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DAY OF THE CITIZEN INSTEAD OF DAY OF THE CATASTROPHE |
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Thursday, 12 May 2005 |
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Will Israel ever see national symbols around which all the country's citizens can unite?
Daniel Tchetchik (photo)
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Every 19 years, the dates on the Jewish and Gregorian calendars line
up. This year, as Israel celebrates 57 years since the founding of the
state (three multiplied by 19), it happens again on Independence Day.
The fifth of the Hebrew month of Iyar falls this year on May 14, the
Jewish and Gregorian dates on which the State of Israel was declared,
though ironically, Independence Day celebrations were brought forward
to tomorrow because the holiday would otherwise fall on Shabbat.
The
following day, May 15, markes the official end of the British Mandate
in Palestine and the date the Arab armies invaded. This is the day that
the Palestinians and Arabs mark as Nakba Day, "The Catastrophe."
The
fact that these dates fall so close together offers an opportunity to
raise the question of whether these dates will always be days of
conflicting meaning to so many. Considering the past, the answer is
almost certainly "yes."
The establishment of the Jewish state of
course symbolizes a national disaster for the Palestinians. And if,
heavens forbid, the war ended with a Palestinian and Arab victory, it
would of course have been a Jewish disaster. But do these conflicting
meanings have to exist even in the present and future?
This
question is connected to another that comes up every now and again in
the public discourse. At least on a formal level, no person in Israel,
even those on the far right, denies equality of human rights to every
citizen of Israel, Jew or Arab. This principle is even officially
anchored in the Declaration of Independence that was read out on the
fifth of Iyar of the Jewish year 5708, though its implementation is
much more problematic. Will Israel ever see not just equal rights on a
practical level, but also national symbols around which all the
country's citizens can unite?
Supporters of this idea every now
and again propose changing the flag and/or the national anthem so as to
also suit the Arab population. Such proposals are very problematic
since the flag and the anthem were meant to symbolize the national
character of Israel as a state of the Jewish people, and were designed
at the very beginning of the Jewish struggle for a state, not once it
was actually established.
One cannot, however, ignore the need
not just for equal rights between all citizens of the state, with the
boundaries of maintaining the national-Jewish character, but also to
create national symbols that will enable the Israeli Arabs to feel part
of the state.
This need should be met for the sake of itself,
without any other utilitarian justification. It also seems, however,
that this can also actually contribute to the state's Jewish character.
The greater the Arab sector's sense of comfort and belonging, the
sector's need to battle for formal changes to the country's national
character will shrink.
The solution may thus be found in the
calendar. While the flag and anthem will always be unique and there can
never be a flag and anthem that will express the national Jewish
character together with a flag and anthem that will express a civilian
character, the calendar offers an opportunity to mark both the
identities.
Close to Independence Day, which marks the national
character of the country, it would be proper to set a date that will
mark "Israeli citizen day," and would be designated to deal with issues
of equal rights and meetings between Jews and Arabs with an emphasis on
equal civil status.
In principle it seems that May 15, Nakba
Day, would be the best day to mark such a day, as this would be an
opening to change the significance of this day. In practice, however,
the mix of the Jewish and Gregorian calendars is likely to produce
situations when May 15 falls on Independence Day, or Memorial Day for
the Fallen.
It would probably be better, therefore, to set
Citizens' Day as close as possible to May 15, but on a date that would
never fall after the Hebrew date for Independence Day. Alternatively,
it could be set for March 30, when Israel's Arabs mark Land Day, which
marks the loss of Arab lands in Galilee. This new tradition should be
started next year, the 30th anniversary of Land Day. |
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