Extremism is fuelled by myths on both sides

Today’s Israel took root in a land which had been ruled for more than two millennia by a people whose laws and customs were grounded in primitive beliefs. In the space of eighty years, Israel’s Jewish inhabitants have had to contend with myths, both of their own making and of the people amongst whom they had chosen to make their home. Conflicting myths have evolved into conflicting historical narratives, which in turn have led to violence, and this has culminated in a vicious circle of violence, counter-violence and a growing climate of extremism.

Israel is now locked into an engagement with an enemy steeped in the belief that Judaism constitutes a fundamental danger to the Arab people, who see the Jewish State as a foreign body lodged in Muslim soil, while Jews, for their part, have played into the myth of Palestine as an underpopulated land controlled by wealthy overlords operating from beyond its borders.

The problem with myths is that they are an amalgam of truth and fantasy, reinforced by custom and modified only by the power of enlightenment, a weak antidote compared with the entrenched belief systems of many generations. As soon as the Zionist dream became a reality the stage was set for combat between two intransigent parties nursing two incompatible sets of myth.

In the course of its existential struggle, Israel has been an island of democracy in a sea of Islamic autocracy. Since its establishment, the country has grown from strength to strength, building a heartwarming story of triumph in the face of adversity. At the same time, Israel continues to be beset by conflicts both within and beyond its borders, which are shaping a new mythology about an intractable enemy and the inevitability of eternal warfare. This is fostering an extremist mentality which is putting the country’s democratic foundations at risk.

Extremism has been on the rise in Israel for some time. The state sanctioned violence of the Jewish settlers, directed at Palestinians living in Israel, contradicts everything we have learnt about human dignity and is achieving nothing more than a growing antagonism. Instead of submitting to Israeli rule, the Arab populace is increasingly drifting towards support for terrorism.

The short-sighted belief of the Israeli government and the Jewish settlers that by stamping on Arab communities they will be able to keep resentments at bay and preserve the status quo indefinitely, flies in the face of history and common sense. Such a mentality is born of arrogance, which is nothing more than a deeply held belief in the superiority of one’s own culture and the corresponding inferiority of an adjacent culture. Israeli arrogance evolved out of centuries of persecution and near-extinction. It is upheld by the conviction that violence is the only language which can be understood by our adversaries, thereby providing fuel for another dangerous myth – that the sole means of achieving security is by the exercise of brute force.

I am not gainsaying the very real threat of already extant terrorist groups and their avowed intention of destroying the State of Israel and murdering Jews. But the instigation of violence against the Palestinian civilian population within Israel is manifestly counterproductive. The attitude that “they must be taught a lesson” will only increase alienation, resentment and a further drift into the terrorist camp. Extremist Jewish Israelis who engage in thuggish and punitive actions against Palestinians with whom they could co-exist in peace, are simply serving as a recruitment agency for Hamas and its allies.

It is still possible to back-pedal from this dangerous mentality. Hope lies in the mediation of third parties – a difficult but not unmanageable project – which involves challenging some of the Jewish myths which are obstructing dialogue.

We need to put our own house in order while at the same time protecting it from assaults by an enemy driven by the single-minded goal of demolishing it. This involves recognising and marginalising the extremism within our own ranks and cooperating with well-intentioned nations and Muslim powers untainted by extremist mythology. It is undoubtedly a Herculean task, but it is worth remembering that in that particular myth, Hercules succeeded. And if we do not make the attempt, history tells us that we can only slide further into a pit of continuing violence.