Democratic Palestine : 14 (ص 26)
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- Democratic Palestine : 14 (ص 26)
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imperialist Britain with its strategy of direct interest and involve-
ment in the area.
After the establishment of the Zionist state, imperialism
continued to support this project. In 1953, a treaty was signed
between West Germany and ‘Israel’ whereby the former would
finance a program of total industrialization of ‘Israel’. This prog-
ram was completed in 1966, the year in which ‘Israel’ experi-
enced its first surplus production problem. This indicates the
intensity of the program . It is not an exaggeration when we say
that this treaty had the same importance on the economic
level, as the Balfour Declaration had politically.
In 1975, a treaty was signed between ‘Israel’ and the
European Common Market, whereby ‘Israel’ was granted spe-
cial status membership. Israeli products would not be subject
to customs duties in Europe before 1989, without ‘Israel’ hav-
ing to grant the same privilege to European products. This ena-
bled ‘Israel’ to increase the value of its annual export to the
Common Market by 700 million dollars. ‘Israel’ was thereby
able to find a solution for its surplus production. The initial sol-
ution to this problem that began in 1966, was found in the mar-
kets of Gaza and the West Bank after the 1967 occupation.
When the problem arose again in 1975, a solution was found in
the Common Market. In March of this year, ‘Israel’ and the
United States signed a free trade zone agreement between the
two countries. This treaty exempts Israeli products from US
customs duties.
In line with these economic facilities, world imperialism
entered into deals to help ‘Israel’ build its own war industry. In
the fifties, such deals were mainly with France and were limited
to conventional weapons. Then, in 1957, France supported the
Israeli decision to develop nuclear capacity, with help from the
USA. Later, ‘Israel’ accomplished two important projects in the
field of conventional weaponry: The first was producing a
heavy tank with help from France; the second was manufactur-
ing its own war planes with US help in technique and supplies.
This imperialist help boosted the structure of ‘Israel’, as did
other material and moral support. Economic support was fixed
annually in the early stages of the state, added to unlimited
political support on all levels; the US veto in the UN Security
Council has been almost entirely devoted to serving ‘Israel’. In
the light of all this, it was no surprise when the US and ‘Israel’
signed a strategic alliance agreement in 1981.
Internal transformation
The aid and facilities granted to ‘Israel’, in addition to its
policy for overall growth, enabled it to achieve a high degree of
economic development, focusing on industrialization. Initially,
industrialization was promoted in all fields. Later evaluations
pinpointed which industries were most profitable and strategi-
cally valuable. Israeli industry was concentrated accordingly,
on electronics and weapons. In the last decade, it has become
evident that Israeli industry is geared to high technology, as
seen in the following facts:
-Between 1952 and 1982, the electrical power supply
increased 25 times for consumers and 27 times for industry.
- Of total Israeli exports in 1982, 87% were industrial products,
including electrical and electronics equipment, chemicals and
minerals. Raw materials and capital goods accounted for only
10% of all exports.
- Israeli industry underwent an extensive concentration pro-
cess. Large corporations employing over 300 workers
accounted for only 11.8% of the work force in 1955. This figure
rose to 19.3% in 1965, and to 43.3% in 1982. These large cor-
porations are only 1.4% of all companies and establishments.
26
What is the meaning of such a high degree of industrializa-
tion that the state suffers from production surplus? When
industry has led to such massive concentration, doesn't it
mean we are facing a country led by large monopolies? The
private, military and civil sectors are highly interlinked and
integrated with the government and public sector, thus creat-
ing state monopoly capitalism.
The previously mentioned economic changes directly and
increasingly influenced large sectors of Israeli citizens in an
imperialist direction. The number of people benefitting from the
exploitation exercised by the state of ‘Israel’ has grown, espe-
cially with the increased use of Arab labor. This has led to the
de facto formation of two working classes: an Arab one at the
bottom of the production ladder with the lowest wages, and a
Jewish one at the top.
The best evidence of this is the improvement in living con-
ditions of Jewish families, which explains many phenomena. In
1982, 34% of Jewish families lived in a house with an average
of less than one person per room. This percentage was 12.7%
in 1966 and 6.1% in 1957. On the other hand, in 1957, approx-
imately 25% of all families lived in a place with an average of
over three per room. By 1966, this had declined to 13%; by
1982, it was only 1.3% of all families. As for car ownership,
4.1% of Jewish families owned a car in 1962; this number had
increased to 15.4% by 1970, and to 50.5% in 1982, i.e., the
percentage increased from 4.1% to 50.5% in twenty years.
What does it mean when the standard of living improves to
such a degree in this small state? What is the implication of the
transformation to heavily concentrated industry, the expanded
use of energy and the growth of capitalism into state monopoly
capitalism? It simply means broadening the social base of the
right wing in ‘Israel’. Since the sixties, the right has continu-
ously increased its popularity to the point that it was able to
head the government in 1977. The growth of the right does not
apply to the Likud alone, but to the entire political life and image
of ‘Israel’.
In 1965, the Israeli communist party suffered division and
a mostly Jewish wing split away, becoming Zionist and aligning
with the Zionist labor parties where it fell into the hands of the
most rightist trends. As for the traditional right, represented by
the Likud, it now appears moderate in comparison with the
trends that have emerged from it and are now independently
represented in the Knesset. Rabbi Kahane is not an odd
phenomenon; he has become a popular figure as shown in the
latest Israeli polls.
On the ideological level, the economic transformation
further consolidated the philosophy of force, dictating a
relationship based on racial superiority and fait accompli vis-a-
vis the Arabs. Racial superiority, as called for in the Torah,
draws its material content from military victories, scientific
advancement and better living conditions for Jews as com-
pared to Arabs. On the political level, there has been a rapid
retreat from slogans of peace, to demanding total, uncondi-
tional surrender on the part of the Arabs.
These internal transformations were accompanied by
external ones, involving imperialism’s supreme _ global
strategy. Since the sixties, imperialism has become more and
more convinced of giving its local allies the major role in
achieving its own aims. The Israeli victory in 1967 was a suc-
cessful translation of this philosophy known as the Nixon Doc-
trine or Vietnamization of the war. The spread of this
philosophy, Nixon’s and Kissinger’s taking office, and the
Israeli victory in 1967, paved the way for restructuring the US-
Israeli relationship on a new platform. As Nixon said to Rabin: - هو جزء من
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