Israel Radio: Gulf States Investing in Israel: Farmer's Loss is Arab's Gain?

Agriculture of past times; ארכיון קיבוץ עין השופט Kibbutz Ein Ha'shofet archives / CC2.5 / taken from 1939 to 1950 / link: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PikiWiki_Israel_2065_Agriculture%20in%20Israel_%D7%97%D7%A7%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%95%D7%AA%20%D7%A9%D7%9C%20%D7%A4%D7%A2%D7%9D.jpg

A report on Israel's radio this morning mentioned an interesting story. Gulf states investors are buying land in northern Israel. The sellers are Israeli farmers in economic dire straights and apparently the investors are individuals or organizations based in the gulf states (Kuwait, UAE, Dubai, Bahrain). Jewish agricultural land ownership in northern Israel go back more than fifty years, in some cases even a hundred years. These are private lands bought by European Jews just before and after the state was founded. The land was bought from Arab individuals for agricultural use and at the time (1900's to 1940's) the Zionist intention was to build communities based on farming. The idea of Jews farming was revolutionary a hundred years ago. The idea of farming in Israel was a European dream. In the diaspora Jews were not allowed to own land and eventually turned into urban dwellers. But all of that is old history.

Political use of land ownership is kind of a sticky subject here. Specially when the sides are Zionist and Arabs. There is just too much extreme rhetoric, politicians take postures, media interviews sad cases, organizations state their positions. It all gets vocal and chaotic and confusing. In the end nobody cares about a farmer, his way of life, the basic desire to go to a field and grow something wonderful. But there is another dimension which political rhetoric and media coverage actually cover up. The intended and real use of the lands. When the Zionist bought the land decades ago to create a new world for the prosecuted Jews of Europe the ideals were strong and fresh. These ideals served the Jews well. Israel indeed turned to agriculture and succeeded beyond anyone's expectation. But this success eventually faded and now it is considered a failure. Israel's agriculture is no longer an engine of growth, it is not even an economically respected sector in Israel. The shift from a nostalgic pride in farming to marginalizing the field, some even say outright shame, is certainly visible. In private conversations people say: "what happened to these idealistic strong men and women, who came and claimed the land?" or "are we all turning into urban softies, cafe denizens in Tel Aviv? afraid to touch a dirty tool or ride a tractor from dawn to dusk?" Ideals in Israel are not simple matter, the mean something real and vivid. Well, nothing bad has actually happened to the land. It was farmed and created a new life for many who chose to go and live on it. The reality of Jewish and Arab farming in Israel is more complex. Technology, manufacturing, services and tourism have outstripped farming in economic terms. Certainly for Jews in Israel and to some extent to Muslims and Christians. The options Jews did not even dream of a century ago have clearly changed our view of farming as a life (and a profession). But farming is still viable in Israel. To the ones which want to farm in the the traditional (Zionist) style, the path is in more profitable specialty crops (organic, fish, exotic fruit). To the ones which can not go the traditional path, foreign workers and more efficient farming techniques are another way to continue farming.

Naftali mountains range, upper Galilli, today's agricultural success in Israel, by ilana shkolnik, cc-2.5 (www.pickiwiki.co.il), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PikiWiki_Israel_1381_Galilee%20Israel_%D7%A8%D7%9B%D7%A1%20%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%99%20%D7%A0%D7%A4%D7%AA%D7%9C%D7%99%20%D7%92%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9C%20%D7%A2%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9F.jpg

Does the descent of Israeli farming by Jews such a catastrophe? Not at all. Turns out that many Israeli Arabs (should I be less abrasive and say Israeli Muslims?) would love to follow the Jewish example and succeed in farming. Maybe they have the same dreams of eventually turning agriculture into a modern economic engine, a new world from the traditional small animal farming. Maybe they still see the viability of farming in a modern state and with markets closed to Jews (Lebanon, Syria and Jordan) they can do better than the Jews? (as Muslims and Christians) Maybe this is a small step in Jews actually can help Muslims and Christians in a creative way? Israel developed not just efficient farming, but also distribution and marketing channels, agriculturally directed bio-technology industry (seeds, bio-engineered varieties), financial and regulatory support organizations... all the modern global elements which are dearly missing in the Middle East and unheard of anywhere outside Europe and North America.

The really daring move will be to support Muslim Israelis in transition into the agricultural sector now being abandoned by Jews. These new farmers may not get full land ownership and may have to live with leased lands (Jews have leased land from the state and the JNF for a century). They may even have to accept leasing from the Jewish National Fund (JNF). But at this point it's clear of the JNF's lack in leadership or vision will not accept Jewish land leased to Muslim farmers. Maybe the government can be an instrument of change? especially Benyamin Netanyahu's Likud party, could see the economic, political and practical elements here? That one is also a long shot. Creatively resolving regional issues between Jews and Muslims in Israel does not have a good track record. There is too little cooperation and too much finger pointing and blaming. My ideas are not meant to fall on deaf ears, maybe this is just airing out the intentions of some gulf state shieks tired of the satus quo in the region. After all, most of the Arab world is really the loser here, they can really benefit from Israel's ability to bridge between the Arabs and the western world. I am not holding my breath with the hope of a wonderful change either. This will take a shift in thinking on the scale of Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, M. L. King Jr. or even Theodor Herzl. It is still interesting how shifts in economic conditions and political motivation turn the world upside down.

But maybe all these optimism on my side is premature, simply wishful thinking. What if all these land acquisition is driven by Hamas, Hezbollah or even the Iranian regime? No matter, it will certainly wake up everyone to the agricultural change dilemma in Israel. Which seems not to have been interesting to politicians and investors in at least fifty years, or is it a century?