As Israeli warplanes were pounding the Gaza Strip a few days ago, the portly, elder Israeli politician Reuven Rivlin confidently approached the podium facing Israel’s parliament. After a hotly contested battle for the presidency, one that exposed rampant corruption among senior Israeli politicians, Rivlin secured his spot as Shimon Peres’s replacement to become Israel’s 10th president. Despite his staunchly right-wing views concerning the solution to Israel’s crisis with the Palestinians, Rivlin received a standing ovation as he was inaugurated in front of the country.
With almost no concrete opposition from the left, Rivlin’s appointment confirms that Israel is one step closer to making official the one-state reality that exists on the ground. In Israel’s parliamentary democratic system, power lies firmly in the hands of the prime minister, leaving the position of the president as a largely ceremonial and symbolic one. At a time when Israel’s secular left is on life support, with nationalist sentiment sweeping a country in the grips of war in Gaza, Rivlin’s accession to the presidency is a profound symbol of Israel’s desire to control the Palestinian territories forever.
“I would prefer for the Palestinians to be citizens of this country,” Rivlin reportedly told the Greek ambassador to Israel last year, “rather than divide the land.” With statements like this, Rivlin has positioned himself as a leader of an increasingly popular Israeli movement to reject the two-state solution once and for all. While these voices have always existed under the surface, the Israeli government tried to subdue them to convince the international community that it was ready to negotiate with the Palestinians in good faith about the division of the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan. The reality on the ground, as Israel’s occupation closes in on its sixth decade, is a de facto one-state solution, where rights are administered on the basis of ethnicity in a wholly unequal manner.
Israel’s secular left, which formerly held massive peace rallies in Tel Aviv and provided dark hope that Israeli civil society had the power to exert political pressure on its leadership to reach a two-state solution, has lost most of its political clout over the past several years.
Under the leadership of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has increased settlement activity in the West Bank, while entrenching an infrastructure of control that extends to all of the territory from the river to the sea.
“I think the Israeli people understand now what I always say: that there cannot be a situation, under any agreement, in which we relinquish security control of the territory west of the River Jordan,” Netanyahu said just under a month ago, as the Gaza conflict raged.
At this point in Israel’s short but violent history, both the Israeli prime minister and president are firmly on record stating that a two-state solution is not viable because of security concerns, or the fact that Israel simply doesn’t want to give up the biblical heartland of the country.
Years of fruitless negotiations have produced an Israeli political establishment that is openly antagonistic towards the two-state solution framework, which, with the outbreak of violence in Gaza, is difficult for the country’s PR handlers in the foreign ministry to contain.
“At the very least, Rivlin is now in the position to legitimise one-state discourse in at least two ways,” says Dimi Reider, an associate fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “First, by emphatically legitimising and embracing settler communities and maybe even reaching out to Palestinian ones – making settlement eviction and partition appear a lot less self-evident as a path forward.”
The rightist narrative of the conflict has taken such a strong hold that it is no longer safe for left-leaning Israelis to even protest on the streets of Tel Aviv. The upper echelon of Israel’s political establishment, attempting to build on the rhetoric for political gains, is largely to blame for this dire situation.
Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, for example, recently led calls to boycott businesses owned by Palestinian citizens of Israel who protested against the attacks in Gaza. Groups of young Israeli rightist militants have been roaming the streets, wearing shirts inspired by neo-Nazi logos, and chanting “death to leftists and death to Arabs”. When these groups engage in violence, against either leftists or Palestinians, they are barely held accountable for their crimes.
Tel Aviv’s famed liberal intellectuals face intimidation from family, friends and peers for demonstrating basic empathy and remorse for the thousands of civilians killed in Gaza. As the major 2,000-strong Tel Aviv rally for peace in Gaza last month demonstrated, never before in Israel’s history has it been so dangerous to publicly call for peace with the Palestinians.
“What is new this time around is that it is unsafe for Israeli Jews to protest,” says Neve Gordon, a professor of political science at Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva. “For instance, in the past I would take my children to protests in Tel Aviv. I can no longer do this since the right-wing are extremely violent. Ultimately, my children are safer in Beer Sheva, despite the rockets, than in an anti-war protest in Tel Aviv.”
The factors leading to the crippling of the secular left in Israel by the dominant nationalist sentiment have been a long time in the making. For one, Israel never really lived up to its stated desire for a two-state solution. During the Labor governments of the 1990s Israeli settlement activity, for example, increased on the land slated for a Palestinian state. Over the past 20 years, Israel has worked tirelessly to sever the Gaza Strip from the West Bank. It is no coincidence that the latest round of violence in Gaza began just two months after Hamas agreed to a unity government that would mend Palestinian infighting and bring Gaza closer to the West Bank.
Despite a well-documented unwillingness to cede territory and reformulate its control over Palestinian life in the occupied territories, Israel invested heavily in a handsome PR campaign designed to show the international community that it was interested in a two-state solution. While international civil society accepted this with varying degrees of scepticism, Israel's liberal leftists and its supporters around the world, who often call themselves liberal Zionists, accepted this PR strategy wholeheartedly. As Jonathan Freedman recently noted in The New York Review of Books: "For nearly three decades, the hope of an eventual two-state solution provided a kind of comfort zone for liberal Zionists, if not comfort blanket."
It is this contradiction that doomed the Israeli left and is now difficult to conceal. Zionism as an ideology has always been difficult to reconcile with liberalism. This is all the more profound in wartime, when nationalism seemingly paralyses every sector of Israeli society with a sink or swim mindset.
“The Jewish left has been dwindling for years because the demarcation lines are becoming clearer. It is becoming more and more difficult to be both a Zionist and a leftist, even a Zionist and a liberal. Most people choose Zionism over a left politics. But this is part of a long process,” says Gordon.
The latest Gaza conflict, coupled with a new willingness of Israel’s leadership to speak honestly about their long-term ambitions in the Palestinian territories, means that talk of a two-state solution and a viable partner in Israeli society that can help push the government to make painful concessions is out of the window. The message to the international community from Israel’s leaders is unequivocal: the occupation cannot and will not be ended; Hamas will administer Gaza and the Palestinian Authority will administer the West Bank – both under the shadow of Israeli security control. Talk of a two-state solution in any meaningful sense remains illusory; the status quo will be enforced – by military force if necessary – for the foreseeable future.
The demise of the Israeli left was already crystal clear when thousands flooded the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa in the summer of 2011, chanting that the people demand social justice, without mentioning the Palestine issue.
While liberal Israelis have focused on their own economic freedom and the reformation of Israeli society, hardline rightists in the Israeli government have entrenched their power in the political system. When the dust settles on this summer’s violence in Gaza, Israel will be left with a PR problem that its experts will be unable to control: a battle over equal rights in the one state that extends across Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Joseph Dana is a regular contributor to The Review.
thereview@thenational.ae
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The bio
Favourite food: Japanese
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Favourite hobby: Football
Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough
Favourite country: UAE
The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter
1. Dubai silk road
2. A geo-economic map for Dubai
3. First virtual commercial city
4. A central education file for every citizen
5. A doctor to every citizen
6. Free economic and creative zones in universities
7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes
8. Co-operative companies in various sectors
9: Annual growth in philanthropy
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Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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