Read The Sword And The Olive Online
Authors: Martin van Creveld
The Sword And The Olive (2 page)
kofer ha-yishuv
the
Yishuv
’s ransom; the tax imposed by the Jewish community in Palestine in 1929
the
Yishuv
’s ransom; the tax imposed by the Jewish community in Palestine in 1929
Lavi
Young Lion; the Israeli-built fighter-bomber that never flew
Young Lion; the Israeli-built fighter-bomber that never flew
LECHI (Lochame Cherut Yisrael)
Israel’s Freedom Fighters; a pre-1948 right-wing terrorist organization
Israel’s Freedom Fighters; a pre-1948 right-wing terrorist organization
LIC
low intensity conflict
low intensity conflict
Likud
Unity; the right-wing political party that has dominated Israel during most of the years since 1977
Unity; the right-wing political party that has dominated Israel during most of the years since 1977
Maarachot
Campaigns
; the IDF’s periodical (monthly)
Campaigns
; the IDF’s periodical (monthly)
maarav, maaravim
(pl.)
ambush
(pl.)
ambush
MABAT (Mifalim Bitchoniyim)
Defense Plants; an arms-manufacturing subsidiary of IAI
Defense Plants; an arms-manufacturing subsidiary of IAI
MADAS, MADASit (fem.)
Madrich Sport; a physical training instructor
Madrich Sport; a physical training instructor
maoz, meozim
(pl.)
bunker
(pl.)
bunker
MAFCHASH (Mifkedet Kochot Ha-sadeh)
ground forces headquarters
ground forces headquarters
MAFDAL (Miflaga Datit Leumit)
National Religious Party
National Religious Party
MAPAI (Mifleget Poale Erets Yisrael)
Workers’ Party of the Land of Israel; ancestor of the modern Labor Party
Workers’ Party of the Land of Israel; ancestor of the modern Labor Party
mateh
staff
staff
MATKAL (Mateh Klali)
General Staff
General Staff
mechdal
oversight
oversight
Merkava
Chariot; an Israeli-built tank
Chariot; an Israeli-built tank
milchemet brera
“war of choice”; the biblical term sometimes used in modern Israel to describe a war in which it took the initiative
“war of choice”; the biblical term sometimes used in modern Israel to describe a war in which it took the initiative
mirdaf, mirdafim
(pl.)
pursuit
(pl.)
pursuit
Mishmar Ha-gvul
Frontier Guard
Frontier Guard
Mispenot Yisrael
Israeli Shipyards
Israeli Shipyards
mistanen, mistanenim
(pl.)
infiltrators
(pl.)
infiltrators
Moav (Moab)
long-range UAV reportedly being considered by the IDF for combating surface-to-surface missiles
long-range UAV reportedly being considered by the IDF for combating surface-to-surface missiles
MLRS
multiple rocket launching system
multiple rocket launching system
MOS
military occupation specialty
military occupation specialty
moshav
different types of communal settlements in which the land, but not agricultural implements, are owned in common
different types of communal settlements in which the land, but not agricultural implements, are owned in common
Mossad
Institution; Israel’s foreign secret service
Institution; Israel’s foreign secret service
NACHAL (Noar Chalutsi Lochem)
Fighting-Pioneer Youth, the army’s corps of pioneers in uniform
Fighting-Pioneer Youth, the army’s corps of pioneers in uniform
NAGMASH, NAGMASHim (pl.) (
nose geyasot meshuryan
)
armored personnel carrier
nose geyasot meshuryan
)
armored personnel carrier
NAGMASHA, NAGMASHot (pl.) (
noset geyasot meshuryenet
)
heavy armored personnel carrier on tank chassis
noset geyasot meshuryenet
)
heavy armored personnel carrier on tank chassis
NCO
noncommissioned officer
noncommissioned officer
NILI (Netsach Yisrael Lo Yeshaker)
Israel Will Live Forever; Jewish espionage ring in Palestine during World War I
Israel Will Live Forever; Jewish espionage ring in Palestine during World War I
noter, notrim
(pl.)
Jewish police officer working for the British authorities
(pl.)
Jewish police officer working for the British authorities
Ofek
Horizon; generic name for Israeli satellites
Horizon; generic name for Israeli satellites
PALMACH (Plugot Machats)
Hagana’s pre-1948 strike force
Hagana’s pre-1948 strike force
PALYAM (PALMACH-YAM)
PALMACH’s naval company
PALMACH’s naval company
PAZAM (pesek zman minimali)
minimum periods between promotions
minimum periods between promotions
PGMs
precision-guided munitions
precision-guided munitions
pkida plugatit, pkiddot plugatiyot
(pl.)
company clerk (female)
(pl.)
company clerk (female)
POUM
(1) Plugot Meyuchadot (Special Companies); Hagana intelligence organization set up in 1941; (2) Pikkud U-mateh (Command and General Staff College)
(1) Plugot Meyuchadot (Special Companies); Hagana intelligence organization set up in 1941; (2) Pikkud U-mateh (Command and General Staff College)
PTSD
posttraumatic stress disorder
posttraumatic stress disorder
RAFAEL (Rashut Le-pituach Emtsaei Luchama)
Weapon Development Authority
Weapon Development Authority
RAFI (Reshimat Poalei Yisrael)
Israeli Workers’ List; a party founded by Ben Gurion after his resignation as prime minister in 1963
Israeli Workers’ List; a party founded by Ben Gurion after his resignation as prime minister in 1963
Rechesh
Acquisition; Hagana’s arms-procurement organization
Acquisition; Hagana’s arms-procurement organization
Reshef
Spark; a class of Israeli missile boats
Spark; a class of Israeli missile boats
rosh mateh klali
chief of the General Staff
chief of the General Staff
rosh mifkada artsit
chief of country headquarters, the title carried by Hagana’s chief of staff
chief of country headquarters, the title carried by Hagana’s chief of staff
RPV
remotely piloted vehicle
remotely piloted vehicle
Saar
Tempest; a class of Israeli missile boats
Tempest; a class of Israeli missile boats
sabra
“the fruit of the cactus,” a nickname for Israeli-born Jews
“the fruit of the cactus,” a nickname for Israeli-born Jews
sayarot
commando units
commando units
SAM
surface-to-air missile
surface-to-air missile
Shavit
Comet 2, an (unsuccessful?) surface-to-surface missile built by RAFAEL during the early 1960s
Comet 2, an (unsuccessful?) surface-to-surface missile built by RAFAEL during the early 1960s
Sherut Aviri
Air Service; PALMACH’s underground air arm
Air Service; PALMACH’s underground air arm
Sherut Zehirut
Prudence Service; Hagana’s security service
Prudence Service; Hagana’s security service
Shin Bet (Sherut Bitachon)
Israel’s domestic Security Service
Israel’s domestic Security Service
shomer, shomrim
(pl.)
guard
(pl.)
guard
SIGINT
signals intelligence
signals intelligence
siyur, siyurim
(pl.)
patrol
(pl.)
patrol
slik, slikkim
(pl.)
an underground chamber where arms were hidden
(pl.)
an underground chamber where arms were hidden
SNS
Special Night Squads; commando units organized by Capt. Orde Wingate during the disturbances of 1936-1939
Special Night Squads; commando units organized by Capt. Orde Wingate during the disturbances of 1936-1939
TAAS (Taasiya Tsvait)
Israel Military Industries Ltd.
Israel Military Industries Ltd.
tachkir, tachkirim
(pl.)
debriefing
(pl.)
debriefing
tadrich, tadrichim
(pl.)
briefing
(pl.)
briefing
taoz, teozim
(pl.)
bunker
(pl.)
bunker
timsach, timaschim
(pl.)
crocodiles; code name for rafts used in crossing the Suez Canal in 1973
(pl.)
crocodiles; code name for rafts used in crossing the Suez Canal in 1973
TOW
tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided antitank missile
tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided antitank missile
TSAHAL (Tsva Hagana Le-Yisrael)
IDF
IDF
tsva keva
standing forces
standing forces
UAV
unmanned airborne vehicle
unmanned airborne vehicle
ugda
division
division
Uzi
Israeli-made submachine gun
Israeli-made submachine gun
YAMACH, YAMACHim (pl.)
(yechidat machsanei cherum)
emergency depot
(yechidat machsanei cherum)
emergency depot
yeshive, yeshivot
(pl.)
talmudic high school
(pl.)
talmudic high school
yeshivot hesder
arrangement yeshives; Talmudic high schools in which students split time between the military and study
arrangement yeshives; Talmudic high schools in which students split time between the military and study
Yishuv
pre-1948 Jewish community in Palestine
pre-1948 Jewish community in Palestine
zroa ha-hachraa
the decisive arm; applied to each arm and service to itself
the decisive arm; applied to each arm and service to itself
PREFACE TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION
THE AUTUMN OF 1998 was perhaps the most hopeful moment in the entire hundred-year history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. At Wye Plantation, Maryland, Israeli, Palestinian, and American representatives were hard at work. Their purpose was to hammer out an agreement that would enable the Israel Defense Force (IDF) to withdraw from parts of the City of Hebron. At the head of the Israeli delegation to the talks was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, political hardliner and leader of the Likud Party. Many observers believed that should the negotiations succeed, the most important obstacle to peace would have been overcome and the end of the conflict would be in sight.
The negotiations did succeed, but the conflict did not come to an end. Whether because the Israelis refused to continue working toward a final agreement, which would have entailed more withdrawals, or because the Palestinians did not meet their obligations under the agreement by gathering illegal arms and ending incitement of violence against Israel, the peace process stalled. Disappointed with Mr. Netanyahu’s inability to make progress, Israeli voters ousted him in favor of Ehud Barak, but even the latter’s offer to surrender 96 percent of the occupied territories and establish a Palestinian state did not persuade Mr. Arafat to make peace under conditions that Israel felt it could accept. In particular, most Israelis considered the Palestinian demand that Israel grant the refugees who had fled the country during the 1948 War the “right of return” as tantamount to the destruction of their state. As it was probably meant to be.
In September 2000, the Second Palestinian
Intifada,
or Uprising, got under way. It was much more violent than the
Intifada
of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hundreds of Israelis died. The Israel Defense Force responded by using force on a scale that only a few years earlier would have made its commanders shake their heads in disbelief. As these lines are being written, the conflict is still raging and, indeed, intensifying. Israeli forces have entered and are conducting operations in many of the towns surrendered to the Palestinians under the 1993 Oslo Agreement; whomever carries weapons and refuses to surrender, they simply kill. The Palestinians continue to wreak havoc in Israel. By the use of suicide bombers, the most hateful tactic of all, they are killing men, women, and children indiscriminately and further stoking the fire.
Intifada,
or Uprising, got under way. It was much more violent than the
Intifada
of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hundreds of Israelis died. The Israel Defense Force responded by using force on a scale that only a few years earlier would have made its commanders shake their heads in disbelief. As these lines are being written, the conflict is still raging and, indeed, intensifying. Israeli forces have entered and are conducting operations in many of the towns surrendered to the Palestinians under the 1993 Oslo Agreement; whomever carries weapons and refuses to surrender, they simply kill. The Palestinians continue to wreak havoc in Israel. By the use of suicide bombers, the most hateful tactic of all, they are killing men, women, and children indiscriminately and further stoking the fire.
It is impossible to say where it will all end. Soldiers are so afraid of lightly armed terrorists that they try to pursue them in sixty-ton tanks. Others prefer spending time in prison rather than serving in the territories and becoming involved in what they see as atrocities; still others, instead of keeping a stiff upper lip, openly weep over their dead comrades’ graves. The media runneth over with signs of Israeli weakness. Visiting Tel Aviv and noting the thousands who besiege foreign embassies in order to look into the possibility of emigrating—although, so far, few have actually taken that step—an observer might be forgiven for thinking that Israel is coming to the end of its tether.
As this book explains in considerable detail, such an impression would have some truth to it. But this weakness is only part of the story, and to believe in it entirely would be misleading and, therefore, as dangerous as dangerous can be. Not far behind the impotent weeping and wailing and the shameful lack of courage, a powerful combination of rage and despair is gathering force. The following figures illustrate the trend as nothing else can. In the summer of 2000, before the start of the current Uprising, only 7 or 8 percent of Israelis felt that it would be necessary to repeat the events of 1948 and expel the Palestinians into Jordan in order to secure Israel’s future. By February 2002 the number had risen to 33 percent, and in April of the same year it stood at 44 percent. Desperate times will lead to desperate measures. Should the present hostilities continue to escalate, the time when Israelis will unite behind a leader who will do
anything
for their safety cannot be far off.
anything
for their safety cannot be far off.
That leader may well be Ariel Sharon. In the past, he has often said that Israel’s policy of propping up the Hashemite regime in Jordan was a mistake and that Jordan, which according to him has a Palestinian majority even now, is the true Palestinian state, the inference being that the Palestinians should go there. A few weeks ago, when a journalist asked him whether he was contemplating ethnic cleansing, he said he did not think in such terms. Those who believe him are welcome to their illusions. Sharon’s entire career shows that he is the last man to charge ahead without a plan. Though it is impossible to be sure, his intention in allowing the conflict to escalate may well be to create the conditions for doing what, in the past, he has often hinted he wanted done. The fact that he does not seem to have a plan makes it all the more likely that he does.
Other books
The Liberator (A Dante Walker Novel) (Entangled Teen) by Scott, Victoria
Susie Learns the Hard Way by Roger Quine
Her Soldier Protector by Soraya Lane
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun
Heartbroke Bay by D'urso, Lynn
Murders Most Foul by Alanna Knight
Home Is Where the Heart Is (Welcome To Redemption) by Rogers, Donna Marie
By Loyalty Bound: The Story of the Mistress of King Richard III by Ashworth, Elizabeth
Loving Mr. July by Margaret Antone
The Crown Affair by Lucy King
