Let’s turn Israel’s defeat into a victory for justice

But the Israeli military defeat has some further implications. Israel without a victorious army, has nothing to offer to world Jewry either. It can never present itself as the ultimate cosmic Judeo bunker…While just six weeks ago the loud supporters of Anglo-American interventionism were still pushing for democracy in the Arab world and beyond, they were enthusiastic about killing in the name of human rights and about Israel being the only democracy in the Middle East. Somehow, since the war began, since Israel revealed once again its murderous tendencies and Hezbollah proved to be the new Robin Hood, these voices are caving in. Many among the global Zionists do already understand now that the Anglo-American assault on the Arab world just suffered a major blow. Some of them probably grasp that it is just a question of time before more and more Europeans and Americans join the sacred battle against the Americanized Global Zionism, i.e., neo-conservatism.

-Gilad Atzmon, Israel Must Win, Counterpunch.org.

I’m not sure about the whole Zionism-is-in-a-state-of-collapse thing. I think that idea is hopeful/optimistic. There certainly is a growing movement of Jews gaining visibility that is ready to criticize Israel and the US (see this report of a recent die-in in NYC, this radio segment on Jewish anti-Zionists, and this article on Refuseniks in this conflict). On the other hand, I think that for many Jewish people (even “progressives”), the current situation only confirms their belief that Israel is an underdog besieged by merciless Arab hordes out to destroy the Jewish people (don’t laugh, it’s a more common belief than many readers of this blog might think).

So what do we do about that? One response is for more Jewish people to be more visible, outspoken, and organized about their criticisms of Israel and of Zionism (this is definitely happening in the US). We cannot remain silent as violence is done in our name. I think there is also an opportunity to identify fissures in the ideology of Zionism, which could have more promising results in the long run.

We need to create ways to talk about these issues with people who don’t have a radical critique of Israel, but might agree on many other points (anti-Iraq war, critical of the ‘War on Terror,’ anti-gutting of social services, for example, etc.). Jewish “Progressive Zionists” are, in my opinion, more of potential allies than simply a group to oppose. Progressive Zionism is an ideology that collapses under close scrutiny—there are so many inconsistencies: democracy vs. Jewish supremacy, right of return vs. law of return, two state solution vs. 1948 refugees, commitment to progressive values vs. commitment to an ethnically homogenous state. I still have faith that adherents of this belief can apply this scrutiny if given some information and encouragement—I sure didn’t come up with all these ideas myself, nor have I always agreed with them. There are many liberal/progressive Jewish people that need to be reminded of their commitment to social justice, human rights, and anti-imperialism, and need to be shown how these values can and must be applied to their beliefs about Israel.

There is also a need to promote an alternative interpretation of Zionism, one that focuses on the historic oppression of not only Ashkenazi Jews but also on its effects on Palestinians and Mizrahi Jews. And we need curriculums, info-sheets, and talking points to make it easier to get these ideas out there. Of course, many people are already doing these sorts of things. But there is plenty more work to be done in growing and supporting these efforts.