The apparent failure of the
Oslo accords is first and foremost the failure of the Israeli
intellectuals. This solution, based on an orientation towards the PLO,
represented a radical break from traditional Israeli policy and is the
brainchild of Israeli thinkers. In the disaster they brought upon the
Israelis they are not different from their fellow intellectuals in the
west who undermined democracy in their native countries while identifying
wholeheartedly with the cruelest despots. A foremost expert on the
Stalinist terror, Robert Conquest, called the aftermath of the
totalitarian regimes “mindslaughter”. Most Israeli intellectuals are
considered to be Leftist, and rightly so. For two generations there were
very strong political movements which were heavily Stalinist, such as “Mapam”,
“Ahdut Ha’avoda” and of course the Communist Party. Many people in Israel
were educated in a Marxist environment. In the same way that their parents
could identify with aspects of Stalinist policies, while he led fierce
anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist campaigns, so their radical sons see in the
terrorist PLO a liberation movement. What is called post-Zionism has deep
roots in the old socialist Zionism, and it feeds on the feelings of
self-negation among many Israeli “Sabras”. The basic trend is denial of
Jewish identity. On the whole, because of the centralized structure of
Israeli society the intellectuals could filter their views easily through
to the mindset of the other elite sectors such as the media, the military
and the political elites, thus causing almost overnight the collapse of
long-standing principles, especially in strategic matters.
