MIDDLE EAST – “What kind of Palestine do Madrid, Oslo and Dublin want?”

By Noemi Di Segni*

Spain, Ireland, Norway, to start. Perhaps then someone else will decide to proceed unilaterally with the recognition of Palestine. Three states with a very different History (with a capital H) dating back over the centuries, with respect to the presence of Jewish communities, the Inquisition, the response to the Nazi occupation and totalitarian regimes, membership to the European project and even immigration. States with very different events and challenges today, but which have taken action in unison to grant a recognition that cannot be considered mere support, de facto sanctioning terrorism as a path that deserves legitimacy. The previous recognitions by African or Arab countries, in some way applauded at the UN, are not surprising considering the subjects from which they emanate, but since we are talking about two states of the European Union and one very close to the EU (Norway) we certainly cannot underestimate the seriousness of the gesture. “State” is not a slogan or a label that one decides to associate out of pity or as a reward by sharing a supposed struggle for liberation. It is not a comforting pin or a tribute of respect.
The word state is a serious word. It generates responsibility on the domestic, international and moral levels and presupposes commitment and ability. A capacity on which, here in Italy, we measure ourselves every day in terms of adherence to the founding values of the European Union, of the Republic, for us Italians and equally for Israel.
The scrutiny and rigour of the observance of the principles that are the basis of coexistence among nations and the pursuit of a just peace extends to all, knowing how to recognize flaws and errors that put at risk the democratic system and protection to which we hold most dear. And we also know how to confront each other in international forums as long as they are worthy and loyal to their mission, not when they also transform the Courts of Justice into political arenas.
“State” is a very precise legal concept that presupposes the availability of a territory with precise borders, a population that can be considered a citizen of that entity, a capital that is not merely ideological but integrated within those same boundaries and a recognized leadership, authoritative and capable of leading to build, innovate, progress towards a distant future, overcoming social challenges, political, environmental, economic.

None of this is currently non-existent for Palestine and has been firmly rejected by the Palestinians themselves on several occasions – in the 1947 proposal and in other peace negotiations. The “no” votes are still thundering and have turned into chants of the slaughter and destruction of Israel, the Jews and the entire West. Even for the most convinced supporters of the “two peoples and two states” it is difficult to objectively define the juridical-territorial perimeter of the Palestinian state, and not because of an Israeli resistance, but because of the contrasts and the internal dialectic of the Palestinian people and their leaderships.

We are accustomed to reasoning with our Western meanings about the conceptual categories of State, People, and constitutional values that are traits of our historical experience, especially in Europe. Which state do Spain, Ireland or Norway have in mind when they declare recognition of Palestine? To a state with a European constitution or to a state with a constitution similar to Turkey’s? Are they thinking about China? To Russia? To Iran? To a state similar to Israel? I can’t relate any model of state to the jagged Palestinian story that doesn’t lead to the creation of another legalized garrison of terror and radicalized theocracy.
This year marks the centenary of the death of Theodor Herzl (3 July 1904). The “visionary” of the Jewish state and of what is now Israel. We join in spirit at all the ceremonies and moments dedicated to his immense diplomatic work and beyond. To paraphrase Herzl, we should say that a Palestinian state is possible “if only we want it”, certainly not with the force of terror and the culture of death, but with the force and culture of life. Certainly not with unilateral declarations by those who have persecuted the Jews for centuries by expelling them, but with the concert of nations free from the scourge of distortion of history and anti-Semitism, through negotiations with those who recognize the State of Israel and do not praise its annihilation with slogans, certainly not with those who host and give refuge to the leaders of terror, certainly not with those who endorse the system of human shields by placing responsibility on an army that is more friendly than enemy, certainly not with the pretense of humanitarian collaboration addressed to only one of the countries bordering the Gaza Strip, leaving the other immune from any “collateral” discomfort.

The concept of a state – the one to dream of for the Palestinians as well – corresponds to tradition, maturity and a perspective of the future. Management of public institutions concerning justice, welfare, urban planning, pedagogy and teaching of the language that pronounces life, beauty, respect and empowerment of women, the acquisition of innovative, curative and well-being promotion knowledge, listening, debate, demonstrations and inclusion as mechanisms for decision-making, the allocation of competences and the use of police and army forces to defend and not to govern. It corresponds to institutions capable of recognizing and evaluating their own struggles and failures, of articulating a system of information and media far from any nuance of propaganda, values that sink into religious faith to generate good, freedoms and rights that guide individuals and institutions and not alibis and abuse of power. It corresponds to systems where universities are places of open, free and independent research, which does not bow to occupying campers and threats, to theaters as places of open culture and satire. All this is the set of states that are nations to be kept united. All of this is the set of neighboring neighbors that makes sense to have. And that’s what Spain, Ireland and Norway should continue to be as well. All this is Israel in which we recognize ourselves and in which we believe. All this is Israel, which combines ancient words from the Bible with the applications of artificial intelligence, which faces today’s lacerating challenges and moral dilemmas by finding strength and comfort in wisdom and millennial prayer. All this is Israel, which has made Jerusalem its capital, a place of welcome and coexistence, of songs of Jewish prayers, songs of muezzins and ringing of bells, much more than what is narrated.

It is our duty as Jewish communities here in Italy and elsewhere, in these very difficult months – and precisely in the face of the chain of barbarism perpetrated by individuals indoctrinated to hatred with material acts or by bodies and institutions with words and resolutions – to reaffirm the commitment of the State of Israel to the defense of all its citizens and its borders to which it has retreated, on the basis of the various international resolutions accepted and peace agreements signed. Precisely with the thought of June 2 – the day of the referendum of 1946, after the long and devastating war, with which the Republic was sanctioned and in which the Constituent Assembly was elected – it must be made clear that this commitment is not only indispensable for the protection of Israel itself, but generates benefit and protection for the entire Western civilization. to Italy and to a still united Europe that is moving towards an important parliamentary renewal and that certainly does not want to be suffocated by any radicalization and threat to the concept of the State as it has dreamed and matured it, as it has defended it with the constitutional garrisons. Peace and coexistence do not arise from unilateral declarations or waving only Palestinian flags in parades and parliamentary halls, but from the desire to teach one’s children the love for life and that of others, raising one’s gaze to the sky reminding ourselves that we are human beings all created in the image of the same G-d.

*President of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities – UCEI