He is, he said, not an “unconditional supporter” of Israel, rather a “worried friend”. In The Israeli questionBruno Tirtrais, deputy director of the Foundation for Strategic Research, wonders: how can a state smaller than Brittany arouse as many passions? The geopolitical specialist deals with the subject in his own way, exceeded and cold. The opportunity to deny that Israel would be an exceptional state internationally, and to contradict some received ideas.
No, Zionism is not “colonialism”
Inspired by the national emancipation movements of the 19th century while being a reaction to pogroms in Eastern Europe, historical Zionism is, according to Bruno Trtrais, in contrast to traditional colonialism: “not expansionist and predator, but defensive and liberator; terra nulliusbut to an entity under mandate); Above all, not on distant territories unrelated to the people concerned, but on the lands of their ancestors. “The author joins the analysis of political science Denis Charbit, who believes that the creation of Israel in 1948 s ‘Even inscribed in the wave of decolonizations.
No, there is no “apartheid” in Israel
A fifth of the citizens of Israel are not Jewish. On the papers, all have the same rights, but not the same duties, the Arabs (but by the Druze) being exempt from military service. Judaism is not a state religion there, even if the weekly leave (Saturday) or the kosher food imposed in official organizations come from Judaism. “Israel is not to Judaism what Morocco or Saudi Arabia are to Islam,” observes Bruno Tiltrais. Pushed by the extreme right, a constitutional law in 2018 defined Israel as “nation-state of the Jewish people”. But for the geopolitologist, this is not enough to justify the accusations of “apartheid” which regularly aim Israel, the Israeli Arabs being present at the Knesset as at the Supreme Court: “Funny apartheid than the one who sees an Islamist party ( Ra’am) Participate for more than a year in a government coalition, as was the case in 2021-2022. “”
No, Israeli occupation is not unique
Russia occupies almost 20 % of the territory of Ukraine, without forgetting Abkhazia and Southern Ossetia in Georgia. The north of Cyprus has been occupied by Turkey since 1974. Western Sahara has been occupied by Morocco, while the UN still considers it as a “non -autonomous territory”. The annexation of Tibet by China is a fait accompli. Let us also recall that from 1948 to 1967, the West Bank was occupied by Jordan, and Gaza by Egypt.
If the occupation by Israel of the West Bank has lasted for more than six decades, Bruno Tirtrais assures that there are a “two weights, two measures” manifests at work at the level of the United Nations. For twenty years, Israel has held the record of countries sentenced to the UN General Assembly, with more than 100 resolutions, twice as much as Russia.
Yes, peace will be very complicated
The obstacles to peace between Israelis and Palestinians are numerous today, especially since the conflict has confessionalized. In Israel, ultra-Orthodoxes, thanks to a very high fertility rate, continue to gain weight compared to the laity. Religious Zionists, long marginal, are still in government and have adopted an increasingly messianic tone, notably with the ambition to erect a third temple in Jerusalem. Opposite, Islamist forces have also taken precedence over Palestinian nationalism. For Bruno Trtrais, putting an end to the conflict would thus suppose “a mental and political revolution” on both sides, with the abandonment by each of the temptation to want to dominate the whole territory of the former mandatory Palestine (“from the river to the sea “).
For a long time in war with its neighbors, Israel is increasingly inserted in the Middle East, until they can consider an agreement with Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, the creation of a Palestinian state has everything of an Arlesian. And the shattering statements of Donald Trump on Gaza will not arrange anything.
The Israeli questionby Bruno Tirtrais. The observatory, 171 p., € 20.
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