False Dichotomies

“Third, the professed respect for criticism is a sham when it is not permitted “to condemn Israeli actions and, at the same time, to forego any realistic historical and political frameworks that might account for such actions.” As presented by Rosenfeld, this formula implies that Israel’s actions have to be justified, right or wrong. The appeal to a “realistic framework” aims to rationalize the Israeli position. Criticism ought to be considered on its merits and not by any other yardstick. Suppressing criticism when it is deemed to be unpatriotic has been immensely harmful both in the case of Israel and the United States. It has allowed the Bush administration and the Sharon/ Olmert government to pursue disastrous policies.” Read on here.

“I am a Zionist because of my reading of Jewish history and oppression. I want the Jewish people to survive and thrive. Historians have counted the number of Jews living in the Roman empire two thousand years ago and, using demographic analysis of the people with which we lived throughout the centuries, postulated that there should be 250 to 300 million Jews in the world. However, there are approximately 14 million of us now. Genocide, forced conversion, and oppression have dwindled our numbers. I do not believe that Zionism is supposed to mean the end of the Diaspora or that Zionism is the natural culmination of our history. However, a homeland at peace with its neighbors would allow the Jewish people to flourish.” Read on at Engage.

“NEW YORK, Jan. 24 (JTA) — The Israel on Campus Coalition will not kick out the Union of Progressive Zionists for sponsoring a program that accuses the Israeli army of human-rights abuses.
In a unanimous decision, the ICC’s eight-member steering committee rejected a request from the Zionist Organization of America to expel the union for sponsoring “Breaking the Silence,” a program that brings army veterans to campus to speak about alleged Israeli abuse of Palestinians.” Read on here.  

“MK Esterina Tartman, chair of the Yisrael Beiteinu Knesset, faction on Thursday lambasted the appointment of the first Arab minister in Israel’s history, calling it “a lethal blow to Zionism.”

Tartman told Israel Radio that Labor MK Raleb Majadele’s appointment as minister of science and technology damages “Israel’s character as a Jewish state.”

“We need to destroy this affliction from within ourselves. God willing, God will come to our help,” she said.” Read on here.

“Supreme Court candidate Ruth Gabison has proposed in a recent position paper that the Law of Return be significantly restricted, in order to limit Jewish immigration from countries with “a different culture.” (Click here for full article)

“There is no reason to grant rights on the basis of the [Law of] Return to individuals who have no interest in a Jewish lifestyle, and at times are even devout members of a different religious community,” wrote Professor Gabison.

The proposal is apparently intended to revoke the right to immigrate from the Falashmura, who are the descendants of Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity, as well as some of the children and grandchildren of Jews from former Soviet states.” Read on here.

An embarrassing spat is currently taking place in the American Zionist movement. The Union of Progressive Zionists – broadly similar in politics to Meretz – recently organised a North American tour for members of Breaking the Silence, a group of Israeli soldiers which documents human rights abuses in the Occupied Territories. As a result, the Zionist Organisation of America has demanded that the UPZ be expelled from the Israel on Campus Coalition. Continue Reading »

“A national pro-Israel campus group took a risk when several of its chapters brought former Israeli soldiers to their campuses to expose their country’s military practices in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Now, it might be paying the price.

The Union of Progressive Zionists, some of whose chapters and affiliates brought the “Breaking the Silence” tour to places like the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Maryland, is a part of the Israel on Campus Coalition. This December, the 30,000-member Zionist Organization of America (an ICC member) sent a letter to the ICC demanding that the UPZ be removed from the coalition because of this tour. Other ICC members include the fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi, the Anti-Defamation League, and the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). UPZ is an affiliate member.” Read on here.