Legal scholar speaks

RHONDA SPIVAK

Dr. Mohammed Wattad, senior lecturer at Zefat College’s School of Law, editor of the International Journal on Medicine and Law and Israeli Arab, recently told Canadian audiences that Israel is not an apartheid state. He was on a cross-country tour, speaking as part of the efforts to provide a balanced view during Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) events held this month on Canadian campuses. Though his lectures were well attended, it seems very few IAW organizers or supporters came to hear them. Wattad spoke at Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia on March 12, and at the University of Manitoba earlier in the month.

Appointed to the Scholars for Middle East Peace Legal Task Force in 2009, Wattad is described in their materials as “an expert in international and comparative criminal law, comparative constitutional law, international law [and] the laws of war, torture and terrorism.” He has conducted research on the history of the state of Israel, as well as “comparative questions on self-image and identity in multicultural societies.”

In Winnipeg to speak and answer questions from the U of M audience, Wattad told those gathered, “As an Israeli citizen, I belong to a political entity ... I have no other home than the state of Israel. I am a proud Israeli citizen, but that doesn’t mean I can’t criticize it.... At the same time, I am a proud Arab national. I like Arab culture, people.... Whenever something wrong happens to the Arab world, I feel it. These are not contradictory things.”

Wattad clarified his position: “Don’t tell me Israel can’t define itself as Jewish and democratic.... This doesn’t mean that Israel is innocent in all of this, but there are others here that also aren’t innocent.”

Wattad pointed out that, “Israeli Arabs, for example in the Galilee, decided, upon the state of Israel’s birth, to stay and take citizenship, to be an Israeli citizen or not ... that was their choice.”

He explained the difference between discrimination and apartheid.

“Is there discrimination in Israel? Yes. There is discrimination against women, elderly, Arabs, Russian Jews, Christians.... But, the same goes for Canada. Is it good? No. But it means we have to deal with the problem from within.... The existence of discrimination in a state does not mean it is an apartheid state.... There is a big difference between apartheid and discrimination,” he said. “In an apartheid regime, there is no possibility of judicial review, because the judges are appointed by the regime and all serve one ideology. This is not the case in Israel.... There is a very strong, independent Supreme Court in Israel. In an apartheid regime, there is no place to go to argue against the government.”

Speaking of the effectiveness of Israel’s legal system, Wattad said that, in the case of Israel’s security fence, there were “more than 163 judgments of the Supreme Court, where they decided that the fence had to be re-routed/rebuilt.”

As an example of an opportunity for more inclusiveness, Wattad brought up the phrase nefesh yehudi (Jewish soul) in Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah. Wattad is of the view that it “ought to be changed to be inclusive of Arabs, Christians and non-Jewish citizens.” He proposes that the anthem refer to “an Israeli spirit,” to include non-Jewish citizens of the state.

Wattad also spoke on broader Middle East politics. He believes that, after President Hosni Mubarak leaves office, Egypt could end up in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization that currently exerts a great deal of political pressure on the government and has been known to espouse violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The impact of a change in Egyptian leadership could be significant in Israel. “I am not so sure that, as an Israeli, it is good to have democracy in other Arab countries, such as Egypt, given what the majority believes,” he said.

According to Wattad, the “big problem” today, in Israel, “is the right of return. Is it a right of return to [the] West Bank and Gaza or a right of return to Jaffa and Haifa? One possible solution is for Palestinians to receive an apology in addition to compensation. After World War II, the Jewish people got an apology from the Germans as well as money (reparations). It was very important that they got an apology, which was an acknowledgement of collective responsibility.”

When asked about the campaign to boycott Israeli academics, Wattad said that the boycott attempts are “idiotic,” and that even “left-wing Israelis aren’t able to speak or write” in that case. He believes that academic institutions should be “a marketplace of ideas.”

When asked whether he thought an economic boycott of Israel would be widely employed, Wattad answered that an economic boycott would, in effect, be “useless.... Who of the Arab states will boycott Israel economically?” Wattad said that, instead, “They will help Israel out.” Notwithstanding the official position of Arab states, they “are doing business with Israel,” Wattad said, mentioning Dubai as one such partner. “The biggest gas pipeline in Israel is jointly owned by Israel and Iran and has been that way since it was established.” He further noted it is clear that, in the case of war with Iran, “Saudi Arabia will allow Israel to use its airspace.”

Wattad believes that a “real chance for peace was lost” when former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was murdered.

Rhonda Spivak is a Winnipeg freelance writer and editor of the Winnipeg Jewish Review.

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