Israel beytenu

I am well known for being outspoken on issues of loyalty and duty of citizens to their state, particularly the Jewish State. I argue that the State of Israel has the right to demand of all its citizens – minorities included - acceptance of the principles upon which this country was founded – a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state. I still remember, as a student in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in the 1980s, the heated debates in the dorms and the hallways between British and Argentinean students – both Jewish - over the Falklands war. Jewish communities around the world, whether it be in the USA, Europe, Russia, or even Yemen and Morocco, have always been loyal citizens to their country. On the whole, Jews serve in the military, sing the national anthem and respect the cultural and religious identity of the state they live in.

Of course, loyalty is a two-way street. This last Sunday, the 11-strong Israel Beitenu faction in the Knesset visited the Negev region and met with different groups of citizens. It is evident that the State of Israel has consistently failed to keep its side of the loyalty bargain in regards to two distinct groups in Israeli society.

The first group is comprised of approximately 100 pioneering Jewish families, proprietors of farms and ranches on the isolated hilltops of the Negev, Galilee and Jerusalem. These families are devoted to the land of Israel and the State of Israel, but the state seems to be doing all it can to make their lives an unbearable hardship. Mounting bureaucratic red tape and irrational decrees threaten to put an end to this beautiful 21^st century example of the pioneering spirit that built this country.

The second group is the loyal Beduin tribes, whose sons serve in the military and who have forged a bond of allegiance with the State of Israel. Much like the Jewish farming families, the State of Israel has neglected to take care of the most basic and essential infrastructure for these loyal citizens – roads, running water, sewage and electricity.

I find myself in an impossible position when faced with these groups. The list of people in the Arab/Muslim world who have sided with Israel and have paid a heavy price is long: King Abdullah of Jordan (the grandfather of the current king), President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Bashir Jumayel of Lebanon, the soldiers of the Southern Lebanese Army and Palestinians who have assisted Israel in the war against terror, and more.

It is not easy to be a minority within a Nation-State. It is even harder to be an outcast group within such a minority, as the Beduins, Druze and Arab Christians who have sided themselves with Israel, contrary to the mainstream approach of their community.

We have to start treating our enemies as enemies and friends as friends.

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