# taz.de -- Avraham Burg on Israel s Left: The Land of Silence
> The political left of Israel collapsed. The fight against the occupation
> now wholly depends on the country's civil society.
(IMG) Bild: Staff members of Breaking the Silence at work
The outburst between the German Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister of
Israel is a rare opportunity to peek into the bowels of Israeli politics
and the mechanics of the Israeli soul. Breaking the Silence and B'Tselem
are the true gatekeepers of the triad of democratic values, western
culture, and Jewish heritage. This triad has come under severe political
attacks for several years. Long before Brexit and Trump, before Len Pen,
AFD, and the remaining populists.
At our helm, for some time, has been Prime Minister Netanyahu, who built
his longstanding leadership on constant contrarianism, incitement, and a
culture of hatred. At times Palestinians, and sometimes Iranians,
Europeans, President Obama or Democrats – whomever they are and wherever
they may be. Recently, once all previous opponents were exhausted, he
returned to his favorite field – the Israeli Left. Sigmar Gabriel made no
mistake, and is guilty of nothing – he was simply hurled onto a roller
coaster unintended for him, and was injured on duty by Israel's fading
democracy.
The process of erosion of Israel, in transforming from a young and
admirable country to a state on the brink of leprosy, will celebrate its
fiftieth birthday next month. In order to preserve the Jewish monopoly on
privilege, we were compelled to become cruel and hard-hearted. Palestinian
suffering has been effectively silenced, trauma and the Holocaust have
become a national strategy to justify all, and endless efforts have been
made to muffle any murmur of an alternative, any revelation of truth. An
entire generation was raised this way, hardly informed and unaware of the
existence of an immense humane humanitarian crisis right across the street.
These organizations were established to expose the true reality of the
Israeli occupier and oppressor, which violates its own nation’s rights and
those of its neighbors, and bring it to an end. From the outset they did
not intend to serve as the political opposition, they were human rights
organizations that wished to inform the average Israeli of what was being
concealed by leading representatives. They wanted to urge Israel, at the
time, to act according to the values that it set for itself. Over the
years, the left-wing Israeli political system collapsed. Prime Minister
Rabin was assassinated, the Oslo accords failed, the streets grew
increasingly right-wing and our politicians panicked. Political parties
weakened, ideas expired, and the occupation was orphaned. Civil society
organizations were sucked into this vacuum, and left to fend for themselves
at the forefront of the struggle against the occupation.
## No ethical occupation
What happened to the Israeli political Left? Maybe it never was… in Israel,
the sole distinction between Left and Right lies in one matter alone: a
political settlement with the Palestinians. This dissonance lies in
inherent discrimination, which completely eroded principles of equality
among all citizens, enabling imperviousness to oppression of freedoms and
rights of the other nation, the Palestinian nation.
Israel is the sole democracy in the Western world that completely controls
the lives of another nation, against its will. This control is terrible for
the occupied and corrupted the occupier. In spite of our historical
experience, we refuse to internalize that there is no ethical occupation,
there can be no moral discrimination, and kosher oppression has not yet
come into being. In many senses, the Israeli consciousness is that of a
battered child who became a violent parent. Everything that has been done
to us throughout our long history, has not served as a preventative barrier
for evil, but rather a mode of justification to authorize the condemnable
and unacceptable.
When my son, who served as a combat soldier in Hebron, told me that he is
one of Breaking the Silence's testifiers, I hugged him tight and kissed his
sad and teary eyes. Why? I asked him quietly, „Because it's not right,
because Hebron is evil and the occupation is terrible.“ He answered.
Through his words, he told me something much greater than the both of us
together. These wonderful organizations are my Israel and my pride. They
are the patriots of humane Israel, who strive for truth and do not flee in
the face of it. They are committed to ending the occupation and providing
great hope for both nations and all our children. For all of that and more:
Thank you Breaking the Silence and B'Tselem, and thank you Sigmar Gabriel
for your firm moral spine, which embodies a more just lesson from our
shared tragic history.
*Avraham Burg is a former speaker of the Knesset and chairman of the World
Zionist Agency.
8 May 2017
## AUTOREN
(DIR) Avraham Burg
## TAGS
(DIR) Israel
(DIR) Schwerpunkt Nahost-Konflikt
(DIR) taz international
(DIR) Schwerpunkt Nahost-Konflikt
(DIR) Israel
(DIR) Benjamin Netanjahu
(DIR) Israel
## ARTIKEL ZUM THEMA
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Der deutsche Außenminister verteidigt Treffen mit regierungskritischen
Gruppen. Israelische Intellektuelle danken Gabriel in einem Brief.
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In Israel geraten oppositionelle Künstler, Organisationen wie Breaking the
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(DIR) Kolumne German Angst: Die vielen Opfer des Holocausts
Benjamin Netanjahu hat Sigmar Gabriel nicht empfangen. Das kann der
deutsche Außenminister so nicht auf sich sitzen lassen.
(DIR) Kommentar Gabriels Besuch in Israel: Das Ende der Leisetreterei
Zu lange hat sich Deutschland – bei aller Verantwortung für das Wohlergehen
Israels – gegenüber Netanjahu zurückgehalten.