The Divergence of Judaism and Islam. Interdependence, Modernity, and Political Turmoil

(Joyce) #1

310 · Yehudit Ronen


vitality into Libya’s foreign policy and bolstered Qadhafi’s political posi-
tion at home. Achieving these aims took on some urgency in spring 1979,
as Libya’s prolonged military intervention in Idi Amin’s Uganda proved
to be a total failure.
It was not surprising, therefore, that Qadhafi continued to cling to
the widely consensual goal on the Libyan agenda of annihilating the
“Zionist state,” a mission he considered to be a “zero-sum game.” The
Arab-Israeli conflict, he reiterated during his first years in power and
on many subsequent occasions, was “beyond the point of negotiations
and peaceful solutions.” This conflict, he repeated, is “national and re-
ligious” and not limited to a territorial dispute. “This is a struggle over
existence, a struggle over culture. One of us will survive and the other
will be extinguished.”^6


A New Peak of Animosity: In the Aftermath of Israel’s War
in Lebanon


While assuming a central role in the anti-Egyptian front, Libya rekindled
its anti-Israel ardor during the 1980s, stating that “only the Arab rifle,
blood, and sacrifice will bring about the liquidation of the Zionist entity.”
Qadhafi and his tightly controlled media further declared that the Arabs
have no alternative but to destroy Israel, “since the struggle is over their
very survival,” warning that “the unstoppable [Zionist] death train is ap-
proaching from Tel-Aviv, determined to annihilate the Arabs and build
an empire on their ruins.”^7
This belligerent message gained new momentum in the wake of Is-
rael’s military invasion of Lebanon on 2 June 1982, which dealt a serious
blow to the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) under Yasir ̔Ara-
fat’s leadership. Being forced to withdraw from Beirut and thus losing
their last autonomous base in Lebanon, to Qadhafi’s chagrin, the PLO
also moved its headquarters to Tunis. Not only did he unequivocally ob-
ject to the Israeli involvement in this arrangement and to the PLO’s with-
drawal from further fighting in Lebanon, but he also became frustrated
over the indifference of the Arab countries to the Palestinian struggle
against the Israeli army in Lebanon. Although Libya also took no direct
military action to aid the Palestinians, it pained Qadhafi to watch the
further disintegration of the Pan-Arab ideology he held so dear. Angry,
the Libyan head of state intensified his venomous rhetoric in the wake of

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