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Friday November 20, 1998

Israelis want Arab neighbors to just leave them alone

Efraim Inbar

"Personal security" has become the new Israeli codeword for peace with the country's Arab neighbors.

The new notion of personal security has eclipsed the traditional Israeli preoccupation with assuring the security of the Jewish state amid a hostile environment.

Until recently, Israelis perceived the country's mere existence to be under an extremely high level of threat. Such collective, existential fears about survival -- a response to Arab enmity and wars -- have been replaced with more nonchalant views about the national security challenges facing Israel.

The Israeli-Arab peace process has lowered the chances of a large-scale war, as well as the general level of perceived threat. Because of an improved strategic situation in the 1990s, Israelis expect fewer acts of violence to disrupt their daily routine.

Unfortunately, this has not happened. On the contrary, the number of Israeli casualties has increased in the last decade, as terrorists perpetrate spectacular attacks in streets, buses and markets.

Personal security became an issue in the 1992 elections and gained greater importance in 1996.

Today, Israelis want a few simple things: to make trips in their own country without worrying about terrorists, to travel safely on buses, to wake up in the morning finding their cars still parked nearby, to live near forests without fear of arsonists.

So far, the widespread perception is that Arabs are preventing the fulfillment of these ordinary wishes.

Almost 20 years after the peace treaty with Egypt, for example, most Israelis realize that what was termed in the past "normalization" is something that Egypt has been unwilling to accept, despite its formal commitment to the concept.

Israelis have learned that Arab societies are unwilling to engage in people-to-people interactions.

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra does not perform in Cairo or Amman, and no Arab sports team plays in Israel. Most Arab intellectuals continue to boycott their Israeli counterparts.

Even the "warm peace" with Jordan has not extended to the personal level.

So, disappointed Israelis have decided to settle for security. Peace no longer means free movement of people and goods in a cordial manner. It has reverted to the original negative sense of lack of war and a very concrete aspiration for personal security.

Israelis no longer want to eat hummus in Damascus, see the pyramids or look for bargains in Arab markets. They have become increasingly afraid of contacts with Arabs and just want to be left alone, in safety.

The importance of personal security also has been growing due to changes in Israeli society. Pursuit of personal fulfillment has become more fashionable than in the past.

We all observe more emphasis on individualistic values at the expense of promoting collective goals and aspirations. The notion of personal security seems only natural to replace weakened fears of collective survival, real or imagined.

This new phenomenon is very significant in the domestic political arena and can be translated into votes. Moreover, astute politicians are responsive to this new mood.

But as Israel enters an era of threats of mass destruction, putting personal security ahead of collective security -- especially when it comes to the national budget -- could end up being self-destructive.

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