Arab Assimilation
- 05.11.2008 - 2:02 PM“If the Germans could not succeed in eliminating the Jewish people in the Holocaust, then neither will the campaign that the Israelis are now perpetrating against millions of Palestinians and billions of Arabs and Muslims succeed.” Thus spoke Sheikh Kamal Khatib, deputy head of the Islamic Movement’s northern branch, in observance of the 60th anniversary of what Palestinians call the “naqba,” or the catastrophe — the birth of Israel.
Leaving aside the implicit compliment about Jewish resilience in the Holocaust (did he really mean that?), it goes without saying that the Final Solution is a weird comparison to what Israeli Arabs, among whom Khatib is one of the leaders, are experiencing. In this week’s Forward, the social linguist Philologos writes about the gradual assimilation of Arabs into Israeli society, as evidenced by their increasing use of Hebrew words when speaking in Arabic. As with any dual-lingual discourse, the majority are terms that have no easy Arabic equivalent–not just “machsom” (roadblock) or “ramzor” (traffic light) but also “glidah” (ice cream) and “sulamit” (the pound sign on your phone). But the most interesting of these is “m’anyen,” which means “interesting.” After checking around, the columnist confirms that there is no such word in Arabic. “Is this just a linguistic oddity,” Philologos asks, “or is it indicative of a deeper feature of Arab culture - the absence, perhaps, of the very concept of ‘interesting’ that is so basic to the Western mind, since what isn’t unusual enough or noteworthy enough to arouse curiosity is not considered worthy of attention?” Interesting!
In Jewish history, Jews tended to assimilate much more in countries that gave them freedom than in those that persecuted them. If Israeli Arabs are so upset by Israeli independence, why are they assimilating? Why do they generally support national service and insist they would never become part of the Palestinian state? And while we’re at it: Isn’t it a little odd that they observe the naqba on the same day that Israel celebrates its independence? What I mean is, Israel celebrates the fifth of Iyyar, which corresponds to May 14, 1948, on the Jewish calendar. Americans, by contrast, tend to observe May 14. Given the choice between the Muslim, Western, and Jewish calendars, why would Israeli Arabs pick the last of the three?
M’anyen m’od.
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May 11th, 2008 at 3:26 PM
i wouldn’t be so quick to read assimilation into this.
the arab culture is a strongman culture — you submit to the powerful and even kiss his hand to get ahead. but make sure you don’t lose the power, because then beware, they will cut the hand that they kissed.
the fact that the israeli arabs don’t want to live under a palestinian regime does NOT mean that they like living in israel. in fact, what they really want is the benefits they currently have and more, but not the israeli rule. alas, that option is not available.
May 11th, 2008 at 5:48 PM
Nakba with a kâf, not a qâf. (نکبة).
Modern Standard Arabic (fuṣḥà has at least two words used to mean “interesting”: mushawwûq and mumti‘. The former also has the connotation “thrilling,” “arousing,” “fascinating,” and the latter also connotes “pleasant,” “gratifying,” “delightful.”
Doubtless Israeli Arabs have a reason to use m’anyen, as it probably fills a slightly different semantic hole or has a tone that makes the synonymous substitution attractive—like Europeans’ use of American English for “cool” terms, or Anglophones’ use of French for “high-class” terms, even perfectly adequate native synonyms are available.
Any sign of cultural comity is to be welcomed, but it’s possible to read too much into these things.
May 11th, 2008 at 6:09 PM
Yes, ‘48 was the nakbah, yet the Holocaust didn’t happen, yet it was a good start. Or axxording to Abu Mazen’s thesis at Moscow U, was a collaboration with Zionists.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:30 AM
Bill Walsh, what’s the Arabic word for BS?
May 12th, 2008 at 1:08 AM
israeli arabs say “booza” for ice cream.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:11 AM
Arabs observe the Nakba on the Fifth of Iyyar because until 1966, when Arab communities lived under Israeli military government, Independence Day was one day a year when the authorities would let Arabs travel freely throughout Israel and that’s when they would make pilgrimages to the ruins of former villages.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:55 AM
Arabs observe the Nakba on the Fifth of Iyyar because until 1966, when Arab communities lived under Israeli military government, Independence Day was one day a year when the authorities would let Arabs travel freely throughout Israel and that’s when they would make pilgrimages to the ruins of former villages.
well, i lived in israel 1961-1978 — a period in which according to you there was military government — and I am unaware of any travel limitations on israeli arabs.
what you probably mean but obscure is that demonstrations to ruins of former villages was not allowed any time they wanted, which makes a lot of sense.
as to the naqba, the israeli arabs are ones that have the least reason to observe that myth.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:02 AM
Every academic study of Israeli Arabs describes the military rule that they lived under until 1966. During that period, Article 125 of the Defense (Emergency) Regulations empowered military governors to declare any specified area “offlimits ” to those having no written authorization. The area was then declared a security zone and thus closed to Israeli Arabs who lacked written permission either from the army chief of staff or the minister of defense. Under these provisions, 93 out of 104 Arab villages in Israel were constituted as closed areas out of which no one could move without a military permit. In these areas, official acts of military governors were, with rare exceptions, not subject to review by the civil courts. Individuals could be arrested and imprisoned on unspecified charges, and private property was subject to search and seizure without warrant.
It doesn’t surprise me that you weren’t aware that Israel Arabs faced travel limitations, just as plenty of West Bank settlers are blissfully unaware that their Palestinian neighbors are forbidden from traveling on the same roads that they use (even when the land for those roads is confiscated from Palestinian villages).