Why doesn't Israel understand the Arab Spring?

[Richard]

A dilemma, for sure, and for many reasons.

And so it goes...

Richard

A Failure to Communicate: Why doesn't Israel understand the Arab Spring?
FgnPolicy, 9 Feb 2012

Last week, I traveled to Tel Aviv for the Herzliya Conference to speak on a panel about the upheaval seizing the Arab world. The conference is a gathering of the top national security minds in Israel and a venue where officials engage in high-level discussions and often announce major policy decisions. As someone who has spent 12 years involved in the politics of the Arab-Israeli dispute, it was my goal to explain how this conflict affected what I call the Arab Awakening and how Israel should react to recent events in the Middle East.

Merely addressing this crucially important topic, however, ignited anger and skepticism from all sides. A campaign launched by Palestinian activists and amplified by Syrian-leaning newspapers in Lebanon urged Arab participants to boycott the conference. I also received messages on Twitter demanding that I not attend, with some going so far as to say that I was condoning "Israeli apartheid."

In the end, I was present for the final day of the conference, where I spoke in a morning session as part of a five-member panel. The panel's title -- "The Rise of Political Islam Across the Middle East: Arab Spring or Islamist Winter" -- itself reflected a failure to grasp the grand scale and nature of change under way in the Arab world.

Arabs are not faced with a choice between democracy and an Islamist takeover. In fact, most Islamist parties in the region have records of being supremely democratic and suffered under autocratic regimes for demanding reforms when other parties did not. Contrasting the Arab Spring with an Islamist takeover is therefore a false dichotomy -- the people of the region are craving representation, and Islamists have long supported participatory governance.

At the heart of the changes in the region is a democratic impulse common to us all. Both Islamists and secularists share the desire for democratic institutions and personal freedoms. Now that groups like the Muslim Brotherhood have been elected, I noted, Islamist-led democratic transitions in Egypt and Tunisia are a reality. If Islamists want to remain in power, they will, like any other party, have to deliver on popular demands and practice inclusion, tolerance, and respect for women and minorities.

I stressed that what we are seeing in the Middle East today is much more significant than the rise of Islamists. In effect, we're witnessing what columnist Rami Khouri has called "the birth of Arab politics." For the first time, people across the Middle East are organizing political parties, engaging in the decision-making process, and daring to participate in peaceful popular protests on a massive scale.

Such a development, in my view, must be celebrated and facilitated by Israel. I warned the Israeli audience that, if they disparage the new Arab politics, they will only undermine Israel's narrative that it is "the only democracy in the Middle East." Indeed, I went on to say, it is the responsibility of Western and Israeli policymakers to exorcise themselves of their "autocracy addiction" and instead work to build real stability in the Middle East. Israelis must embrace democratic change in the region. Anti-Israeli sentiments may become more prominent as popularly elected governments take power, but it is better to address these challenges head-on than to ignore them, I asserted.

Since the outbreak of the Arab Awakening, the prevailing impulse in Israel is to circle the wagons and turn away from the turmoil in the region. However, I argued, there is a need to look over the horizon. Rather than noting the efforts of transitioning countries to democratize or welcoming new leadership in the region, Israel, itself a democracy, is characterizing the spread of representative governance across the Middle East solely as a threat. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's description of the Arab Spring as an "Islamic, anti-Western, anti-liberal, anti-Israeli, undemocratic wave" reflects the prevailing security-first mindset.

Ultimately, no one has "lost the Arab Spring to the Islamists," I argued. The democratic opening in the region represents a chance for all to gain, and Israel too has a role to play -- by making a renewed effort to resolve the Palestinian issue. Arabs will not forget that their national narratives are intertwined with the Palestinian narrative, I explained. That is why lasting peace with them requires lasting peace with Palestinians.

The immediate reaction to my opening remarks was an attentive silence. Throughout my short trip, the overwhelming sense I received was that Israelis remain highly skeptical of changes in the region and are understandably fearful of what they will bring. This sentiment was echoed in the remarks at Herzliya by the director of military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, and by Defense Secretary Ehud Barak, who spoke from the podium about turmoil in the region and the immediate threats it poses to Israel. "We are facing a Middle East which will be more hostile," Kochavi noted.

Barak struck a more hopeful note, arguing that democracy in the Arab world will be a positive development in the long run -- yet short-term fears seem to dominate the Israeli psyche. "The skies are clouding over what is known as the Arab Spring," he said.

But I also heard from Israelis who realized that Israel cannot hide from the events shaking the region. Throughout the day, Israelis approached me to commend what I had said, with one going so far as to remark: "This is what Israelis need to hear." These Israelis were, notably, the ones whose horizons went beyond the borders of Israel. They were trying to see changes in the region from the perspective of the Arab people aspiring for democracy, rather than only through the lens of Israel's security concerns.

The day after speaking at Herzliya, I traveled to Ramallah for meetings with notable Palestinian leaders. There, the overwhelming sentiment was one of hopelessness. In fact, one highly connected Palestinian said this was the most difficult period for his people since 1948. He also expressed concern that Palestine's young population -- almost half of which is under age 20 -- had not experienced the heady, nationalist struggle of Yasir Arafat or the hope of the Oslo Accords. This hopelessness, especially among the young, could lead to increased radicalization and more protests.

The entire trip was an important wake-up call. It highlighted the degree to which each side is isolated from the other. Interestingly, some Palestinians and Israelis united over their criticism of me: Palestinians and Arabs lambasted me for attending the Israeli-run conference, and many Israelis remain skeptical of my message that the events of the Arab Spring are not necessarily threatening to Israel. But the divisions between the two sides are becoming more deeply entrenched, and these barriers to engagement will make a future peace agreement more elusive. The world is changing around us, and we must too.

Salman Shaikh is director of the Brookings Doha Center and fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. He previously served as the special assistant to the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...to_communicate

[Pete]

I see Salman is smoking some good crack.

'..............Both Islamists and secularists share the desire for democratic institutions and personal freedoms. Now that groups like the Muslim Brotherhood have been elected, I noted, Islamist-led democratic transitions in Egypt and Tunisia are a reality. If Islamists want to remain in power, they will, like any other party, have to deliver on popular demands and practice inclusion, tolerance, and respect for women and minorities...................."

A good number of women were good Muslims and voted for the MB and Salafies. Minorities? Hmmmm, that's working out Oh, so well for the Christians in Egypt.

There will be another election in Egypt, maybe, and we'll see how that goes. And we'll see how the new constitution protects minorities.

[Five-O]

The author of this article must forget how even your average working stiff arab has a pathological "dislike" for the state of Israel. In my experience the educated class is not much better or worse. I am afraid the arab /Israeli situation is a problem with no solution...unless of course one side ceases to exist.

[Pete]

Egypt's Brotherhood says it should govern

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

Yeah, nothing like a little Arab Spring. Looks like it needs a little Frebreze.

"A spokesman for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood which now dominates parliament called on Thursday for the caretaker cabinet to be sacked and replaced with a Brotherhood one after deadly football riots.

The Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, which won almost half of parliament's seats in elections over November and December, had said it would work with the military-appointed cabinet for a transitional period......"

[The Reaper]

.... the people of the region are craving representation, and Islamists have long supported participatory governance.

Sure.

Name all of the democracies in the Middle East.

Other than Israel, or countries we have liberated and made (temporarily) democratic.

Waiting....

I can't think of a single Arab state that has had democratically elected representation over any real period of time. Even the ones friendly to the US.

Certainly, Libya, Jordan, Syria, Sadaam's Iraq, Saudi, the UAE, Yemen, Iran, etc. have no real democratic representation.

TR

[Peregrino]

One man, one vote, one time. Salman might want to clean his glasses, the rose tint is blinding him to historical realities. My readings have lead me to believe they're usually a good indicator of future trends.

[HOLLiS]

I can see why the Israelis do not listen to him.

[Roguish Lawyer]

"Democracy" is hardly a good thing in and of itself. Our Republic recognizes that, and is designed to prevent the "tyranny of the majority" we will soon see in places like Egypt.

http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm

[SF-TX]

Here is one of many recent examples of 'supremely democratic' islamist actions:

Alexandria: forced eviction of 62 Coptic families by the Salafis
Muslims in the area of el-Amerya, with the complicity of police and state authorities, set fire to Christian homes and shops, and forced several families to leave the country, under the threat of further violence.

Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The radical Muslims are trying to empty a village near Alexandria of its Coptic population - 62 families, on the basis of unfounded allegations against a Copt. The Copts of Kobry-el-Sharbat (el-Amerya) were attacked on Jan. 27 by a crowd of some three thousand Muslims led by Salafi leaders who set fire to the Copts houses and shops. The violence were sparked by the allegations of a barber Muslim Toemah, who claimed that a Coptic tailor of 34, Samy Mourad Guirgis, had "illegal" photos of a Muslim woman on his cell phone. Mourad has denied the charges, and turned himself in to police in fear of his life. The Muslims set fire to his house and his shop, and his whole family was forced to leave the village. Mourad is still under police custody.

Since then there have been three "reconciliation meetings" in the police headquarters in el-Amerya, attended by representatives of the Coptic Church, the Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood. According to police, the woman concerned has denied the whole story, and no compromising photos of any kind were found Mourad’s cell phone. But radical Muslims argue that "Muslim honor has been damaged," and at the first meeting, they refused any type of compensation for the Copts who were innocent victims of their violence.

On 30 January a crowd of Muslims attacked the village of Kobry- el-Sharbat for the second time, setting fire to three Christian homes, under the eyes of the security forces. Following this Islamic representatives have requested that a wealthy Coptic merchant, Soliman, be expelled from the village, accusing him and his sons of having fired into the air while their house was being burned. The family of the merchant denies that there were gunshots, and no one was injured. The police, however, has issued an arrest warrant for Soliman’s sons.

On 1st February in a "reconciliation meeting" demands were made for a number of Coptic families to be expelled from the village and the forced sale of Soliman’s assets, under the supervision of the Salafist Sheikh Sherif el-Hawary. Otherwise Kobry el-Sharbat would be attacked again, and the Coptic houses completely burned. Soliman signed the agreement, defined by father Boktor, who was present at the time, "a complete injustice." Soliman agreed only to avoid further damage to the Copts. Magdy Khalil, head of Middle East Freedom Forum, said that "reconciliation meetings" were totally illegal, and that the complicity of Egyptian authorities is obvious and urged Copts to return to their homes. "If we accept this, we will open the door to an avalanche of forced evictions." And forced deportation is a crime under international law.

Link

[Badger52]

Islamist Democratic State of Anything

Oxymoron