Zionists inside and outside of Israel believe, as an article of
faith, that Israel cannot survive as a "Jewish state" without a
Jewish majority. As a non-Zionist progressive Jewish humanist, I find
this formulation disturbing, because it assumes that Jews and
non-Jews are separate species who cannot respect each other's
national or human rights.

What exactly does the term "Jewish state" mean? Is it the same as
"Canadian state" or "Italian state?" It is not. Israel defines itself
as the state of all Jews in the world rather than the state of all
its citizens. Jews hold privileged status over the Arab minority in
nearly every walk of life. I, a Jew living freely and securely in the
U.S., can automatically emigrate to Israel, be granted citizenship
and receive major state support, whereas an Israeli Arab cannot even
bring his or her Palestinian spouse into the country. Israeli Arabs'
right to own land is severely restricted. Arabs are excluded from
vast sectors of the Israeli economy. They suffer severe housing
segregation and most live in dire poverty. Despite the fact that
Arabs have the right to vote, no Arab political party has ever been
invited to join an Israeli government.

Regardless of how Arab citizens of Israel behave, Arab population
growth within Israel is viewed as a demographic threat. Arabs are
considered detriments to the "Jewish state" just by being born. There
is a campaign underway in Israel to settle more Jews in the Galilee
merely because too many Arabs live there. The major argument used by
supporters of Israeli withdrawal from some or all of the occupied
territories is to preserve the "Jewish majority." The same argument
is used against the admission of non-Jewish immigrants, especially
the many foreign labourers in Israel. Anyone who is seriously
concerned with human rights should find all this profoundly offensive.

I will not use the word "apartheid" to describe Israel's policies
toward its Arab citizens, because that would be too extreme. However,
I would argue that analogies can be drawn to the status of Jews in
nations like Poland between World War I and World War II, or to
African Americans in the U.S. in the North before the civil rights
revolution. Like Jews in prewar Poland, Arabs in Israel are
considered undesirable outsiders-a people who can never be "real"
Israelis. Like African Americans, Arabs in Israel face intense
segregation and discrimination. They are, at best, second-class
citizens.

There are two major forms of nationalism-civic and ethnic. Canada,
for example, practices civic nationalism. The state does not
privilege one ethnic or racial group over another. Israel practices
ethnic nationalism. If you are not a Jew, your status is diminished.
Judaism enjoys official status as the state religion. The flag and
national anthem are identifiably Jewish. There is no bill of rights
guaranteeing all citizens equal protection under the law. (The
oft-quoted Israeli Declaration of Independence does not have the
force of law.)

Of course, there are historical reasons for this state of affairs,
rooted in the history of anti-Semitic persecution in Europe. One of
the great ironies of Jewish history is that Zionism probably adopted
its brand of ethnic "blood and soil" nationalism from anti-Semitic
movements in Russia and Eastern Europe that sought to exclude Jews
from the national polity as an alien entity. Zionists accepted the
anti-Semitic premise that Jews did not belong in Europe. They became
convinced that Jews had to establish a state in Palestine where they
would first outnumber and then exclude or dominate the Arab minority.

Some might excuse the treatment of Arabs in a Jewish state by arguing
that Jews in Arab states have also been treated badly. In defense of
this claim, it must be admitted that Arab nationalism is also ethnic
in nature and has been shown to denigrate the rights of non-Arabs and
non-Muslims, not only Jews, but also Kurds in Iraq and Coptics in
Egypt. However, this argument will not hold up as long as Israel
considers itself a democracy, accepts U.S. military and diplomatic
patronage and seeks the financial, political and moral support of
Jews all over the world. In world politics as well as kindergarten,
two wrongs don't make a right.

So what is it about preserving a "Jewish majority" in Israel that is
so important? The rock-solid Zionist assumption is that Jews and
non-Jews inherently have different interests. This is certainly not a
progressive humanist concept. Nor is it born out by the Israeli
experience.

Arabs vote for Zionist political parties and have been elected to the
Knesset as representatives of these parties, including Meretz, Labour
and even Likud. There was a time when the Israeli communist party,
now predominantly Arab, had significant Jewish membership. Even
self-defined "Arab" parties in the Knesset vote with left/center
Zionist parties on many issues. Outside the political arena, there
are numerous organizations where Arabs and Jews work together on
civic, educational and humanitarian projects.

Jews in Israel are sharply divided along religious/secular,
Ashkenazic/Mizrakhi and socio-economic lines. Not all Jews in Israel
are Zionists, and among Zionists there are sharp contrasts between
those that advocate a two-state solution with full civil rights for
the Arab minority, and those that advocate holding a substantial
portion of the occupied territories and transferring Israel's Arab
citizens into a Palestinian mini-state. The divisions between
ultra-Orthodox and secular Israeli Jews on "synagogue-state" and
civil liberties issues can be even fiercer.

If demographics is the only thing that truly counts, then Israeli
Jews should be prepared to fall under the control of the
ultra-Orthodox and the national religious camp (the base of the
settlers), whose high birth rates may result in their becoming the
majority among Jews in a few decades. Yet the mantra of "preserving a
Jewish majority" is heard even within left-wing Zionist circles, when
their own experience shows that they have more in common with
progressive Arabs.

It seems to me that the majority that needs to be created in Israel
is not Jewish or Arab, but one that unites Jews and Arabs committed
to democracy, equality and peace. I do not see a good reason why Jews
could not enjoy educational, cultural and religious autonomy whether
or not they are in a majority in Israel. Or why there could not be an
Arab prime minister some day, elected with the support of Jewish
voters. In a future Israeli state, where complete civic equality
prevails, Jews (and Arabs) in Israel will simply have to learn to
make alliances across ethno-religious lines. This, of course, is the
reality in the Diaspora, where Jews are a tiny minority, yet coexist
peacefully and cooperate productively with like-minded non-Jews.

I grant that this model is not achievable in Israel in the short
term, and maybe not even in the medium term. However, if Jews inside
and outside Israel do not begin to examine the contradictions between
a "Jewish state" and a state that grants equal rights to all of its
citizens, then relations between Jews and Arabs inside Israel will
deteriorate to the point where they are beyond repair. When that
occurs, the Jewish ethic "do not oppress the stranger," will become
empty rhetoric-if it hasn't already.