Recently I visited my mother, and she gave me a copy of an old letter my father sent to the Canaanite leadership in January of 1978. My father died on October 3, 2000. Most of the Canaanite leaders were much older than he was. The paper on which the letter was printed is yellowed, torn and full of holes. Before it disappears, I decided to share what he wrote.
The letter was in Hebrew. I have added an English translation.
Grand Prairie, Texas
January 15, 1978
SECRET: Anyone who hands over this document to the enemies of Canaan will be put to death and his corpse thrown to the dogs.
To the faithful of Canaan wherever they may be,
I am addressing you in order to point out a way to realize Canaanism that we have neglected so far. This way is to turn directly to the inhabitants of Judea, Samaria and other areas in order to arouse and organize them, until they themselves will rise up and demand their rights to a Hebrew education and full Israeli citizenship.
I became conscious that this way is possible thanks to my meeting with “Ali” (not his real name) — a young man from one of the “Arab” settlements in Judea. Ali was introduced to me here in Texas by an American acquaintance. We exchanged a few words in Hebrew and then went back to speaking English. A short while before I had explained Canaanism to the American. I knew that he saw the encounter between me and the Palestinian a test of Canaanism. When Ali started a sentence with: “I’m an Arab…” I interrupted him and asked: “What do you mean when you say that you are an Arab? Did you ancestors come to Israel from Arabia?”
“No.”
“You are not an Arab,” I told him. “You are a local from Israel.” The young man agreed and said that he would like to be simply Israeli. I told him that, in my opinion, that is exactly what he should be. When he heard this, Ali came over and hugged me.
Since then I continued to muse over the nature of the Judean. I found that his loyalty to Israel was deep and fundamental. This feeling springs from the preference for Israeli society over that of the neighboring countries, because of the human relations and honoring the individual that are to be found in Israel. If he could, he would want to assimilate and to become well versed in Israeli society, and would be happy to defend Israel and to put his life in peril serving it.
Because Ali was from the “territories”, Israeli institutions from IDF to the Hebrew University, are closed to him. In contrast, his cousin is serving in an Israeli armored unit. Ali tells of his cousin’s bravery with pride, about his courage and his exploits for Israel in the battles of ’73. The mother of his cousin is from Judea, but his father is from the Negev. For this reason the cousin is deemed an “Israeli Beduin”, and IDF is open to him. Ali is considered an Arab from the territories, and everything is closed to him.
Ali received an education in Arabic. His Hebrew is poor. He is not familiar with the Hebrew Bible — he has never even heard of King Saul. The draw of Israel for him is based on territorial belonging, on the preference for Israeli society, and, since our meeting, the awareness that his place of origin is Israel and not Arabia. From the entire theory of Canaanism, he currently understands only “The Arabs Who Are in the Land of Israel.” Even this he has not read because of the language barrier.
In all this the identification with Israel and the newfound awareness of his “Jewish” origin is a deep and strong motive for Ali. He was very hurt when he heard Begin (on TV) mention “Palestinian Arabs” and was on the verge of sending an open letter of protest. This letter and also other plans that I had for him were not put into effect. The immediate reason was fear of retaliation against his family by the PLO. A deeper reason is that Ali is in the process of emigrating to the United States, and a large portion of his family has already emigrated here before him.
In Israel there are many left who are just like him. If you reach them in time, you could find in them the leverage that we lacked all these years. From a historical perspective, isn’t this the natural way? It is normal that those who have been annexed fight for their rights (e.g. Rome.)
The people you will turn to in this scenario are far from having a Hebrew education and background. The thesis needs to be fitted to the understanding of the recipients. At first, we should concentrate on the origin of the inhabitants of Israel and Lebanon, and the material has to be available in Arabic. We need an Arabic translation of “The Arabs Who Are in the Land of Israel.” The current preference for Israeli society will do the rest.
In expressing these things I am concerned that some of you will see in my words arrogance and self-aggrandizement. I am afraid you will look askance at my giving you — who are greater than me in years, in wisdom and in Canaanism — advice and “instructions” from afar. Please, my brothers, don’t. It is not for me or for my honor that I write these things. Only for the love Canaan and as the gods command I write. Therefore, forget me, remember Canaan, and do each whatever he can for the motherland.
The gods be with you,
Amnon Katz
מכתב מאמנון כץ אל הכנענים
