For much of the 20th century, Arab nationalism—the idea that a common language and heritage should unite politically the Arabic-speaking peoples—was the dominant ideology of the Middle East. While this ideology has been dying for decades, Emanuele Ottolenghi argues that Israeli’s normalization agreements with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have shown that it is finally dead:
The accords recognize the Jewish and Arab people’s common ancestry in the region, accepting that Jews as a people and their faith are indigenous to the Middle East and have a legitimate right to be there. This affirmation discards two central tenets of Arab nationalism: the inherent rejection of a Jewish state as an alien, colonialist presence in the region and the idea that Arab-Israeli peace must defer to Palestinian grievances. The affirmation thus marks the end of Arab nationalism. Henceforth, the Arab countries that join the accords signal that they intend to pursue their national interest and seek alliances with the Jewish state, each on its own terms and without the need of a pan-Arab strategy.
Arab nationalism, from its inception, engaged both Christian and Muslim intellectuals. It sought to transcend Islam as the basis for political allegiance to, and membership in, the nation. But it never seriously entertained the possibility that Jews, of which there were many across Arab lands, had any part in the project. . . .
[T]he Great Arab Revolt, which pitched the Arab national movement against the Jews, convulsing the British Mandate in Palestine between 1936 and 1939, . . . aligned Arab nationalists with European fascism and its ideological lure, which included a paranoid, conspiracy-minded hatred for Jews. The exclusion of Jews from the Arab nationalist project was final and absolute. They were a foreign implant that did not belong in the region.
War in Yemen and Israel’s devastating 1967 victory over Arab armies further undermined Arab nationalism as a mobilizing force. . . . The 1967 war also marked the beginning of the ascendance of Islamism, a force first born out of the desire to countenance the secular appeal of Arab nationalism in the 1920s but hardly more inclusive. Yet the cause of Palestine, which rallied nationalists from the start, continued to hold regional governments to ransom, forcing them to prioritize the struggle against Israel or delay normalization, even when these actions clearly ran counter to their interests.
While some Arab states will no doubt persist in refusing to make peace with Israel, the Palestinian cause has now been drained of its former potency.
Read more on Dispatch: https://thedispatch.com/p/the-end-of-arab-nationalism