We liberal American Jews have the capacity, the influence and the obligation to agitate, lobby, and organize for liberalism in Israel and for a Palestinian state just as savvily as our right-wing counterparts have been battling against them
Celeste Marcus. Haaretz. Jun 23, 2024 6:17 pm IDT
American liberal Zionists cannot afford to cede the fight for Palestinian rights to Western progressives. This is true not only or even primarily because the progressive movement is tinctured with antisemitism.
The safety and moral health of Israel depend on it being a country that rises to liberal, democratic ideals — both for its own citizens and for its neighbors. A true Jewish democracy — which is what the Israeli Declaration of Independence promised — cannot undermine its own citizens of rights, and cannot brutalize an occupied people. The only moral and sustainable way forward for Israelis is to hasten the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Agitating for liberalism and democracy may seem beside the point as Israel hovers on the brink of possible war with Hezbollah in addition to the continued war in Gaza. But it’s precisely because this region is again on a knife’s edge, and with an Israel led by an extremist government the likes of which we have never seen before, that we are reminded how dangerous it is to stray so far from our values, and indulge in fascistic policies.
American Jews, including those, who like myself are liberal Zionists, know well that America also promises to protect the rights of citizens while historically and systematically stripping the weakest among us of them. That knowledge, combined with our understanding about the conditions on the ground between the river and the sea, prepares us to be informed allies. We are uniquely positioned to advocate effectively for Palestinians.
Unlike campus pro-Palestinian activists, we can’t pack up and go home. We understand the importance of Israel too much to defect from this fight.
For too long we have let Zionism be defined as blind defense of Netanyahu’s actions – including in the Gaza war with its staggering Palestinian civilian death toll and impossible plans for “total victory.” But Zionism can mean something else: fighting for an Israel that is morally sound, an Israel that our children can be proud of, an Israel that is a true liberal democracy. Only an Israel of this kind will be safe for all its citizens and for its Palestinian neighbors.
American liberal Zionists, have the influence to hasten such a reality.
None of our ancestors enjoyed anything like the power of 21st century United States citizenship. Every single American Jew, from the most political and socially influential to the least, has the capacity and responsibility to normalize empathy for Palestinians, and support for a two-state solution. Many American Jews feel there is no home for people like them who care about both Israel and Palestine — they do not realize how many others just like them are silent and isolated. All of us are called upon to come together and form a vocal, thriving community of liberal Zionism in America.
We are rich in both Jewish and American collective memory. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Martin Luther King are as much our birthright as Maimonides and Ben-Gurion. We have two grand heritages which we must honor. Just as we cannot allow American identity to be defined by the Trump camp, we must use our influence to help prevent the further domination of Israeli identity by Netanyahu and his extremist allies. Our dual communities confer a specific responsibility: we must champion the seeds of liberal dissent in Israel.
Successive U.S. administrations have insisted that common values bind our two countries. Under Netanyahu’s obscene regime, those values have been unprecedentedly degraded and betrayed. We are in a position to help counteract his terrible effects. We are also honor-bound to do so.
We can help alter the current, dangerous trajectory of the Jewish state. We have the gift of perspective and distance, and are unshackled by the compounded trauma that Israelis know so well. And we also have power as citizens of the most influential country in the world.
Perhaps it is unfair to play an outsized role in the trajectory of a country in which you don’t live (never mind that our tax dollars circulate there, even when we don’t). If it is indeed inappropriate, it is noteworthy that no analogous foible has ever stopped right-wing Zionists from dallying in Israeli politics. Let us not be purer than our opponents. They have effectively influenced Israeli politics for decades. See the example of late Sheldon Adelson’s continued outsized impact in the right-wing newspaper, Yisrael Hayom. Conservatives call this community building. Socialists call it organizing. Liberals call it oppressive: and we have the paucity of policies to show for it.
The policy goals that our right-wing counterparts have supported and brought to fruition within Israel were championed without considering whether Israelis supported them. Israelis were not asked whether or not they should help bankroll the construction of new settlements in the West Bank. These activists and donors did it anyway. They still do.
The Nation State Law, which was designed to protect the Jewish character of Israel (as if it needs protecting) and which states that “the right to exercise national self-determination” in Israel is “unique to the Jewish people” was drafted by an American immigrant to Israel who heads Kohelet Policy Forum, a conservative Israeli think tank financed by Diaspora Jews. That law was not the outgrowth of organic democratic Israeli sentiment, even if it does reflect a right-wing Israeli outlook. And of course judicial overhaul efforts— so controversial they ignited the most powerful sustained anti-government protests in Israeli history, fracturing the country in a way that some warned before October 7 left it exposed to attack by its enemies — was spearheaded by Kohelet.
Liberal Zionists should borrow from our opponents’ playbooks. We must agitate for liberalism in Israel just as savvily as our conservative counterparts have been negating it.
And likewise, we should not ask Israelis whether or not they are interested in peace or liberalism. Justice remains justice whether or not it wins popularity contests. It is oft-repeated that the two-state solution is unpopular amongst Israelis particularly in the wake of October 7. This is understandable. It is also immaterial. American Liberal Jews have an obligation to agitate, lobby, and organize for it anyway because we cannot allow anything like a repetition of the past eight months for either nation. A secure Palestine is the only Palestine alongside which Jews can be safe.
We have a responsibility to identify the Palestinian activists, including in the Diaspora, who have condemned both Hamas and Netanyahu, and work with them to help create a peaceful future. We are fortunate that such voices have spoken out courageously. We must support Palestinians with whom we can pave a way forward for a liberal, equitable future.
And we must support the protest movement within Israel. Last year, masses of Israelis gathered to try to save Israeli democracy from Netanyahu’s judicial coup. Those protestors, who reignited a liberal activist voice in Israel and who are out now in the streets protesting for Netanyahu’s ouster and a truce, deserve our support.
American Jews are among the most privileged Jews who have ever existed. This is true even as antisemitism continues to metastasize in the aftermath of the October 7 and the Gaza war. The last year has fractured our communities too. We will never be the same. Let us learn from this hell. A liberal future is the only future that will ensure that Israelis and Palestinians do not know the constant threat of terrorism and war. And make no mistake: a liberal Israel is also the only sort that will celebrate and protect every variety of Israeli Jew. Our dual heritage prepares and compels us to make this our fight.
Celeste Marcus is a writer and painter based in Washington, DC. She is the managing editor of Liberties Journal, the cohost of The DC Salon, and is currently at work on a biography of the artist Chaim Soutine. On Twitter: @celestemarcus3
[https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-06-23/ty-article-opinion/.premium/american-jews-must-fight-netanyahus-obscene-regime-and-israels-dangerous-trajectory/00000190-4443-d768-adf8-4cf330c50000]
One Democratic State 