For a man embraced by the left for his unflinching, sometimes harsh reassessment of Zionism, Ari Shavit certainly does love Israel.
The columnist for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz made that clear on Dec. 2 before a packed house at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. The first of three Manovill Conversations, this one moderated by New Yorker editor David Remnick, Shavit articulated conflicted feelings about his homeland, its predicament and future.
He also spoke the next day at a Commonwealth Club event in Palo Alto.
With his book “My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel” high on the New York Times best-seller list, Shavit, 56, is the new “it” pundit on Israeli matters. He presented no groundbreaking insights at the JCC, but showed how one can revere one’s country while reappraising the myths that hide its flaws.
“I’m a total progressive peacenik,” Shavit told the Kanbar Hall crowd of 450, “but I opened my eyes to see how harsh is the reality of the Middle East. As [Israel] became a strong physical reality, we lost the context, the narrative. I wanted to rewrite the narrative, be honest about the flaws but see what a manmade miracle [Israel] is.”
In his book, Shavit examined unsavory aspects of Israeli history, from a massacre of Arabs in Lydda (a village east of Tel Aviv, now called Lod) during the 1948 War of Independence, to Israel’s ongoing presence in the West Bank. Shavit traced it all back to the country’s Zionist founders, though he expressed deep reverence for them.
“In the 19th century, [Zionist pioneers] did not know there would be an Auschwitz, but they tried to prevent an Auschwitz,” he told the audience. “They led the most dramatic reestablishment of a nation, revived a language and created this amazing phenomenon.”
Respectful as he is of Israel’s pioneer generation, he did accuse them of blindness to the Arabs already populating the ancient Jewish homeland. But he angrily rejected as outrageous assertions that the early pioneers were colonialists, given the prevalent anti-Semitism of 19th-century Europe.
“The need for Israel was a deep need,” he said. “While I’m aware of the flaws, the sins, the dark side, I do not think Israel is morally flawed.”
He also blasted the notion of a bi-national Arab-Jewish state to replace Israel, saying there is no way such an idea in practice would not end in anything other than massive bloodshed.
Shavit called the settler movement a great threat to Israel, adding, “Let’s dismantle some settlements and give the Palestinians more political and geographic space to build their nation state. Let’s not wait for the grand perfect peace.”
Though liberal, Shavit does not fit a simplistic right-or-left mold. Thus he dismissed the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement (BDS), saying he did not believe in twisting arms, and that such moves would only strengthen the Israeli right.
Remnick queried Shavit about the recently concluded deal with Iran over its nuclear program. Shavit expressed trepidation, saying a nuclear Iran would trigger an instant Middle East arms race, with Saudi Arabia acquiring a nuke “within days. You will have a multi-polar nuclear system in the world’s most unstable region.”
He also said fear of an ascendant Iran has lately sparked an odd, budding alliance between Israel and its foes among Sunni Muslims, including the Saudis, who are now prepared to see Israel as part of “a strategic partnership.”
Serious as the topics of his talk may have been, Shavit proved warm and engaging, ready to dissolve the more prickly stereotypes some may believe about Israelis.
“Israelis are so cynical, so sophisticated,” he said near the end of the evening. “But give them a hug, and they’re yours.”