NEW WAVE IN ISRAEL Sta.—Mr. Desmond Stewart is quite right
in assuming that the New Wave in Israel believes in eventual peace and co-operation between Hebrew and Arab nationalism. But when he says that we 'young Israelis begin to look to Cairo and Baghdad,' and that we don't feel at home 'in the ethnocentric ghetto of Israel,' he may create among our Arab friends some misunderstanding.
We object to the ethnocentric character of Israel and to the 'bellicose and intransigent' elements of Zionism, but the existence of a free, sovereign State of Israel. in its present boundaries. is the basis of all our aspirations. What we want to achieve is a com- plete change of posture, enabling Israel to take its proper place within the framework of a great Semitic federation. to include all Arab peoples, Israel, Kurdistan, etc., pooling all our resources and abilities, while safeguarding the specific character of each part.
While the New Wave in Israel has not yet con- stituted itself as a party, its most concise ex- presion is to be found in the Hebrew Manifesto of 1958, the main theses of which are: (a) A new Hebrew nation has emerged in Palestine.
(b) The new Hebrew nation has a natural 'affinity' with world Jewry. but is not identical with it.
(c) The State of Israel is not a Jewish State, in the sense of belonging to a world-wide com- munity, but belongs to its citizens, both Hebrew and Arab.
(d) Israel is an integral part of the Semitic Region (a term we prefer to the Western con- cept of a *Middle East'). (e) The Hebrew national movement forms an integral part of the struggle of the region for freedom, union and social reform. It has a deep affinity with the Arab national movement, which it supports in all its manifestation. (The authors of the Manifesto were also the founders, in 1959, of the Israeli Committee for Algerian Liberation.) (f) The Arab minority in Israel shall become full partners in the State. All discriminatory laws shall be abolished. (Again, the authors of the Manifesto are leading members in the Hebrew-Arab Committee for the Abo'ition of Military Government in the Arab parts of Israel.) (g) The right of the Arab refugees te return shall be conceded in principle. Those wishing to return, instead of accepting compensation, shall be resettled in Israel in ten yearly in- stalments.
Standing outside the existing Zionist Party set-up in Israel, the New Wave commands an important and growing segment of public opinion. Its ideas are voiced, inter alia, by Haolam Hazeh (This World'), Israel's biggest mass-circulation magazine, as well as by Ethgar (`Challenge), the country's foremost intellectual bi-weekly. Its political nucleus is Semitic Action.
During the last few years we have conducted several series of conversations with Arab nationalist leaders (such as the former Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hashem Jawad, members of the Provisional Gov- ernment of Algeria, etc.). These have confirmed us in our belief that our approach is compatible with. the general body of Arab nationalist opinion.
URI AVNERY
Editor-in-Chief Haolam Hazeh, Tel Aviv
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