新・アラビア半島定点観測 前田高行責任編集

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Chapter 1 Wave of nationalism and socialism (1945-1956)

By Areha Kazuya

E-mail: areha_kazuya@jcom.home.ne.jp

1-6(12)  Israeli independence(4): Independence of Israel after terrorism against UK

Terrorism means the use of intentionally indiscriminate violence as a means to create terror, or fear, to achieve a political, religious or ideological aim. Terror accompanied with civilian victim is never permitted.  Terror usually occurs in the battle of the nation's independence. The ruler or authority of the time sees terror as a criminal act disturbing social order. The anti-governmental power, on the contrary, argues that terrorism is one of the legitimate measures for achieving the object. There is no compromise between the two assertions.

Many terrorist acts are usually crushed by authorities who hold security power, but when the rebellion takes power and the independence is recognized as a new state, the position will be reversed. The terror acts of the rebels presume as patriotic acts. The performers of terrorism will be admired as hero/heroine, and international community will accept new regime. After the World War II the nation state was the basic unit. Political scientists pretend that only the state is allowed to have legitimate violence unit.

The situation before and after Israel independence was also such example. After World War II Palestinian territory where indigenous Arabs lived became the mandate ruling territory of the UK. The Jews were initially driven by the "Zionism Movement" and then gained the courage by Balfour Declaration. The Jews migrated one after another in Palestine and aimed to acquire their own land. The absentee landlords of the Ottoman Empire felt uneasy about the post-war turmoil. The Jews dazzled the landlords by money, and got the ownership of the land. Jews who became owners of the land swept away Arab peasants and constructed collective farm Kibbutz.

A conflict between Arabs and Jews had occurred. The British government entrusted with mandate administration tried to calm the struggle between Jewish and Arab by restricting the acquisition of land by Jewish immigrants. Then the Jewish resistance movement changed the target to the British government. Terrorist activities frequently occurred in the conflict of the Jews, the Arabs and the British government in a tripartite manner.

The biggest terror activity by the Jews against the UK was the King David Hotel bombing incident in July 1946. 91 people including hotel guests died by this incident. The perpetrator was a extremist Zionist organization and Haganah of which roots was the vigilante of collective farm Kibbutz. Haganah later became the Israeli Defense Forces. After World War II, independence terrorism activities by Haganah and the military organization Irgun, hardliners against Arabs, became intense. The British Government, which lost the control, finally decided to give up mandatory rule on May 14, 1948.

With the chance of independence, Haganah and Irgun strengthen terror activities against both the UK and Arab. Major members of Haganah include Mr. Yitzhak Ravin, who later became Prime Minister and won the Nobel Peace Prize, and Moshe Dayan with black-eye patch, who had a number of heroic story. In Irgun there were Menahham Beguin who also became prime minister.

The Jews proclaimed independence just on the day of UK mandate reign. Independent leader Ben Glion read loudly the Israeli Declaration of Independence beginning with the exportation saying, "the Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people." The neighbouring Arab countries did not recognize the independence of Israel and took military intervention. This was the First Arab-Israeli War.

In March 1949, Elat, a port town located in the innermost part of Gulf of Aqaba connecting to the Red Sea also became a battlefield and was occupied by the Israeli army. The Israeli soldiers made bedsheet of a nearby hotel into a national flag painted by blue ink and hoisted it at the port. This was what was called the "Ink Flag”. The photograph of Ink Flag became to the legend as a symbol of the First Arab-Israeli War. That legend is exactly the same as the picture of “Raising the Flag on Iwojima”, a fierce battlefield of the World War II in Pacific Ocean. Israel secured an exit on the Red Sea in addition to the Mediterranean.

In the same year a boy was born in the Zahra family of Palestinian farmer in the outskirts of Elat town. The Zahra family escaped in this war and was able to continue a quiet life. But there was no guarantee that the peaceful life would last forever.

(To be continued ----)