Naama Riba talks about the unity of both Arabs and Jews in the hopes to stop the destruction of homes by the Israeli government. This conflict arose when the Israeli government traveled to the Bedouin cities of Kalansua and Umm al-Hiran to oversee the demolition of “unrecognized” villages. These villages according to the Israeli government were set up illegally and due to that fact alone have been denied all basic rights including water, sanitation, and electricity. Due to the destruction of these cities, there has been a large outcry of both Arabs and Jews in protest of the Israeli government, claiming that its actions are defying basic human rights. In Riba’s article, she quotes Professor Oren Yiftachel who says that “after too many years of ongoing failure to which planners, architects and geographers were party, there is progress here”.

In a chapter from The Israelis by author Donna Rosenthal titled The Bedouin, there is a narrative of a young girl by the name of Amal el-Sanna. The story of Amal follows her trials and tribulations through her oppression as a woman in a Bedouin society. In the chapter, Amal mentions how “[she] learned to take things from Jewish culture, to be open to other ideas. And how to nudge” (Rosenthal 294). In my opinion this quote shows that Amal does not hate Jews, as she is willing to learn from their ideals. In relation to the destruction of Arab homes, there is a clear divide amongst Jews as to whether they feel Arabs should be able to remain in Israel. In a statistic from the Pew Forum, it is revealed that out of all Jews, 46% agree that Arabs should be allowed to remain in Israel (Majorities of Haredim, Datiim agree Arabs should be expelled graph). To answer the overarching question, this statistic alone supports my hypothesis that not all Jews and Arabs hate one another.

In terms of the point of view of Riba’s article, it is clear that she supports the unity of Jews and Arabs against the destruction of Arab homes. Of all perspectives on the issue, Riba provides harsh criticism of the Israeli government by including quotes such as one from a letter sent to the 120 Knesset members which states that the issue stems from “criminal negligence of Israeli governments.” These hand selected quotes that Riba includes, clearly indicate that she is opposed to overly oppressive government agencies. Upon researching some of her previous articles, Riba seems to take a similar tone against the Israeli government as she advocates for a lack of censorship and Israeli citizens freedoms. Although it is nearly impossible to interview every Israeli citizen on the issue of the destruction of Arab homes by the Israeli government, it is clear that there are many Jews and Arabs alike that are opposed to the governments decision. It is also clear that despite hostilities between Arabs and Jews, sources such as the Pew Forum and the narrative of Amal el-Sanna prove that Jews and Arabs do not all hate each other. In the large scope of the conflict, these peaceful groups are simply not loud enough to speak above the media, which focuses on the hate between the two groups.  

Iriohos 2017, What Does it Really Symbolize?

The Iriohos exercise is set to unite 5 countries

On March 29^th, 2017 Haaretz Correspondent, Gili Cohen published an article titled “IsraeliAir Force Holds Joint Exercise With United Arab Emirates, U.S. and Italy”. This article covered the story of the Israeli Air Force participating in Iniohos 2017, a joint military event between the Air Force divisions of Israel, UAE, U.S. and Italy. According to the U.S. Air Force website, the purpose of the Iniohos exercise is to increase relations between NATO countries, which is immensely important for Israel as it has very few allies in the Middle East. One aspect of the article that Cohen makes clear is that although the United Arab Emirates and Israel do not have official political ties, the two countries are said to have secret communications. The final point in the article that Cohen mentions is the close involvement between Israelis and Greek forces. It is stated in the article that the two countries share common interests both politically and economically, and that the Israelis use the mountains as practice for countries they may one day land in.

Throughout the article, there is a clear lack in credible sources to reaffirm the insinuations made by the author. The hook of the article mentions how the UAE and Israel do not have official diplomatic relations, yet does not explain the extent to which both countries were involved in Iniohos. Later in the article, the hook is mentioned again as Cohen claims that the Israeli government is working behind the scenes with the United Arab Emirates to establish relations, yet she provides no concrete evidence of these alleged relations. According to an article from the Huffington Post, “the UAE monarchy has officially refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist.” The credibility of Cohen’s claim seems to be nothing more than speculation, since she can’t provide quotes or sources for her claims.

In the article it also seems as though Cohen is in support of the alliances between Israel and the other NATO countries, especially Greece. Cohen writes about a senior officer in the Israeli Air Force that mentioned how Greece and Israel share similar economic and political agendas. However, Cohen does not include the name of the military official, or a link to the interview or public address with the quote in writing. Not only does Cohen quote an unnamed military official, she also quotes Brig. Gen. Erez Meisel as well as Lt. Col. Gilad from the Israeli Air Force. Similarly, both quotes from these military officers were unable to be traced back to a credible source, which may indicate that these quotes were just a form of hearsay. One of the few sources that seems to have similar information to Cohen about this topic is from author Yaakov Lapin at The Jerusalem Post who wrote an article titled “A New Mediterranean Friendship Amid Regional Instability”. Lapin echoes the claims made by Cohan about the relationship between Greece and Israel, but does not mention a military partnership.  

Although the article is written about the Iniohos exercise, it seems as though Cohen simply uses the event to transition into an underlying issue regarding the Israeli relationship between the UAE and Greece. It does seem that Cohen generalizes the events in the article, and failed to provide in depth detail about the Iniohos exercise or even the extent to which the Israelis are involved with the UAE and Greece. The author seems to simply provide very interesting topics that could have better served the reader had there been more statistics or factual evidence.

Much of what Cohen writes about seems to be a combination of speculative and predictive journalism, without concrete fact. It is clear that the author is in support of the alliances between Israel and its fellow NATO countries, but is more so in favor of the alliance between Greece and Israel. Cohen seems to be insinuating that Israel is not as isolated in the Middle East as the country has been portrayed. Israel has been making widespread efforts to increase relations with neighboring countries in the region, and according to Cohen, the practice of using aircraft in Greece could be an indication of things to come. There seem to be clear indications in this article that Israel is set to expand in the Middle East; however, at this time Cohen seems unclear as to whether that means politically or militarily. 

Is the Trump Administration Really in Support of a Two-State Solution?

One of many groups of homes in Beit El

On December 16, 2016, Judy Maltz from Haaretz posted an article titled “Fund Headed by Trump’s Israel Ambassador Pumped Tens of Millions Into West Bank Settlement”. In this article, Maltz discuses the settlement of Beit El, which is located on the West Bank, and has been supplied approximately $2 million annually from an organization called the American Friends of Beit El Institutions (AFBEI). The President of the organization is David Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer who President Trump has selected to become the new U.S. ambassador to Israel. Much of the donations received from the AFBEI have gone to fund initiatives across college institutions across college campuses in the U.S., which would focus on protesting a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. Furthermore, there have been links to funds from the AFBEI going to a militant rabbi in the yeshiva by the name of Zalman Melamed. Melted has openly advocated for troops to remain in the West Bank and not give the land up to their Palestinian counterparts. The teachings of Melamed as well as the curriculum in the U.S. about Beit El has been focused on Zionism, and according to Maltz they are targeting the most politically active and hostile students in both regions. There is widespread criticism of the support of the AFBEI and Trump’s administration in the Beit El area because of recent strides to alleviate tensions in the region by establishing a two-state solution. However, with the AFBEI receiving support from President Trump, who according to CBSNews donated $10,000 to the organization in 2003, it seems unlikely that progress with bee made towards the two-state solution.

The information presented in this article brings to light a very important issue of whether the U.S. will in fact support a two state solution in Israel, or if Friedman and the AFBEI will influence President Trump on the issue. However, it is important to remember that although this is a highly controversial issue Haaretz and the author of this article do a poor job supporting their claims with imbedded links, which leads to the speculation as to whether this information is reliable. Upon further research, there were several new sources that supported the claims made by Haaretz, yet many of those news sources include Israeli National News, Yeshiva, Besheva Newspaper, and HaMakom. However, after verifying the reliability of each news source, it became clear that some of these news agencies were listed on the Beit El website as direct affiliates.

The author does a very professional job of remaining very unbiased and using very objective language; however, it does seem as though the overall undertone of the article is opposed to Trump and his cabinet’s support of Beit El. This can be made very clear by simply looking at Maltz’s Twitter page, which reveals that she is openly opposed to Trump and his views. Maltz was also an alumni from Barnard University, which is located in New York City and can be commonly characterized as openly liberal. This could provide a reason as to why Maltz may not agree with the Trump support in the West Bank, especially since an extremely right-wing organization is providing financial backing to the region of Beit El.

Haaretz is considered to be one of the most reliable news sources in Israel, yet it is clear that most of their articles voice open support of the two-state solution between Palestine and Israel. Maltz seems to fall in line with the rest of the Haaretz writers in the sense that they all voice their opinions of a two-state solution, and have liberal tendencies. Overall, this is a very well written article; however, the reliability of some of the information seems questionable.