3 - The Consequences of 1948

Summary

The process of Israel’s birth in 1948 created a set of structural impediments that made impossible a harmonious relationship between Jewish internationalism and human rights. The creation of the Palestinian refugee problem and the absorption of a large Arab minority combined to circumscribe the range of action of Jewish advocates. They found themselves forced to deploy human rights as a counterclaim to neutralize demands for repatriation and compensation, a dynamic that first revealed itself when petitioning the UN to seek redress for embattled Jews in Arab countries. Human rights, often understood as a moral claims-making language, could also function to neutralize the claims of others. The potential of a restless Arab minority appealing to the UN acted as a break on limitless ambitions for capacious enforcement mechanisms. Even more traumatic was discovering the impact of Israeli military actions: the exercise of Jewish sovereignty could undermine the moral status of claims to authority by Jewish internationalists on human rights.