What went wrong in Israel?
Professor Omer Bartov was born on a kibbutz, grew up in Tel Aviv and served in the Israel Defence Forces during the Yom Kippur War. He went on to become an expert on the German army and the Holocaust, before turning his attention to his native country.
In Israel: What Went Wrong?, Bartov explores the transformation of Zionism from a movement of Jewish emancipation and liberation into a state ideology of ethno-nationalism, exclusion and violent domination of Palestinians. He traces the process whereby Israel – whose establishment in 1948 received international support in the aftermath of the Holocaust – now faces accusations of war crimes and genocide.
He tracks how a liberatory strand of Zionism transformed from a hopeful nation that in its founding document promised “complete equality of social and political rights to all its citizens irrespective of religion, race or sex” into one intent on what he terms “settler colonialism and ethno-nationalism”.
He deplores the way the memory of the Shoah has been instrumentalized for political purposes, becoming “a vast fig leaf”, as he puts it in the book: “its lamentable effect to combine self-victimization and self-pity with self-righteousness, hubris and the euphoria of power”. His goal is not to minimize the horrors of the Nazi extermination campaign but to demonstrate the ways in which this trauma has been exploited to shape the Israeli psyche and political ideology.
He believes that Jews have a right to self-determination as long as they don’t “trample over other people’s rights”.
Despite his condemnation of present-day Israeli society, Bartov does see a narrow path toward the nation’s peaceful coexistence with its neighbors with a confederation plan championed by a group of Israeli and Palestinian intellectuals called A Land for All. Under this scheme, sovereign and independent Palestinian and Jewish states would exist side by side, divided roughly along pre-1967 borders. Citizens of both entities would be allowed to live and travel freely throughout the combined territory but would vote only in their own national elections.
What he sees as the present nation’s preference for military confrontation over diplomacy depends entirely on American support and that patronage is now being tested as never before. A clear majority of Democratic voters now have a negative view of Israel. “Maga is becoming anti-Israel,” Bartov said, due to “Netanyahu completely leading Trump by the nose into a completely idiotic war”.
As a result, America’s indulgence of its longstanding Middle East ally may at last be reaching its limits. Should the United States withhold military support – as is advocated by growing numbers of Democratic policymakers – “Israel will have to go through a process of coming to terms with itself,” Bartov predicted. Under such circumstances, the country would have no choice but to pursue diplomacy. Ironically, that might be the so-called Jewish state’s best hope for a peaceful and prosperous future.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/21/omer-bartov-israel-zionism-genocide
Forty out of 47 Democratic senators last week voted to block US arms sales to Israel.Sixty per cent of Americans now view Israel unfavourably, according to Pew. The younger they are, the higher that number. Three-quarters of 18- to 29-year-olds sympathise more with Palestinians than Israelis, according to a separate NBC poll last weekend. As boomers die off, America’s anti-Israeli tilt is likely to harden.
The next act will be Trump’s efforts to find a way out of Epic Fury. It is hard to see how he will get a US-Iran settlement that is much better than what Obama negotiated in 2015. Netanyahu broke precedent by telling Congress that the Iran-US nuclear deal was “very bad”. He also played a role in 2018 in persuading Trump to pull out of it.
The influential organization now known as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was founded in 1953 (officially incorporated in 1954) and was created partly in response to intense international condemnation of Israel following the Qibya massacre in October 1953, where Israeli troops killed 69 Palestinian villagers, mostly women and children.
1.In his book on the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe notes that a month after the UN resolution, the Jewish leadership embarked on the “ethnic cleansing of Palestine”.
“Plan D decided on ‘the systematic expulsion of the Palestinians from vast areas of the country’”
Uri Ram, a professor of Ben-Gurion University, reviewed The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine for the Middle East Journal and described the book as “a most important and daring book that challenges head-on Israeli historiography and collective memory and even more importantly Israeli conscience”.
2.Israelism (2023) is a notable documentary following young American Jews questioning their education about Israel and its treatment of Palestinians. Other documentaries focusing on young Israelis or the region include No Other Land (2024), showing a collective’s view on West Bank destruction, and Days of Rage, covering young Palestinians.
3.In 1947 Britain began to promote the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, a policy supported by the Jewish leadership but which immediately undermined the interests of the Palestinians, who at the time made up around two-thirds of the population, compared to one-third of Jews. In November 1947, the UN passed General Assembly Resolution 181, partitioning Palestine and awarding the Jews a state that comprised over half the country, against the will of the indigenous majority population. This began with a series of attacks on Arab villages following the vandalisation by some Palestinians of buses and shopping centres in protest at the resolution.
As warfare among Jews and Palestinians increased, the Jewish leaders’ plans culminated in a meeting in March 1948 which decided on a “Plan D”, the “systematic expulsion of the Palestinians from vast areas of the country”, Pappe notes.
Military leader Moshe Dayan in the 1950s: “What we can say against their terrible hatred of us? For eight years, they have sat in the refugee camps of Gaza, and have watched how, before their very eyes, we have turned their lands and villages, where they and their forefathers dwelled, into our home.”
Moshe Sharett (Israel Prime Minister 1954/55): “In the thirties we restrained the emotions of revenge. . . . Now, on the contrary, we justify the system of reprisal … we have eliminated the mental and moral brake on this instinct and made it possible … to uphold revenge as a moral value…. a sacred principle”
This is more for background context since everything has been said before in previous posts. But another example of the new era splitting away from post WW11 organisations.
While I too am appalled by current Israel behaviour, especially on the West Bank, I venture to question point 3 in the narrative. It reads as if Israel started the 1947/8 war. I believe that Palestinians and neighbouring countries rejected the UN partition. Whoever fired the first shot, Palestinians were I believe determined to eradicate the idea of a separate Jewish state.
It was a botch up since the start – way back in 1917. The Brits irritated the Arabs with their high handed decision to hand over part of Palestine to the Jewish people – and it went on from there.
It is as if Israel is belatedly fighting the holocaust. And yet, the US continues to enable Israel and the politicians supporting them continue to be voted into power by the people. Is it in the composite chart.
You have provided such an interesting and balanced post for us to digest, Marjorie. You have also given me quite a bit of reading to check out, too. My thoughts are the same as yours and others expressed here. The holocaust absolutely appalled me, but what is happening under Netanyahu’s leadership appalls me more. I feel a tiny glimmer of hope after reading some of those extracts.
I have long said that the Israelis, or at least the current Israeli government, took the wrong lessons from the Holocaust.
As a post-WWII boomer I grew up with a sympathetic view of all things Jewish. I never gave it much thought until well into adulthood as it was just accepted that the Holocaust beat all contrary factors. I never read the history of Jews in Europe or the Middle East and am not a Jew or a practising Christian. I did become aware along the way that many of the world’s greatest thinkers and artists were/are Jewish – well educated, responsible people who have had a hard time of it over 2000 years, with the Holocaust being the utmost horror as to civilization’s inhumanity to mankind. It took years for the idea to seep in that maybe things had got badly twisted since then.
That thought was crystalized when one day, when I was talking to a veteran of WWII (since passed) he said, well, you realize that all those people who went to Palestine were Jews, but they were northern Europeans too. Their values and expectations were European, not Middle Eastern. They were not Arabs or Saudis or Iranians, or any of the cultures we associate with the Middle East. How they retained or acquired Judaism is a question for students of religion, geographers, anthropologists and historians, but there has been a divide between those people and the long resident Middle Eastern people for a very long time. So the northern Europeans invaded Palestine in order to get away from their own European problems and they took over lands from the Palestinians. There apparently was some integration and acceptance in the years before WWII, but it turned out to be minimal and the divide has got deeper and deeper over the years. Was there really ever a chance that it could work? Seems maybe not.
The astrology of that great divide is the founding chart of Israel, with the Sun in Taurus (land) widely conjunct Algol (furious anger directed outward) in the 8th of other people’s resources/money (the house of take-overs and debt). The Sun is opposed by Chiron in Scorpio (the very deep and emotional /Scorpio wound that won’t heal) and square Mars in Leo (action with more than a touch of arrogance) in the 11th of government. The leaders of Israel surely were desparate after the war at the time of the founding, but also very determined to take what they wanted as represented by Saturn and Pluto in the 10th in Leo, the sign of monarchs and singular rulers of any stripe. Neither Saturn (who ate his own children in mythology) nor Pluto, who rules the underworld/death, are what you’d call cheery and there is no doubt that the founding of Israel was a deadly serious matter.
The hopeful parts of the founding are represented by the exact trine between Mercury and Neptune – Mercury in the 8th being commerce and Neptune representing the Jewish faith (I assume) in the impenetrable 12th house. Mars is trine Jupiter Rx in the 3rd of neighbours and sextile Uranus in the 9th of foreigners, but Jupiter and Uranus are opposed. It looks like Mars (war/disagreement/aggression) is the way this see-saw situation works itself out, but if Mars could work more with Jupiter and neighbours it would be better than Mars with Uranus and disruption. The 4th house cusp (end of the matter) is 25 Capricorn, ruled by Saturn in the 10th (hardship, delays, separation and might makes right). Despite the potential for peace and justice, the power struggles are built right into the chart. Outcome unknown and the sad story continues, but we do know there is no peace without true fellowship.
Hi Sweet Grapes
You said a veteran of WWII told you that “those people who went to Palestine were Jews, but they were northern Europeans too. They were not Arabs or Saudis or Iranians, or any of the cultures we associate with the Middle East.”
Sweet Grapes he was actually mistaken. There were refugees from Europe, but hundreds of thousands came Arab states too, although this not widely known. In 1948 many Arab states forced their Jewish populations to leave, and many went as refugees to Israel. Often referred to as Mizrachi Jews they are descendants of ancient Jewish communities from the Middle East, North Africa, as well as the Caucasus, spanning regions like Iraq (Babylonia), Iran (Persia), Yemen, and Morocco and they, and the Sephardim jews make up a probably the largest proportion of Jews in Israel.
The greatest influx followed the establishment of the state in 1948. Over 90% of Jews from Iraq and Yemen, along with large populations from Morocco and North Africa, emigrated between 1948 and the 1950s. At the end of the British Mandate in 1947, the Jewish population in the territory of Israel/Palestine was approximately 630,000. Following independence, the total Jewish population in the state of Israel by the end of 1950 was roughly 1,203,000. Not all of this happened overnight, but now those same Arabic countries have no Jews living in them at all.
For example, between the years of 1948 and 2003, Egypt systematically expelled its Jewish population (roughly 80,000 in 1948) through state-sanctioned violence, mass arrests, property confiscation, and forced expulsion orders, particularly in 1956 and 1967. Following the establishment of Israel, the 1956 Suez Crisis, and the 1967 Six-Day War, authorities accused Jews of Zionism, imprisoned thousands, and gave many days or hours to leave the country with only one bag. They went from a population in 1948 of 63,550 vs 3 in 2023
Same in Syria. Jews there were forced out again through state-sponsored persecution, violent riots, and severe legal restrictions following the 1947 UN partition plan. In the 1947 Aleppo pogrom, over 75 Jews were killed, hundreds wounded, and thousands fled as synagogues, businesses, and homes and the historic Great Synagogue were burned. In 1948 there were 40,000 Jews there vs 0 in 2023
Between 1950 and 1951, the Iraqi government expelled nearly its entire 2,500-year-old Jewish community through the same processes of state-sponsored violence discriminatory legislation, asset freezing, and a legalized denaturalization process. In 1948 there were between 135,000 – 150,000 vs just 4 in 2023
Libya: 1948 vs 0 in 2023 Jews were expelled from Libya primarily through violent pogroms (1945, 1948, 1967), systemic anti-Jewish laws, and intense harassment driven by Arab nationalism.
The departure of Jews from Morocco was driven by antisemitism rather than direct government expulsion but incidents such as the 1948 riots in Oujda and Jerada that saw nearly 50 Jews killed, creating fear for safety. Morrocco 1948 265,000 vs 2,100 in 2023
In Algeria 130,000 Jews left following the 1948 and there are now reckoned to be just 200 left in 2023. However, most of these Jews went to France.
I could go on but I’m sure you get the drift.
Sarah_C, thank you for your additional notes to my post. All of it is illuminating and I do not question that it is true, as you have outlined. I am no historian of the Israeli or Arab/ME experience, and have never been there, but whatever the extent of the horrors, I did actually think that Israel and the Jewish faith stand for justice and humanity. I thought being Jewish stands for knowledge and the better nature of mankind, especially after the Holocaust. Undoubtedly there are and were Jewish people in many countries who have suffered dislocation and violence in many ways. I know they did not all come from Europe.
I was focussing on the part of the story that I know a little about in recent times, relating to the founding of Israel by displaced Jews from Europe. I freely admit it is inadequate knowledge. However, the history of oppression of Jews does not excuse what has happened in Gaza to the Palestinians and to whomever lives or has now died there.
October 7 was terrible. The complete wipeout of Gaza is just horrible. People ought not to do those things to anybody, on either side, no matter what their religion or colour, or status, etc. If we humans cannot get to a place where we deal with our differences sensibly, non-violently, we will surely destroy ourselves and the planet in the process. We ALL have to look at ourselves in the mirror and answer for our actions. That’s my point.
Historians are ruled by Saturn, Mercury and the sign Cancer. He has a YOD:
Saturn = Israel/Mercury. Saturn, historian, quincunx Mercury in Aries (Arabs)
sextiles Israel. Mercury in 9th, hicher studies of foreign people. Magnify to enlarge.
https://ibb.co/jPY4ZHxv
Speaking as an American boomer, I can add that even my generation is so appalled and horrified by what the Israelis continue to do in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon that they are losing support from my generation as well. Providing arms and military support to the Israeli government, especially this Israeli government, to commit genocide is unconscionable.
What may be a practical deciding factor in the very near future is the vastly depleted American arms stockpile, thanks to Trump’s stupid and illegal Iran war. The US is extremely low on arms now and probably doesn’t have enough left to provide Israel with its previously generous supplies and sales, especially in view of the growing opposition to the war from both political parties.
I started off immensely sympathetic to Israel and the Jewish people and really since the Sabra Chatila Camp massacres in the early 1980s I have been more and more disappointed by what has happened. And the more I researched the more obvious it became that the problems had been there from the start.
Classic abused becoming the abuser syndrome and with such a fixed chsrt they are not for turning and apparently I read that their extremists believe in the apocalyptic war to destroy everything so they can rebuild the temple and prepare for the return of Christ. So clearly they are happy with what is going on now and even if worse is to come for the world.
Very sad
The Jewish Messiah is not divine or the Christ or a supernatural being.
He will be a mortal man descended from King David who will be a charismatic political and military leader.
He’ll gather all Jews back to Israel and restore the 3rd temple and bring peace.
My bad. Apologies for my misunderstanding. I thought he must be divine.
I felt the same way, originally supportive of Israel until their treatment of the Palestinians became so appalling. I have always had a number of Palestinian friends and learnt of their families’ experiences. I’ve often wondered if the Palestinians might have been more accepting of Israel if, in 1948, they had been offered compensation for the loss of their lands and an opportunity to start over elsewhere, instead of just having their lands stolen and forcing them into refugee camps.
Most of my American Jewish friends, admittedly like me progressive politically, are strongly opposed to Netanyahu and his policies. But one friend, daughter of Holocaust survivors, who had recently visited Israel during the Hamas war, shocked me into silence last year when I asked her how the Israelis she met felt about how they were prosecuting the war. She dismissed my concerns about the killing of innocent civilians and children in Gaza.
“Oh,” she said, “the Palestinians have the highest birthrate in the world and breed like rabbits.” I haven’t been able to think of her in the same way.
1) Isn’t the term “they breed like rabbits” also applied by many to ultra-orthodox Jews?
2) I persuaded the leader of the Green Party in Canada to persuade our Parliament to support an all-party statement saying that Canadian Jews should not be judged by the actions of Israel. This has not been able to stem anti-semitic attacks and protests in Canada, unfortunately.
3) Since so much money goes to Israel from the diaspora, I suspect that there will be a drying up of that source of income for Israel as surely as lessened support from the U.S. The anguish of decent Jews must be terrible. A few days ago, at an art show opening, I chatted with a woman who said she had 82 relatives in Israel. Because she seemed genuinely nice, and I didn’t want to be rude, I said nothing about the genocide in Gaza, the murderous settlers in the West Bank and the monstrous, undeclared war in Lebanon. Then she said, “The West Bank…”, shook her head and said, “I’ll never go back there”.
Cathy, re. your comment, “I suspect that there will be a drying up of that source of income for Israel as surely as lessened support from the U.S.”, I would not count on there being a drying up of money for Israel from the USA as long as the Trump administration or its following is in control. They are unquestionably racist and the money for Israel supports racism against all sorts of people who are “non-white”, Arab and otherwise.
Sad to say, the foundation of right wing politics for a long time, in the Trumpian era and prior, has been racism. It may not be exactly the same between Israel and Palestine, but whichever way it happens racism is a curse. Whether that is expressed as Chiron or Eris or whichever astrological signature, I cannot say, but until racism is dealt with in society, there will be no long lasting peace.
People are people, but the essence of racism is to find a reason for one group to hate and discriminate against another. It’s an ancient story and it’s latest incarnation is ‘me first’ across entire societies. As long as one group wants to hate some other group, they’ll find the money to do it.
The great American experiment, the melting pot, is under attack. It desperately needs renewal. The unhappy alternative is what Trump is selling, along with Netanyahu and other world leaders who want segregation and do not believe in equality among all people.
The way I see it, those of us who lived through the Palestinian terrorism of the 1970s and 1980s became more pro-Israeli. From Munich to the various plane hijacks to attempting to destroy the Arab states that initially welcomed them, they lost all credibility with that generation.
Similarly, those of us who have seen the atrocious acts of the Israeli state in more recent times, particularly in the past decade, have swung the other way. It is now that state that has lost credibility with the current generation.
It is a pity that Israel can’t moderate its actions.
Max Hastings made an interesting point in his history of the Vietnam war. He said one reason for the success of the Communist regime in Hanoi and the Viet Cong was the fact it never attempted to take the armed struggle outside of south east Asia. As a consequence they were able to win the propaganda war in the West. This was a lesson that the Palestinians failed to learn in the 1960s and 1970s. It allowed the Israelis to basically paint them as simply terrorists to western audiences. Only recently has this started to change. In fact the biggest mistake the Israeli government made recently was its hugely disproportionate response to the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023. That should have been a huge propaganda win for Israel as they could have painted themselves as victims of that attack. Instead, Netanyahu and the more extreme elements in the Israeli government simply threw away a public relations gift by their excessive military reaction.
Excellent point, Hugh. The disproportionate response of Israel to the October 7 attack is a key factor in the way people everywhere have turned against the Israeli government/Netanyahu et al. Also, a good point about Vietnam as to the propaganda war and terrorism. Never thought of it that way before, but it makes sense.
Now it is an ongoing holocaust being compared with the original Holocaust. Of course, it is not just propaganda – there is no erasing the utter destruction of Gaza. Real people are being displaced, harmed and killed in disproportionate numbers as compared to Israelis. This cannot possibly end well.
Hugh I would cordially suggest this has more to do with numbers than missing opportunities. There are 15 miliion Jews worldwide. 2 billion muslims. That’s a lot more mobile phones and computers.