The fear to acknowlege the Right of Return

By Romi Yitzchaki

I’m scared. I’m scared. When people mention to me of the right of return, I get scared. I’m not alone on this. If you ask the average Israeli on the street, and mention to him the right of return, his immediate reaction will be existential  terror. My fear, of course, is not coincidental. It is anchored in the many stories I absorbed my entire life. The stories come from different places: the education system, the media, the government, the public echo, the talkbacks to articles on the internet—but all stick to the same point of view. The “Arabs,” as an inclusive and homogeneous name for Palestinians living in Israel, in the territories of the Palestinian authority, and refugees around the world – want to eliminate us. To recognize the right of return, it is immediately evident, is the silver platter on which the state of the Jews will be given, it is the key that we will place in the hands of our enemies in order to fulfill their threatening aspirations. The right of return, shouts this fear, will slam shut the door on our dream, and its price: our extermination.

The problem is that relating to the right of return remains anchored in my point of view, a Jewish citizen of the state of Israel. She always asks: what do I deserve, what bothers me, what scares me, what will hurt me. The understanding that the return is a right nullifies these questions to some extent: The return is not a favor that I can choose to grant or not to grant, it is a natural right and as such it is impossible to withhold it, or to ask that it be put aside because it doesn’t fit in our discourse.

The recognition of return as a right does not calm my fears at all. But am I willing to let my fear decide? Do my worries need to enable violations of human rights and social injustice? Is my fear a good enough reason to withhold from another person, and his people,  what is theirs by right?

The problem is that the right of return is taboo in Israeli society: it is not only forbidden to carry it out, but it is forbidden even to speak about it. It being taboo heightens the fear and terror around it. The fear is so great, so threatening, so extreme, so immobilizing—that it does not allow for any discussion, personal or public. And so the taboo pushes aside the possibility of searching for a practical solution to a reality that it is impossible to make peace with.

I used to think of the right of return in a binary sense, as a decision tree that comprises only two options: either the total denial of the right of return (and exchanging it with monetary compensation), or a complete return of all the refugees in a way that will (perhaps) threaten the continued existence of the state of Israel. In the struggle between these two possibilities, it is clear what I will choose. It is clear to me what every Israeli will choose. Are there additional ways to think about the solution?

In order to make progress in the winding, worry-filled journey to the solution, it is incumbent upon us to free up this taboo, and to exchange it with an open and free discussion. The best way to fight the fear is by using information that refutes it.  A comprehensive review of all the practical sides of the right of return provides a fresh start to thinking, a new path for dealing with the concerns that it brings up. Instead of being busy blocking the possibility by force, by looking away or plugging up one’s ears—it is important to encourage the discussion on practical ways to carry out the right of return, to learn from other conflicts in the world, to assess its practical consequences and to deal with the challenges and problems that it raises.

Will the concrete suggestions calm the fear that has made its home in my heart? Will they give me a guarantee of a better life? Can they see into the future and calm me down? It’s not clear. But we must begin this process so we can achieve a better perspective on reality, and that is the most I can wish for myself, my people, and the other people which looks forward to unite with its lands, on both sides of the border.