On the surface, there is no Arab-Israeli conflict. People seem to get along just fine, especially in Israel proper. But this veneer of keeping the peace, sadly, might only be skin deep.
My friend, Mahdi Satri, is an Israeli Arab who is fearing for his life due to his public pro-Israel activism. He is seen as a traitor to “his people,” the Palestinians. He is not felt welcome in his village and is frequently receiving threats by Arabs who wish to keep him in line. After all, Muslim clerics in Israel get tons of money from the PA, Hamas, and Gulf Countries for preaching an anti-Israel narrative, and most Israeli Arabs have family over the green line that they don’t feel comfortable going against. Arab culture also strongly emphasized tribal unity, and Palestinians are Arabs, not Jews. The collectivist nature of their culture means little room for opposing views and lots of pressure to conform as the individual and the in-group are generally seen as one and the same, and maintenance of the “honor” of Palestinian Arabs is of utmost importance to them. Defeat to any other tribe, even if it will improve their quality of life, is seen as the ultimate loss of honor and therefore out of the question. Indeed, the fact that they were once ruled by Arabs and now ruled by another tribe is itself a loss of honor.
So now we have a problem.
Singapore, also had a problem. Founded in a similar way, Singapore faced similar challenges of a small Chinese-majority country surrounded by large Muslim-majority nations who felt uncomfortable with Singapore being outside the Muslim empire.
Singapore, however, is not facing the challenges we are, at least not from what I’ve observed from living there. What did Singapore do differently? Singapore drafts everyone into their army. Literally everyone. They have done so from the very beginning.
Singaporeans always laud their army as the real equalizer in Singaporean society. Rich, poor, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and even a few Jews, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil, everyone is treated the same when they wear their green uniform. They are judged based on performance – or are supposed to be anyway – not identity.
In addition, it is much harder to get an exemption from the army in Singapore than it is in Israel. In Israel, exemptions are given out like candy. In Singapore, all able-bodied males are supposed to serve – full stop. Even men with disabilities have to serve in some way or another, whether it be office work or community service. Citizens face jail time if they conscientiously object – no matter what – and Permanent Residents must serve if they want to be allowed to work or study in Singapore after the age of 18.
Religion is never a factor in exempting anyone from national service. If serving your country is against your religion you are encouraged to take a hike and live somewhere else. Like most East and South Asian societies, you are expected to mold yourself to fit the society rather than the other way around – accommodation is not something they do. The nail that sticks out is hammered down. The result? Nobody has succeeded at taking advantage of any of these countries by using their tolerance to promote intolerance.
Singapore has a diverse and vibrant society, but nearly all Singaporeans are patriots. They’ve been made to feel included from Day One, and mandatory army service for all plays a huge part of it. In Israel, the army is known is a big right of passage for the average Israeli. Leaving Arabs, non-Jews, and Haredim out of the picture excludes and – even if they claim otherwise – alienates them from the broader Israeli society. In Israel, I see a direct correlation between patriotism and serving in the army.
We must also take into account the intelligence issue. There are inevitable security concerns with letting in members that identify with the “enemy” ethnic group or anti-Zionist ultra-orthodox, because in the army it is almost inevitable that intelligence will be collected and exchanged. Singapore has taken that into account, and Singaporeans that belong to a demographic that is most likely to be hostile to the state are traditionally given lower clearance (like in every army). Malay Muslims, in general, are often excluded from the Intelligence Corps due to clearance issues. With a gradual increase in patriotism among Malays, due to inclusion efforts, this aspect is starting to change.
I don’t think it makes sense to universalize conscription overnight. We change to fix the society before we can rightfully feel comfortable making it mandatory for Arabs and Ultra-Orthodox to serve, since so many of them are still very ideologically hostile to the Jewish State, and the ones who aren’t feel endangered by those who are.
Step 1: Integration
In Singapore and Israel, community leaders of the various ethnic groups have requested separate schools. The wish to have separate schools in both Singapore and Israel is based not on racism, but on the will of the ethnic groups to teach their own perspective and worldview, and train their youth the way their community leaders wish. Israel has honoured this wish; Singapore had a different idea. Singapore decided to compromise.
In Singaporean schools, there are quotas for how much of a certain ethnic group is accepted into each school. This system not only encourages coexistence, but also gives all three races equal opportunities to succeed: the top-performing schools and bottom-performing schools have the same quotas. A universal “First Language” of English was selected, so that neither of the three races’ languages dominate. Students of all races have all their core classes together, in English. However, the Singapore Government still took into account the community leaders’ wishes: for classes related to “mother tongue,” and religious/cultural instruction, pupils are separated by race: Chinese, Malay, and Tamil.
We, like Singapore, can reach a compromise between respecting the will of the community leaders and making each group feel integrated. First, like in Singapore, we can make our curriculum more standardized across the board – yes, even Haredim should be learning the same core curriculum as Jews and Arabs. Second, we have a lot to gain from making Arabic and Hebrew mandatory in Jewish and Arab schools, respectively, because the language barrier is one of the biggest impediments to communication, and communication is one of the biggest contributors to coexistence. Creating a shared “First Language” of English has problematic implications especially if we want to preserve Israel’s Jewish character and keep it a Jewish State, so we have to come up with another idea.
In Montreal, there is a culture clash between the English and the French: they have settled this dispute by having Anglophone students take core classes in English and study French as a second language throughout their education, and vice versa for Francophones, to the extent that both groups emerge bilingual. Anglophones are able to work in French and Francophones are able to work in English if they must. However, that is still segregation so perhaps a hybrid of the Singapore and Quebec models should be considered.
Finally, we should make integrative co-curricular activities mandatory. Jewish and Arab schools should hold events together, whether it be soccer training camps or cultural exchanges. Sports leagues, Purim parties, Iftar feasts, and joint theatrical productions are some ideas. These events humanize the Other, and are a step in the right direction to making Jews and Arabs more comfortable with each other. They also make Arabs feel more integrated into Israeli society without threatening the future of Israel as a Jewish State.
Step 2: Community Service
I don’t think Israel will feel ready to have Arabs and Ultra Orthodox serve in the military right off the bat, which makes sense because of the history of bad blood between the groups. Once we get our program of integration into gear, we should consider first making sherut leumi, which is the term for national service, mandatory for Arabs and Haredim. Singapore also has the option of national service. In fact, even the army in Singapore is included under the umbrella of National Service, or “NS.”
A good starting point for mandatory sherut leumi, in order to phase it in, may be having the more hostile Arab and Haredi youngsters serve in their own communities. Arab and Haredi communities tend to be impoverished and in need of many hands anyway due to corruption among leaders, so everyone could only benefit from the youth lending a helping hand. Moreover, the outcry from community leaders probably won’t be so vociferous because they would benefit as well.
Step 3: Opening up the Army
A few years after it becomes mandatory for all Israelis of all ethnicity to do something for the country in the two or more years following high school, we should consider phasing in the army for Arabs and Haredim, and making it harder to conscientiously object. Not only does sherut leumi create a sense of purpose, it also creates a sense of patriotism as these youth are helping build their own communities, and by extension, their country.
Inertia
There will be backlash. First of all, the world is far more hyper-focused on Israel, and seems to believe the Jews owe the Arabs for all the “trouble they cause” with the “occupation.” Let them believe that. Israel would be much better off if we stopped caring so much about what the world thinks, as the world is hostile to us no matter what we do.
Second, we have the issue of politicians wanting to get votes and form coalitions. Unfortunately, the Haredi parties are the “swing voters” who get to decide which coalition is in power and which is not. This is a hugely flawed aspect of Israel’s political system that should be dismantled, but until then, it will create a huge barrier when it comes to executing what I have in mind.
However, looking at my former country of residence, Singapore, gives us an interesting model to examine and ponder when looking towards the future, strengthening our nation, and mitigating the effects of the conflict.