Arabs and Israelis: Economics


Figure 1.--Women played an important role in the foundation of Isreal. Here a young woman operates a tractor during 1948. Women from the very beginning of the Zionist experimnent have played an important rolecin Israeli society and economy. Traditional Arab and Islamic teacjings in effect hobble the aspirations and achievements of half the population, another limitation on the developmebt and achievment of human capital.

There has since the beginning of the Zionist emigration been a remarkable change in the economy of Palestine. The province changed from one of the poorest in the world to under the British mandate to one of the most affluent in the Arab world. Since independence, Israel has emerged as one of the most successful in the world. Non-oil Arab countries, however, measured by basic metrics of modern societies (infant mortality, longevity, nutrition, educational achievement, scientific discoveries, percapita income, books published, democratic government, individual rights, ect.) are largely failed states. Why is this. Are the Isrealis responsible or are the Arabs themselves responsible?. A Syrian observer writes, "Israel has, in less than 60 years, built an economy ten times that of Syria with one-fifth the population. How does one explain this fact? It is very simple: Israel is a vibrant democracy. For no fault of our own, Syria has suffered from one occupation after occupation, the latest being organically grown represented by the Assad family. One would think that a Syrian family occupying Syria is less harmful than the French occupying Syria. The truth is, it is much worse. The not-so-civilized Assad family uses much worse despotic techniques. The result is that not only Syrians suffer from lack of opportunities and stifling liberties but they also suffer from lack of hope, dignity, and pride as well; a good formula to create suicide bombers." And how does this affect the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Another economic question is poverty as the root of the problem. Many Western observers believe that poverty is the reason the Isreali-Palestenian conflict has endured. Poverty is certainly a problem, but there is reason to believe that it is not the root of the problem.

Economic Development in Palestine

There has since the beginning of the Zionist emigration been a remarkable change in the economy of Palestine. The province changed from one of the poorest in the world to under the British mandate to one of the most affluent in the Arab world. Since independence, Israel has emerged as one of the most successful in the world.

Arab Countries

Non-oil Arab countries, however, measured by basic metrics of modern societies (infant mortality, longevity, nutrition, educational achievement, scientific discoveries, percapita income, books published, democratic government, individual rights, ect.) are largely failed states. Why is this. Are the Isrealis responsible or are the Arabs themselves responsible?. A Syrian observer writes, "Israel has, in less than 60 years, built an economy ten times that of Syria with one-fifth the population. How does one explain this fact? It is very simple: Israel is a vibrant democracy. For no fault of our own, Syria has suffered from one occupation after occupation, the latest being organically grown represented by the Assad family. One would think that a Syrian family occupying Syria is less harmful than the French occupying Syria. The truth is, it is much worse. The not-so-civilized Assad family uses much worse despotic techniques. The result is that not only Syrians suffer from lack of opportunities and stifling liberties but they also suffer from lack of hope, dignity, and pride as well; a good formula to create suicide bombers."

Importance of Economics

An important issue to consider is how the disparity of economic development in Israel and the Arab states affect the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Poverty

Another economic question is poverty as the root of the problem. Many Western observers believe that poverty is the reason the Isreali-Palestenian conflict has endured. Poverty is certainly a problem, but there is reason to believe that it is not the root of the problem. Some observers believe that solving the poverty of the Palestinians would resolve the conflict. But in fact the economic situation od Palestenians inproved during the British mandate and the arrival of Zionist settlers and this did not improve the attitudes of Palestinins toward either. In fact the Grand Mufti was actually concerned that prosperity would dull the apetuite of Palestenians for his vision of an Islamic state. Attacking poverty through economic development has also been UNWRA's basic approach, but it has proven to have had little impact. The economic situation in both the West Bank and Gaza has declined since the Interfada, but this does not seem to have affected Palestenian attitudes toward solving the conflict.

Palestinians Work in the Settlements

The Interfada has hugely damages the Paestinian economy. Israel to protect its citizens has ended the ability pf Palestinians to work in Israel. And Isreali ecomomic projrcts in the Palestinian areas have largely ended. Palestinian coruption has also affected the evomomy such the end of the Isreali occupation. European countries have provided millions of dollsrs in aid to support the Paestinians who have largely destroyed their oswn economy thriugh the mindless violence. President Annas has taken another step to furthur weaken the Palestinian economy (Msy 200). Abbas has announced declared a "voluntary" initive which would require Palestinian workers employed by industries in Israeli communities to quit. In Palestinian terms, this means that workers who do not quit would be sunject to extra-legal attacks or in some cases their families. The Palestinian Authority (PA) has already banned the sale of settlement products in West Bank shops. This ban on employment is another step in the Palestinian boycott of the Isreali settlements. Even though unemployment is a major problem in the West Bank, this will mean another 20,000 Palestinians will lose their jobs. The estimsted cost to the Palestinians is about $50 million. The Palestinian Labor Ministry is establishing a $50 million fund to help the displaced workers. The PA of course has no way of funding this fund. President Abbas is expecting European and American taxpayers to provide the funds.

Human Capital

The Arabs were stunned that the Jews who they saw as a cowardly subject people were able to figght off not only the Palistinian irregulars, but the combined forces of the Arab states. Egypt in particular had a very substantial and well armed regular army. And this happened before the United sttes was arming Israel. The Arabs were both shocked and mistufied as to how they coulf be defeated by a handfull of mere Jews. The Jews to the surprose of everyone fought off the Arab armies with a hodge posge of mostly small arms. The Arabs after the War never really seriously asked themselves why they lost the 1948 War of Independence. Thgere was no real acceptance of the idea that there was something wrong in Arab society. The general consensus that it was a fluke of history and that by simoly buildinglarger carmies and acquiring better weapons that Isreael the stain of 1948 could be revenged asnd Israel wiped off the map. The Egyptians came up with the fiction that only American intervention prevented an Arab victory. And other Arabs joined in becuse it was a more acceptab;le answer than actually asking why Arab society was such a failure. After the Six Days War the Isrealis began to get American weaponry, largely because the Arabs turned increasingly to the Soviets and the Arab-Isreali Conflict became absorbed into the Cold War. The question remins as to why the Isrealis , a tiny state with a small population, has been able to defend themselves against the much larger Arab world which surrounds them and the wider Muslim world which supports the Arabs. As with all such important historical events, there are many contributing factors. Prime Minister in a television interview got down to the heart of it. "We were lucky enough not to have oil. We had to use our minds." And this gets to the hear of the diffeence between the Israelis and Arabs. Israel is an intelectual and technological powehouse. Per capita there are more scientific papers published in Israel and more pattebts awarded than anywhere else in the world. This has made an enormous contribution to the Israeli economy. The Arab world in contrast is an acadenic black hole without one important univesity of any importnce with only a trikle of cietifiv papers. And the arab world s totally oblivious to this and the number of Arabs and oyher Muslims saved by the medical and pharasutical work of Jewish doctors and scientists.

Women and Girls

Arab traditional attitudes toward women butressed by the Koran an other Islamic thinking is also a factor in Isrrael's survival. Actually tge Koran was in part a dfense of women against hasrst traditional Arab practices. But some of thise traditional practices persist and the Koran views on women were hardly progressive or in accord with modern ides expressed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which many Atrab nations opposed. Now the Arab ans wider Muslim world is extremely diverse. And additudes toward women vary. But in general women have far few oportunities to deveop themselves and to pursue careers than in Israel. And the trend in recent years with the growrg of fundamentalism is to restrict the opportunities available to women evcen further. Some prigress has been made in education, but attacks on school girls who dare to express themselves freely are ahorrifying and barbaric fact of life in the Muslim world. These limitations come at a cost. The Arab are in effect hobbling the aspirations and achievements of half the population, another limitation on the developmebt and achievment of human capital.

Sources

Ghadry, Farid. "Why I Admire Israel," Reform Party of Syria Blog, May 5, 20007. Ghadry writes from Washington, D.C. because he would be arrested if he returned to Syria. The Reform Party of Syria Blog changes the articles over time, but this article was there on May 5, 2007.






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Created: 6:44 AM 6/20/2007
Last updated: 9:23 AM 6/13/2014