Toward Israel Studies In Arab Lands
Forty years ago, Egypt’s government signed a peace accord with Israel — the first Arab treaty with the Jewish state, followed in 1994 with an accord between Israel and my native Jordan. These treaties have stood the test of time. Yet decades later, relations remain limited to cooperation among the governments and a handful of elites. A “peace between peoples” remains elusive, and hostility toward Israel within Jordanian and Egyptian societies remains high.
There are many reasons why, but one stands out: Arabs know much less about Israel and Israelis than Israelis know about them. That great void of knowledge has created a vacuum into which false information, stereotypes, and conspiracy theories have been poured with ease for years on end by rejectionists of every stripe.
We need to fill that vacuum by mounting a concerted effort to introduce Israel studies into the Arab world. We already know how to do so, because one Arab country has provided a model. The Center for Israeli Studies in Jordan provides objective information, studies Israel in a scientific manner, and provides recommendations and analysis to politicians and decision-makers on a professional basis.
CIS/Jordan has three integrated foundations. First, we supply information about Israel by translating Hebrew articles and bulletins into Arabic. We also promote college-level Hebrew language teaching programs.
Second, we provide a platform for dialogue and networking by sending Jordanian students and delegations to Israel to see the reality of the country there for themselves. The Center also serves as a point of contact between other Arab nationals and Israelis, and hosts Israeli researchers and journalists in Amman to exchange information and assessments.
Third, we have sought to bridge gaps in Arab-Israeli relations, such as last year’s Holy Places Facilitation Initiative, as well as the reassessment study of the situation on the Temple Mount conducted in cooperation with the Jerusalem Center for Policy Studies.
We aspire, more broadly, to bring Israeli-Arab discussions that have long been held only behind closed doors into the light of day.
None of this has been easy. The Center has faced pressure and threats over the years, and the Jordanian government has sometimes been swayed by them. We still do not enjoy a level playing field, but the picture is not all bleak. Many citizens, journalists, and politicians rely on the Center for objective knowledge about Israel. Many government officials rely on us, too, to do their jobs.
Jordan is the exception that proves a sad rule. Other Arab countries lack academic research centers that engage Jews and Israelis — both as people and as a field of study — objectively and constructively. The forces that insist on perpetuating this ignorance are only hurting themselves, of course. Are they so insecure as to believe that allowing their people to learn about Israel will destroy their own principles?
This is childish. Just as ignorance is not bliss, knowledge does not sweep away all conflict before it. We in Jordan have problems with many Israeli policies, despite being at peace since October 1994. But just as refusing to learn about what causes eczema cannot keep people’s skin from itching, refusing to learn about Israel cannot be of any use in promoting Arab interests.
A time will soon come when this foolishness will end. When it does, Jewish and Israeli studies programs in Arab countries will focus on seven axes:
· Study Israel’s political, cultural, social, religious, labor, military, and economic institutions;
· Study the history of Jews indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, as well as their living legacy in Israel;
· Reclaim an honest telling of the historical relationship among Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the region;
· Study the Holocaust objectively;
· Study the diversity of the Jewish population within Israel as well as the role of the Arab minority in Israeli democracy;
· Study Israel’s intellectual life, the emergence of modern Hebrew, and Israeli literature;
· Discover the resources of Israeli academic and research institutions.
Our organization aspires to partner with our Arab brothers and sisters in building these capacities for the benefit of all.