In moments of truth,what should be investigated?

from Dr Salim Nazzal -

Despite his rhetoric of victory, Olemert knows best, that this war was catastrophic to the image of Israel on both internal and external levels.

In moments of truth,what should be investigated?













Despite his rhetoric of victory, Olemert knows best, that this war was catastrophic to the image of Israel on both internal and external levels. Deception abounds. Olemert knows that he is lying, the Israeli public knows he is lying, the Israeli generals know he is lying, and the Americans who trusted his capacity to crash the Lebanese resistance knows he is lying. What he did not know perhaps, is the level of demoralization in the Israeli army. This is what's perhaps good about wars, if anything at all positive; it uncovers things that are difficult to know in times of peace. Of course we've heard of the growing corruption in the state of Israel, which is described as the highest of the industrialized countries. Yet all this was tolerated beneath the legend of 'The Strong Israel', its army being capable of miracles following the Zionist propaganda. While the fact is, all these military accomplishments were due to one major factor: Israel fought against corrupted regimes, corrupted generals, and non-motivated soldiers.

In this war, we've heard of stories from the battlefield that were unthinkable before the war. The Israeli army could not supply food for its soldiers; therefore soldiers went stealing from Lebanese shops looking for sustenance. Reserves were called up to go to a war without enough training or logistics, demoralized soldiers, incompetent generals, units shooting at other units, total political and military confusion. If these stories were about a poor, third world army, it wouldn't surprise a one, but when it happens within the Israeli army, this means one thing, that demoralization has penetrated the whole of Israeli society, and not only the Israeli army. Therefore, one can say without a doubt that Israel has lost what it gained in previous wars.

The poor performance of the Israeli army shocked many Arab leaders, whom are still frozen to the period of the scandalous wars, such as the 1956 and 1967 wars, when Israel was able to crash, in few days, the Arab armies, both materially and morally. Even the 1973 and the 1982 wars, which witnessed some Arab military progress, did not remove the humiliation felt by Arabs in previous wars. The Arab collective psychology could not tolerate the repeated defeats by a state planted forcefully in the heart of the region. No wonder Arabs have longed for a successful model, for a concrete example to prove to themselves, before anyone else, that they are capable of meeting the challenges. The concern for most Arabs is not whether the Islamists or secularists lead this war, it is whoever fights and defeats the Zionists, and they will be met with great respect in the Arab world. The paradox of this war is that the victory comes from the smallest Arab country, which was never taken seriously in question of fighting Israel.

Apart from Syria, which supports the Lebanese resistance, Arab countries were absent, and some reports spoke of some Arab satisfaction with the Israeli attack. On the other hand, the Israelis dwelled upon the past glories, and forget that change is the logic which steers life. But like all racist ideologies in history, Zionists do not only view Arabs as less worthy, they also view them as genetically backward. But the heavy loss inflicted on the invading army has awakened Israelis to the bitter lesson that the principle of 'might is right' can fall at any time. The Israeli investigation committee appointed to deal with the reasons of the defeat is focused on the technical side, such as how to deal with the anti-tank rockets, amongst other field problems. This committee might be able to pinpoint the flaws which occurred in the battle, but this would only mean that Israel is using the wrong diagnosis, and definitely the wrong cure. The problem is not in improving the body of the merkava tank, but rather to cure the Israeli mind of the aggressive Zionist culture.

The heart of the problem lies within the mentality, which thinks that kidnapping Palestinian elected representatives, confiscating Palestinian land, murdering Palestinians, thinking this would be the solution to prolonging the life of the Zionist state. Meanwhile, all of these reasons are a receipt for opposite results. The solution lies in rinsing the Israeli mind from the Zionist myth, which leads Israelis from war to war, without any perspective for peace. The only insurance for the Jewish community in Palestine is the just peace. Israel needs now, more than ever, a Dezionization process that will rid them from the Zionist culture, which has dragged Jews from war to war. The investigation must exceed the technical part, to investigate the whole political culture implanted in the last 100 years. Israel must realize that better tanks and generals may or may not give Israel better results in battle, but it won’t stop wars, nor will it stop human losses on both sides. In addition, it will give fewer possibilities to the Jewish community of Palestine to integrate in the region. Sooner or later, and the sooner the better, Israelis must come to the conclusion that without a fair and just solution to the mother of problems, the Palestinian problem, Israelis will be slaves to a destructive ideology and hostages to a military culture which engulfs them in endless wars. Israeli soldiers went into Lebanon as if they were in the occupied Palestine, where they shoot, kill, and humiliate civilians without seriously paying the price for their crimes.

The problem in Palestine is not the lack of will for sacrifice; earlier battles such as the heroic Jenin battle demonstrated, beyond any doubt, the will of Palestinians to sacrifice. The problem lies in the absence of a leadership which can arrange a successful struggle. In the war on Lebanon, things are different. The leaders of the Lebanese resistance are far from being corrupted, as was the case with the Arab regimes and some of the PLO leaders who made the cause of Palestine their favorite business. The Lebanese resistance fighters are logistically and ideologically prepared to fight their enemies, and not absorbed like Palestinian factions by their interests and internal conflicts. This time, Israel has to face fighters with a strong ideology, a solid and integrated leadership, and with mutual trust and respect between the fighters and the leaders. This is the lesson which Palestinians need to learn from: Palestinians, before Israelis, should appoint a committee to study the Lebanon war from all of its sides. Describing this war as a proxy war between the US and Iran, or about the prisoners, or the Sheba farms, may carry some truth, but the core of the conflict remains the same. This war, just like all wars with Israel, is, in the final analysis, a part of resisting the Zionist project in the region. In other words, it is because of Palestine, about Palestine, and for Palestine. Palestinians therefore, are the first party who should give deep thought into what happened. This does not mean to say that Palestinians should copy the Lebanese experience, because each experience, though having common factors, has its particularities. What Palestinian leadership needs urgently to do is, to promote a 'palestinianzation' process. Which means, putting the interest of the Palestinian nation above all other interests.

I do not know what Palestinians should do to improve the quality of resistance, but I know at least, earlier methods must be revised if Palestinians are to defeat the Israeli project in the occupied Palestine after 1967. The question here is, not of which struggling paradigm Palestinians should follow, the Guevara or Gandhi strategy, or the combination of both. The real challenge is how to mobilize the whole of society for a long process of resistance, which will convince Zionists that their colonial project is hopeless.


* Dr. Salim Nazzal is a Palestinian researcher. He has written extensively on social and political issues in the middle east.E mail:  gibran44@hotmail.com