A Marriage Therapy Session for Israel and Palestine

by Mary W Maxwell, PhD, LLB

Dear Israel and Palestine, may I be your marriage therapist for the next half-hour? Oh, good, thank you.

Let me start by identifying my role, and my training. My role is neutral; I do not favor either spouse. I try to present the same kind of 'obvious' solutions that you, or anyone, would offer to a quarreling couple, where anyone can see what is happening except the two participants. They are all barriered up by their hurt, anger, loyalties, fear, whatever.

As to presenting my credentials as a therapist, I don't have any. The sum of my formal training in psychology hovers around zero. Still, I've lived a long life and can distinguish my arse from my elbow, pardon my French. That is to say, what I offer here at this session is common sense.

Here's the idea I wish to float to you (my marriage therapy clients) -- that something one of you did to the other was wrongly thought-out. It was a mistake from the get-go. A very unfortunate MISTAKE that can only be righted if that party makes open acknowledgment of it.

Just pretend you're watching two people fighting like mad over something, but you, on the sidelines, can see that one of them has got the facts wrong. You would feel bad for one or the other, or both. You'd wish you could get the one who is very mistaken to get off that track because it can only lead to futility.

Now think of a third party (like me) somehow getting through to that wrong arguer, and suddenly you see his eyes light up. He realizes he is on the wrong track and wishes to call a temporary truce so he can re-think his entire premise.

Why has he been hating the other, and why has the other been hating him? All because of a mistake, which he can now admit to, thus lowering the heat.

The Mistake

Dear Israel and Palestine, It was a mistake for the Jews in 1948 to create a Jewish state, as such. Why? Because it never had a chance of gaining acceptance all around. Granted, in previous centuries, the conquests of empire builders -- such as Persia, Greece, China, Britain -- were "accepted." There was no way to not accept conquest, right? As Thucydides put it, "The strong exact what they can and the weak grant what they must."

But by the 20th century, folks had notions about that. Mind you, two big empire builders in the 20th century, the US and the USSR, went about their conquering in the usual brash way, but were able to cover it up somewhat by deception or with this or that "justification." But luckily there came to be forums where all that could be discussed. By our generation in 2024, it would not be accurate to say that a majority of folks adhere to "Yep, the strong may exact what they can."

So far, you can see that I am talking practicalities. I claim that the 1948 establishment of the state of Israel was a mistake because it could not be sustained peaceably. It planted seeds of long-term war. I am not delving into any of the arguments about the fairness of the situation. (E.g., "Because of the Holocaust, Jews deserved an escape." "Arabs in the 1920s had already committed the offense of killing the Jews who dominated Hebron." "Israeli prisons today are full of unwarranted torture." And on and on.)

Such factors do bear on the minds of any reasonable person, as they color the fight that is ongoing. I do not say they should be suppressed. But, for this "marriage therapy session," I choose to outlaw any discussion that is not about the Initial Mistake.

Note: To give some chronology to this material: the first thoughts about establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine (or anywhere) were articulated by Theodore Herzl. By 1898, his Zionist movement had held a "Congress" to try to achieve institutionalization of this idea. By 1917, there was The Balfour Declaration, associated with Rothchild, that expressed the dream of a Jewish homeland. Then the 1919 Treaty of Paris carved up the Ottoman Empire, with Britain taking some of the Middle East under its wing as a "Mandate." After the WWII defeat of Germany in 1945, the US played a role in assisting the formation of Israel, with President Truman approving it in 1948. Incredibly, the United Nations also said OK.

There Were Other Options in 1948 and Earlier

There were various options related to a Jewish homeland or state. After World War I, Martin Buber, a Jewish theologian based in Frankfurt, wanted assimilation of Jews in Germany, not emigration to Palestine. Dr Yoram Hazony, president of the Herzl Institute, authored a book in 2000 entitled "The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul." Hazony describes an interesting plan of the 1920s as follows:

p 196: "[Jewish intellectuals created] an alternative political concept that could unite the interest of the Jews with those of the Palestine's Arab population. In 1925 this became the formal aim of a group calling itself the Peace Association, which was established at the initiative of Arthur Ruppin.... By 1920 [Ruppin knew] that an agreement with the Arabs was the most serious difficulty facing Zionism....'Without a friendly agreement,... all our work in Palestine is built on quicksand'. By 1923 he had decided that the ZO had to abandon the theoretical foundations for it laid by Herzl."

p 197: "Ruppin thought the Jewish settlement movement in Palestine could 'become a power with a role in the development of the culture of mankind. A few hundred thousand Jews and 30 million Arabs represent a population large enough to influence the culture of mankind.' The community 'would pursue a new social order' and 'the teachings if the prophets and Jesus'."

Later, when Russian Jews were particularly suffering from pogroms (caused by as-yet undetermined forces), an offer was made by Britain to provide land in Uganda for Jewish Russian refugees. This never took hold. Finally, by the end of World War II, after Germany's defeat in 1945, the Zionists brought their case to the US for a homeland in Israel.

Please recall that this article is my attempt to tell a quarreling couple that they both need to realize that one of the 'spouses' made a mistake some time ago, and that until the mistake gets acknowledged, there is no way to solve their current hostility. That initial mistake was the setting up of a new state. Just as every state is an authoritative political force, complete with a military and all the apparatus of power over society and the individual, so is Israel.

That mistake, 75 years ago, needs to be recognized as a mistake, right now. This simple news from 'the marriage therapist' can take some of the emotion out of the interactions of Israel and Palestine. It will let them cool down. I'm sure you can think of real couples sticking with an impossible situation where one of them is unable to perceive the reality of the mistake.

Note: In today's article I do not intend to ask the couple to come up with solutions to the problem. It will be enough to identify the nature of the mistake. Meanwhile, though, governments are talking about starting a nuclear war over this!

"Against Our Better Judgment"

Let's move the focus to Washington, DC, and its part in helping The Mistake get made in 1948. Alison Weir is the author of a stunning book: "Against Our Better Judgement" (2014). She has put together a clear argument, lasting 93 pages, based on research that occupies 131 pages of Endnotes and Bibliography.

The back cover of Weir's book says: "Few Americans are aware that US support enabled the creation of modern Israel. Even fewer know that US politicians pushed this policy over the forceful objections of top diplomatic and military experts." I might mention that Ms Weir runs a group called "If Americans Knew." I will join. I did not see her book until today. I didn't "know." It is enormously relieving to have found the truth.

I now quote four miscellaneous items from Weir's book:

1. Weir got this from Sarah Schmidt, in the American Jewish Historical Quarterly, Sept 1975, p 121:

Horace M. Kallen decided to form an organizational instrument through which he could effectively channel his own Zionist activity. On August 18,1913, therefore, Kallen founded a secret Zionist society which he called The Parushim, the Hebrew word which means both "the Pharisees" and "separate". [Its] purpose he defined as "advancement by deed and word of the cause of autonomous Jewish nationality in the interest of Hebraism."

Each initiate had to undergo a rigorous analysis of his qualifications, loyalty, and willingness to take orders from the Order's Executive Council. At the initiation ceremony the head of the Order informs [the initiate]:

"You are about to take a step which will bind you to a single cause for all your life. You will for one year be subject to an absolute duty whose call you will be impelled to heed at any time, in any place, and at any cost. And ever after, until our purpose shall be accomplished, you will be fellow of a brotherhood whose bond you will regard as greater than any other in your life-dearer than that of family, of school, of nation."

The initiate responds by swearing:
Before this council, in the name of all that I hold dear and holy, I hereby vow myself, my life, my fortune, and my honor to the restoration of the Jewish nation, to its restoration as a free and autonomous state, by its laws perfect in justice, by its life enriching and preserving the historic speech, the culture, and the ideals of the Jewish people.
To this end I dedicate myself in behalf of the Jews, my people, and in behalf of all mankind. To this end I enroll myself in the fellowship of the Parushim. I pledge myself utterly to guard and to obey and to keep secret the laws and the labor of the fellowship, its existence and its aims. Amen.

-- end of Sarah Schmidt's piece. Alison Weir notes, on page 12, of Against Our Better Judgment, that US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis was a key member of the Parushim, a secret society. Shocking!

2. On page 92, Weir discusses New York Post journalist Dorothy Thompson. I'll paraphrase:

Thompson had been expelled by Hitler and had raised the alarm about Nazis long before others. After WWII, Ms Thompson went to Palestine and made a documentary about the Palestinian refugees. She was viciously attacked in an orchestrated campaign. Dorothy wrote: "When letter after letter is couched in almost identical phraseology, I do not think the authors have been gifted with telepathy."

She was accused of anti-Semitism and was told that her "filthy incitement to pogroms would not be tolerated by New York's Jews." She was dropped by the Post, whose editor and his wife D Schiff were said to be very close to the Stern gang. Menachem Begin was said to have 'inordinate access' to the Post's editorial board.

3. From Weir's book, pages 54-55, concerning a plan to partition Palestine. Paraphrasing:

The UN General Assembly did not have the two-thirds need for a Yes. So the Zionists asked for a delay. They used this time to pressure member nations. The Zionists told delegations that they would use their power to block economic aid. Presidential adviser Bernard Baruch told France it would lose US aid. White House aide David Niles got Liberia's vote by saying he would get the Firestone tire company to hurt Liberia's rubber industry. The wives of delegates received fur coats.

Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, along with ten senators and Truman adviser Clark Clifford, threatened the Philippines. Before the vote on the Plan, the Philippine delegate had given a passionate speech against partition. He said he couldn't believe that the General Assembly would place the world "back onto the road to the dangerous principles of racial exclusiveness and to the archaic documents of theocratic governments." Twenty-four hours later, the Philippine delegate votes in favor of partition.

4. From pages 44 to 48 of Alison Weir's book "Against Our Better Judgement," paraphrasing:

The partition plan would give Israel 55% of Palestine, but their plan, stated in journal entries and letters, was to take the rest of Palestine. The US State Dep't strenuously opposed the partition plan, considering Zionism to be contrary to both our principles and our interests. Loy Henderson, Director of Near Eastern and African affairs,said:

"At the present time the US has a moral prestige in the Near and Middle East unequalled by that of any other great power. We would lose that prestige and would likely for many years [75 years?] be considered as a betrayer of high principles...." Zionists demanded his resignation and threatened his family. One analyst said this is "musical chairs in which officials who recommend Middle East policies consistent with the nation's interests" were moved on. (Weir, in 2014: "In recent years, virtually every State Dep't country desk has been directed by a Zionist.")

Historian Richard Stevens explains that Christian support was largely gained by their wish to help people in need, such as refugees. Few had any idea that the creation of a Jewish state would create a massive expulsion of non-Jews creating a creating a new and much longer-lasting refugee problem. Nor did they learn that in the 1947-1949 war, Zionist forces attacked a number of Christian sites. David Neff, former TIME magazine Jerusalem bureau chief reported that many children were killed and wounded at the Convent of Orthodox Copts. A Catholic priest said "Jewish soldiers broke down the door of my church and robbed many precious and sacred objects."
-- end of four themes by Weir. There are many others. All related to a fantastic mistake.

Conclusion

Today, October 16, 2024, is the first day of the Jewish holiday Sukkot -- the Feast of Booths. For the record, I love Israel and I love Jews. One day in the 1980s I was staying in a hotel in Jerusalem. There was a knock at my door. I opened it a crack. Two men were carrying what looked like palm trees. I asked What do you want? They said "We want to pass through to your balcony to set up your Sukkot booth." I was extremely touched.

Come on, guys, mistakes do happen, and humans can deal with mistakes. The current situation is absurd. It is mind-bogglingly stupid. People are suffering in Palestine (Gaza), Israel, Lebanon, and Iran. And America, too -- like the fellow said, we have suffered the loss of our prestige and worse, the loss of our principles. Plus, we are drowning in lies.

In the 1920s, as mentioned by Yoram Hazony above, Martin Buber and Arthur Ruppin envisioned Jews, Christians, and Muslims pooling their intellectual resources to influence the culture of humankind. Sounds great. Ruppin mentioned "a new social order." Why not proceed. Did something go wrong?

-- Mary Maxwell lives in New Hampshire. Her website is www.ConstitutionAndTruth.com. The above article is public domain. Please make it increase and multiply.