Professor of history at the Universite de Montreal, author and journalist Yakov M. Rabkin recently presented in Kyiv the Russian translation of his book What Is Modern Israel? It was written at the request of a Japanese publisher for the youth of that country to show them what the State of Israel is actually like. Rabkin, who was born in Leningrad in 1945 but has lived in Montreal for 42 years already, became famous after authoring the book A Threat from Within: A Century of Jewish Opposition to Zionism, which was translated into 12 languages, including Japanese. We started our talk with the Israeli-Canadian historian by asking why Japan became interested in the history of Israel, why Japanese partners asked him to write another book, and what he wanted to cover in it.
“The Japanese are a curious people. My previous book was recognized as one of the best non-fiction works in Japan, so they asked me to write another one in this vein.
There have been a lot of books written about Israel. I just wanted to show how Israel can be understood as a modern state in the geopolitical context rather than in the context of Biblical prophecies.”
“WITH EACH PASSING YEAR, FEWER ISRAELIS STAY INTERESTED IN PEACEFUL RELATIONS WITH THE PALESTINIANS”
“I am not sure that the current Israeli government is interested in peace. It is more interested in holding the area with minimal costs. I think so because since 2002, when I wrote the paper about it, we have had the Arab League’s offer on the table, which proposes to recognize Israel in return for it leaving the territories occupied in 1967. Israel did not even respond to it, even though it was the dream of all the founders of Israel – to be accepted in the Middle East. Today, Israel relies on the support of Western countries.
With each passing year, fewer Israelis stay interested in peaceful relations with the Palestinians. Moreover, a more militant position is dominating now, which asserts that Israel can exist indefinitely in the absence of peace. The mobilized society is becoming the norm. This offers great advantages for the government. For example, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, back during his tenure as the finance minister, was able to turn the effectively socialist and egalitarian Israeli economy into a neoliberal one, with a huge gap between rich and poor, and the political costs of his actions were very low. It happened because he could always point to the external enemy, saying ‘let us deal with them now, and then everything will be fine.’”
ON THE NUCLEAR DEAL WITH IRAN AND ALI KHAMENEI’S MISSILES
“I flew home from Iran last Friday, on April 1 [the interview was recorded on April 6. – Author], after lecturing and talking with people there for four weeks. There is a feeling of great relief there after the deal. The sanctions are being lifted, but nothing has changed at the consumer level yet.
“My colleagues, political scientists working at an institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, told me that the US had changed tactics, but not the goal. In other words, it is just like with Cuba. Barack Obama traveled to Cuba, tactics changed, but the regime change is still the end goal.
“When stating that missiles are the future of Iran, Khamenei probably meant using missiles for self-defense. Iran, in fact, is a thoroughly commerce-minded country that has not attacked anyone for 300 years. Therefore, it is unlikely that the Iranians have plans to capture someone’s territory, because they have enough of their own.
“Religious wars in the region are a different matter. I see them as military-political wars which use religion as a very effective means of mobilizing the masses. In fact, the Sunnis and Shia lived together for more than a thousand years and never fought each other. The radicalization of society happens in an environment where there is some hopelessness, there is no way out.”
“FINE SHADES OF THE IRANIAN SOCIETY ENSURE DOMESTIC PEACE”
“The Iranian Shia have always been in a majority, and they are quite friendly toward minorities. For instance, Zoroastrians and Jews live peacefully in Iran, just like other minorities.
“I felt safe in Iran. Everyone saw that I was a foreigner, no matter how I dressed. They are friendly people. No one asked me for money. I bought a pair of earrings as a present to my daughter. After I lost it and had no idea where to look for it, somebody found it in a hotel and returned to me at once. Absolutely incredible.
“I think that society is now undergoing some changes. But we must understand that it is very disparate as it includes people belonging to a modern, more Western-oriented, world as well as a majority not belonging to it.
“It is important to understand that Iran was presented in a black-and-white perspective over recent years. However, it is much more complex. I hope that relations between the West and Iran will be restored. But most Iranians, even those with Western-aligned opinions, said they did not strive to embrace the West. All this should be done at a moderate pace. They show some caution.
“In fact, their society is not completely closed, as people often imagine. There are certain degrees of freedom there, which work in different ways.”
“THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO RESUME ITS ROLE OF PEACEMAKER”
“Now to Canada renewing cooperation with Russia. I and our new Foreign Minister Stephane Dion worked in the same university for 20 years. He taught political science, while I taught history. We had two floors dividing us. He comes from a French-speaking family from Quebec and his English is not very good. And besides, his family are federalists, who have always opposed the independence of Quebec.
“Like many Canadians, he believes that we should try to negotiate with everyone, including Russia and Iran. Dion said that we needed to unfreeze the relationship, we had interests to protect in the Arctic and other regions. Moreover, about half of Canada’s commercial relations with Russia are conducted by Quebec. The Trudeau government is much less dependent on Western Canada than on Quebec and Ontario. Bombardier’s headquarters is in Montreal. I think it has an impact. But since Justin Trudeau needs the support of the whole country, I do not think that he will fall in a great love with Russia: rather, some commercial links will reopen, as will communication on the Arctic, particularly among scientists who research it. However, I do not expect a strong warming in relations.
“The Canadian government is trying to resume its former role of peacemaker and mediator. It is no accident that Trudeau said after the election: ‘Canada is back.’
“Canada was a major factor in founding NATO. Canadian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lester Pearson was among people who created NATO. Canada is part of the Western world, but on the other hand, it looks like a neutral, but has never been really neutral. Canada will remain an important member of NATO and the Western world, but at the same time, it will be bolder in defending its own interests.
“Canada has the ambition to be a mediator, so the image of Canada as a neutral country is very important. And we must understand that it is the rebirth of a Canadian tradition that existed for many decades. Secondly, Trudeau is much freer from any diaspora opinions, not only the Ukrainian one, but also others.”
