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Two Jews, One Opinion?
By Hillit Zwick / October 28, 2009
It never ceases to amaze me how difficult it is to talk about Israel. One enters a conversation about Israel-willingly or not-with a kind of dance of words in which every utterance is loaded from the get-go, so that the meaning of a simple phrase like, "I work for an organization that supports justice and equality for all Israelis" can no longer be assumed. Justice and equality? For whom? All Israelis? Do you mean settlers in the West Bank? Who are you? And most importantly, are you with me or against me? Jay Michaelson’s recent opinion pieces in The Forward are a case in point. Michaelson’s ambivalence about Israel elicited a range of responses: affirmation, suggestion that a meaningful relationship with Israel requires more perseverance and good will; personal attacks; references to the Holocaust; blanket dismissals; and, perhaps not surprisingly, accusations that Michaelson somehow questions Israel’s right to exist (though he specifically said he supports Israel’s right to exist). It’s hard to pinpoint when the breakdown of the American-Jewish conversation about Israel began, but one thing is clear: our relationship with Israel has not been nurtured. The cliché about ‘two Jews, three opinions’ references an ancient tradition of Jewish argument and debate dating back to the Talmudic era. This tradition values, above all, the questioning of ideas. Somehow, though, when it comes to Israel, there is an institutionalized insistence on one opinion for all. Or else…. Or else what? Over the span of several generations, this institutionalized insistence has engendered frenzy, dogma, stagnation, and rejection among us young Jews. Many of us have become either gatekeepers of the conversation on Israel or, as Michaelson suggests, have simply walked away. Some of us are inspired and interested, yet exhausted, disappointed. Then there are those of us who simply don’t know. We don’t know where we stand, we don’t know enough about the issues. Above all, we feel unable to get away from the ongoing volley of judgment: back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth… All of us are looking for a safe place to talk about Israel – a place that will respect our thoughts, experiences, emotions, knowledge (or lack thereof), and most of all, our questions. Many of us have been told we must love Israel, or hate it, but have not been given the tools to discuss its complexities-as a country, as an ideal-and how it might relate to American Jewish life. Love, Hate, and the Jewish State Back to my original phrase for a moment: I work for an organization that supports justice and equality for all Israelis. This organization, which helps give a voice to every member of Israeli society-Jewish, Arab, Russian, Bedouin, Sudanese, and Filipino, whether Orthodox, Secular, or anything in between-is also working to give a voice to the next generation of American Jews. We at the New Israel Fund are deliberately carving out a space to dialogue about the difficult (and the easy) issues related to Israel. Why are we doing this? Because this safe space is critical to fostering a thoughtful and nuanced Jewish identity. Because we’ve found that investing in a safe space empowers people to develop tools to understand each other and the world around them. This is especially important when it comes to a place like Israel, which engenders conflict both internally and externally. And let me be clear: ours is not a space for the faint-hearted. You will hear the words Nakba and Occupation. These words will be given as much credence and respect as we give to Yom Ha’atzma’ut and Jewish identity. But your opinion will be heard and considered. We invite you-the ambivalent, the opinionated, the fatigued, the disappointed, the head-strong, the inspired, the angry, the naïve, and the inexperienced-to join us. Interested? Check out this video: www.nif.org/lovehate Get a word in edgewise at our next event: Love, Hate, and the Jewish State: Jews, Arabs, and conflicting narratives Thursday, November 5 @ 7 pm The JCC in Manhattan To register, visit, www.nif.org/lovehate
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Ismail it is amazing how you offer the standard liberal jewish attitude. I have found that your type is exemplary at making excuses for anyone that might be identified as "bad". It’s never a Palestinian’s fault – there is always some kind of Jewish or Israeli reason for Palestinian behavior. What was the excuse when as far back as WWII the Palestinians sided with the Nazis and even had a Nazi trained army?
I guarantee if the Jews back then had the Germans contained from perpetrating the holocaust you’d be the first out there with tear in eye saying, "Oh look at the way we jews are so cruel and unfair! They just want to leave for an education." Have you not heard of the number of college educated terrorists – American educated as well! There is something as being so open minded that your brains spill out!
Qutoe: "I am asking as an American Jew who by upbringing and ethnocentrism instinctively sides with my people."
Yeah, you should probably get over that. As a human, you should instinctively side with justice and fairness. We’re not going to get anywhere if everyone is so blithe about their tribalism.
I don’t think you and I can have a productive conversation. While I can understand that you may be offended by my characterization, I do in fact find it heartless that you dismiss the unfairness of keeping hundreds of students from their education as a simple precaution against terror.
To me, this reveals an "anything goes, as long as Israel’s doing it" attitude. I’ve seen blogs in which Zionists observe Israel’s banning the importation of cement while Gazans live in tents amidst their destroyed homes as perfectly reasonable. Who knows what offensive military purposes that cement may be used for, they say.
Anything goes, as long as Israel’s doing it.
And yes, I do find that depraved.
And yes, confusing Hamas with Fatah is so basic an error that it renders your judgments about this issue suspect.
Why the name calling and dismissiveness Ismail? I am not hearltless nor do I rationalize acts of depravity so take that comment back. do you think that denying 800 gazans exit visas is an act of depravity?
yes I mistakenly thought that Hamas was a political party in the west bank. It is not . Hamas rules the Gazans, Fatah rules the west bank. Fatah is inclined to negotiate a two state solution. Hamas is not so inclined. The students denied exit visas are from Hamas ruled Gaza.
Yes, of course, that must be it. Eight hundred terrorists, all cleverly posing as accountants, pharmacists, researchers etc, each itching to get out of Gaza so they can wreak havoc upon Israelis. After all, what else could be motivating them? Developing their careers, caring for their families, building a state? Not these beasts; they’re Palestinian, after all, and everyone knows that they are unable to entertain normal human hopes and ambitions. Not when they can terrorize Israelis!
Comments like yours, heartless and unthinking as it is, serve a purpose; they demonstrate how normal, average people can rationalize and justify even the most depraved actions a favored party might take.
Of course, I believe you were the person who had Hamas as the governing party in the West Bank, so perhaps your, umm….. expertise on these matters might not be your greatest strength.
For what purpose does Israel keep college ready Gazans trapped in Gaza? Do you think it is because an uneducated populace serves the Israelis military need to have an angry belligerent enemy at their border? Or is it because Israel fears letting these students leave because they are not really students but members of militant groups? I am asking as an American Jew who by upbringing and ethnocentrism instinctively sides with my people.
Furthermore how is it that weapons are smuggled in but not textbooks? Give me a break.
And I saw with my own eyes a Palestinian student who says she attends Syracuse on the jstreet you tube interviews. So clearly some Palestinian students are giving visas. But she wasn’t from Gaza , so your point is still unrefuted.
"if the population in the gaza and west bank would elect leaders to give their people education…"
Esther, there are at present around 800 students in Gaza who have been educated enough to have been accepted to colleges, grad schools and professional schools around the world. They await permits from Israel to leave. Israel has declined to act on their requests. This, in addition to the punitive embargoes which keep educational materials from kids within Gaza.
Let us see what is out there to be seen, not what we imagine to be the case.
if the population in the gaza and west bank would elect leaders to give their people education, sanitation, and employment and if the palestinians who wanted to cross into the boarder to Israel never again brought in bombs or weapons and even though in their hearts they seethed because the Israelis are occupying their ancestrial homeland and they are resigned to cooperate with the Israelis there would be peace. If the tunnels leading from egypt to the gaza stopped smuggleing in weapons there would be peace. Yes, putting up with the victor of a war is emotionaly difficult for the first generation. But when the fighting stops and cooperation begins the victor and the beseiged reach a balance. Israel would protect the palestinians culture. israel will protect their holy sites. Israel is not the problem. The secular leaning and the religious tolerance of present day israel is the answer to the problem. You can’t change what people secretly feel in thier hearts but laws and institutions can enforce civility.
As a Jew and a Zionist,I can say that years of persecution have turned us a bit paranoid.
This whole "you are either with me or against me" stuff is totally inappropriate.It is time we start cultivating some tolerance toward others.
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