Institute for Palestine Studies

Review: Jewish Nationalist Fundamentalism

Author(s): Don Peretz
Source: Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Autumn, 1989), pp. 113-115
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Institute for Palestine Studies
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2537258
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a majorityof the East Bank population.
Her treatmentof the Syriancase draws
together considerablematerialin an inter-
estingsynopsisof the politicsof thisun-
derstudied country.The Israelicase study,
becausethefactsareso muchbetterknown
and morefrequently presented,is not as
useful.Comparedto hernuancedpresen-
tationofthecases,herpessimistic conclu-
sions about the stabilityof the threere-
gimes,especiallyregarding Israel,are a bit
overdone.
Ms. Yorkerelieson personalinterviews,
supplemented bywide-ranging Englishlan-
guage sources,in constructing her argu-
ments.There are no references to Arabic
languagesources,and a handfulof refer-
encesto Hebrewsources.Despiteitshefty
pricetag,thebookcouldveryprofitably be
usedas a textbookin a college-levelcourse
on the Arab-Israeliconflict(in conjunc-
tionwitha fullertreatment of Palestinian
politics).The mapsand documentsrepro-
ducedin theappendiceswouldbe particu-
larlyhelpfulto the beginning student.
JewishNationalistFundamentalism
For the Land and the Lord: JewishFun-
damentalism in Israel,by Ian S. Lustick.
New York:Council on ForeignRelations,
1988.xi + 184pages.Threeappendicesto
p. 197. Two photosto p. 199. Notesto p.
227. Index to p. 241. Authordescription
pp. 243-4. $11.95 paper.
ReviewedbyDon Peretz*
The fact that some readersmay have
problemswithLustick'sdefinition ofJew-
ish fundamentalismin Israeldoes not di-
minishthe value of his study.Far more
importantthanwhetheror not the move-
'Don Peretz,a professorof politicalscienceat
ofNew Yorkat Bingham-
the State University
ton, is the author,mostrecently,of Intifada:
The PalestinianUprising.
RECENTBOOKS 113
ments,ideologies,and personalitiespre-
sentedare labeled withprecisionis that
theyare describedaccurately and thatthe
authormakes clear just how significant
theirinfluence has becomein Israelisoci-
ety. Perhapsa moreprecisedefinition of
the phenomena described,and of the
book'stitle,mighthave been "Jewishna-
tionalist-fundamentalism," or "fundamen-
"
talist-nationalism.
The work focuseson Gush Emunim
(BlockoftheFaithful), themilitantJewish
settlermovementthat emergedfromthe
orthodox-orientedNational Religious
Party(NRP) duringthe early 1970s to
becomebythe 1980sperhapsIsrael'smost
powerful lobby.Gush Emunim'sinfluence
extendsfarbeyondthe 50,000 or 60,000
West Bank settlersaffiliated withone or
anotherof its settlementsor peripheral
organizations.Since the movementwas
establishedin 1974, its action
officially
programand ideologyhave penetratedat
leasta halfdozenIsraelipoliticalgroups;its
influence is evidentin at leastfiveparties
that won nearlyhalf the seats in the
November1988 Knessetelections(Likud,
NRP, Tehiya, Tzomet, and Moledet).
And as Lustickmakesclear,thereareeven
some-a minority, it is true-withinthe
Labor movementwho are not unsympa-
theticto the settlerideology.
Althoughthe majorityof Gush Emun-
im's membersand its patron"saints"or
patriarchs come fromthe orthodoxtradi-
tion (hence, the use of the term"Jewish
fundamentalism"), manyadherents arenot
onlynon-orthodox, butevennonreligious.
Ironically,"someoftheleadingfundamen-
talistideologues,polemicists,and politi-
cians"(p. 99) can be foundamongsecular
ultranationalists. According to Lustick
theycomprise "no morethan20 percentof
the Gush Emunimactivists"(pp. 98-99).
Thus, one does not have to be a Jewish
fundamentalist in the conventionalsense
to espousethedoctrines ofGushEmunim.
 OF PALESTINESTUDIES
114 JOURNAL
In his firsttwo chaptersLusticktraces
therootsofJewish fundamentalism backto
theJewishcommunity in Palestineduring
theRomanera through theriseofmodem
Zionism. He also probes the beliefsof
Gush Emunim'sorthodoxprotagonists,
mostnotablyRabbi AbrahamIssac Kook
and hisson, RabbiTzvi YehudaKook,the
charismaticpatriarchsof present-day or-
thodox Israeli nationalismwho together
providedthe movement'sdoctrinalbasis
and ideologicalframework. It was they
who so broadenedthe conceptsof territo-
rialnationalism thatitbecamepossiblefor
orthodoxand secular militantsto work
hand in hand withinthe movement.
A thirdchapterexaminestheevolution
of Gush Emunim'sideologyand organiza-
tionfromthe 1967Warto theearly1980s,
demonstrating how Israel'sconquestofthe
West Bank gave impetusto the political
emergenceof what Lustickcalls Jewish
fundamentalism-i.e., Gush Emunim,
fundamentalism's mostpowerfulmanifes-
tationin contemporary Israel.Once Israel
controlled "JudeaandSamaria,"theheart-
land fortheJewishterritorialists, unifying
the Land of Israelwas no longermerelya
theoreticalissue. The "greatvictory"of
acquiringthe historicregionwas a mani-
festation of God's intercession,indeed,of
God's commandto his people that they
acquireand preservetheirconquests.
A fourth chapterdiscussesat lengththe
sevenbasic beliefsthatLustickmaintains
are thefoundation ofJewishfundamental-
ist thinking.These are: (1) the Jewish
people are "abnormal,"unique in their
"chosen-ness"-beingchosen by God to
spreadhis wordamong the nations;(2)
Arab oppositionrepresents resistanceto
"Israel's eternalbattle to overcomethe
forcesof evil" (p. 76). However,the Ar-
abs, representatives ofthosewhoresistthe
wordof God, will be overcomelike the
"Caananites"or "Ishmaelites"of ancient
times; (3) Israel'sinternational isolation
provesitschosen-ness."Israel,by attract-
ing outrageand persecution, merelycon-
tinuesthe traditionalrole of the Jewin
worldhistory-thatof a 'barometerfor
registering themoralstateofthenations'"
(p. 79); (4) "thescaleand pervasiveness of
gentilehostility" (p. 81) to Israeland the
Jewsnegatesanypossibility ofachievinga
negotiatedpeace. The only alternatives
are eithera temporary peace or the "real
peace" that will come with the Messiah
and ruleofthereunitedpeopleofIsraelin
thewholeland; (5) theLand ofIsraelis of
cardinalimportance becausewithoutJew-
ish rule, God's will cannot be realized;
consequentlythe conceptof exchanging
"territory forpeace" is not onlyabsurdbut
sacreligious; (6) current history and all its
manifestations, theriseofIsrael,itsvicto-
ries in six wars,even the Holocaust,are
but the unfolding of the redemption pro-
cess, leadingto the returnof the Messiah
and Israel'sfulfillment; and (7) the Jews
are God's chosenassistants in the"process
thatwill culminatein completeredemp-
tion and establishment of the messianic
kingdom"(p. 88); theirfaithand dedica-
tionare thusdecisive.
Lustickshowsin his fifthchapterthat
despitethe powerfulideologyand belief
systemthat unite the fundamentalists,
bothsecularand religious,theyare not a
monolithicor homogeneous group.Differ-
encesbetweenthereligiousand secularists
havealreadybeenmentioned.Moresignif-
icantare thediverseideologiesand tactics
withinGushEmunim-thosewhosupport
the use of terror againstArabs,and those
who are opposed;contrasting perspectives
concerningthe morality and usefulness of
waras well as Israel'srole in redemption.
Territorial aspirationsrangefromtheunity
of Israelwithinthe bordersof mandatory
Palestineto a GreaterIsrael extending
fromthe Nile to the Euphrates.Most
territorialists
adamantly opposedreturning
Sinai to Egyptand protestedvehemently,

even violently,against abandoningthe
Jewish settlement ofYamitundertheterms
of the 1979 peace treaty.
Importanttactical differences divide
"vanguardists," or "truthtellers,"from
"consensusbuilders."The formerinsist
thattheirroleis toplungeaheadinmatters
eitherrejectedby the majorityof Israeli
Jewsor regardedas precarious,such as
displacing Muslims from the Temple
Mount (Haram al-Sharif)so that recon-
structionof the thirdtemplecan beginin
Jerusalem.The "consensusbuilders,"al-
thoughardentnationalists,place greater
importance on winningoverthe publicat
large,and are thuswillingto movetoward
their goals gradually,believingthat to
achieve their goals they should keep
withintheboundsofthenationalconsen-
sus and strivefor accommodationwith
groupssuchas Likud.
While most fundamentalists perceive
the non-Jewish worldwithsuspicionand
mistrust, theydiffer concerningrelations
with the "goyim."To characterizetheir
attitudestowardArabs,somewoulduproot
and driveout nearlyall Arabs fromthe
Land, followingthe exampleof the an-
cientIsraeliteswho droveout the Amale-
kites.Othersare willingto accept "good
Arabs,"who knowtheirplace as a minor-
itywithintheJewishstate.None concede
the principleof equal rightsfornon-Jews
withinIsrael. These diverseperspectives
lead to a varietyof plans or proposals
relatedto prospectsforpeace. Some be-
lieve that the stateof war will continue
untiltheTempleisrebuiltandtheMessiah
arrives.Many envisage a 100-yearwar
untilthe Arabsare utterly defeated.Oth-
ersenvisagevariousschemeesforthedivi-
sionoftheMiddleEastintopoliticalunits,
one ofwhichwillbe dominatedbyIsrael.
Lustickis pessimistic
abouttheoutcome
ofthefundamentalist phenomenon and its
impacton the Arab-Israeliconflict.Half
thepublicis alreadyinfectedwiththevirus
RECENTBOOKS 115
offundamentalist ideology evenifit does
not consideritselforthodoxor strictly
religious.In the not-too-distant future
thoseaffiliated
withmilitant fundamental-
istfactionsthataspiretoseizetheTemple
Mountcouldignitea majorregional con-
flagration.The courseof developments
withinfundamentalist ranksand their
growing influenceshouldbe ofmorethan
passinginterest to policymakerscon-
cernedaboutstability in theMiddleEast.
Thephenomenon ismuchmoreimportant
than somequixoticor bizarreformof
millenarianism.It is, Lustickstates,"the
greatestobstacleto meaningful negotia-
tionstoward a comprehensive Arab-Israeli
peacesettlement" (p. 3).
Thestudy isgreatly enhanced byexten-
siveuseofHebrew primary includ-
sources,
ingwritings bytheprincipal actors,and
extensive use of GushEmunim publica-
tions,especially its monthly periodical,
Nekuda(Point).
ShorterNotices
Confrontations:IsraeliLifein theYear of
the Uprising,byLouis Rapoport.Boston:
Quilan Press,1988, 240 pp., illustrated.
$16.95 cloth.
The author,an Americanimmigrant to
Israeland a senioreditorforTheJerusalem
Post,has collectedfortyshortarticleshe
has recently writtendescribing variousas-
pects of life in Israel and the occupied
territories
during1988.
Rapoport'spieces includehis observa-
tionsof Gaza life (writtenwhile he was
servingtherewiththeIDF reserves), Rabbi
MeirKahane (the"Jewish Frankenstein"),
a Jerusalem marketplace ("basicallya cruel
place"), Ethiopianimmigrants, and Soviet
emigres("the dramatichomecomingof
AnatolyNatan Sharansky").Despite his
negativeportrayal ofPalestiniannational-
ismand thePalestinianleadership(al-Hajj