semitism.net

Crazy they call me. Sure, I’m crazy. I’ve been trying to talk my synagogue into allowing me to make a presentation on my West Bank trip. I think they’re going to let me do it, too. But in the process I find myself confronting the question, whether implicit or explicit: why should we, as Jews, care about the experiences of the Palestinians? Why are you "for" them? Does that mean you are against Israel?…

To me, now, it seems very natural to be concerned about the awful conditions of Palestinian life under the Israeli occupation. But, not too long ago, I was as pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian as the next guy. It was learning about the health and social disparities created by the occupation that began to change my mind. Seeing it first-hand has strengthened my views.

At any rate, I’m preparing for the synagogue talk; and also for an interview on our local public radio station, WAMC (I’ll be on - with my mom, I’m proud to say - on June 16 around 11:00 a.m. est, in case you want to tune in). And I thought I should try to summarize the reasons why we Jews ought to be working for justice for the Palestinians.

This goes beyond supporting the disengagement (which is controversial enough among American Jewry). It means stepping away from the positions of Israel’s leaders and seeing the conflict from the other side altogether. Which, I suppose, is a radical posture. But it is not anti-Israel and it is, I think, entirely Jewish to dissent from Israel’s policies when they are wrong and inhumane. Brad, by the way, has written very eloquently about this already, here.

Lockstep has never been our specialty, has it?

So, with due regard for David Lettterman, here they are: The top ten reasons American Jews should support a Palestinian state.

1. It is simply wrong to disenfranchise an entire people. The Palestinians, like all human beings, have a right to control their lives and destiny - individually, and as a nation. No interest of ours - not even Israel’s security - can justify maintaining them in what is essentially a condition of bondage without rights, freedom or territorial sovereignty.
2. Jews have been in the forefront of the international human rights movement. We ought to understand that human rights cannot be adequately safeguarded in a situation where one party has total power over another for a prolonged period. The facts of the occupation have borne this out.
3. The moral integrity of Judaism itself is threatened by our behavior toward the Palestinians. Can we continue to think of ourselves as a just and righteous people while holding others in bondage, under deplorable conditions?
4. Our treatment of the Palestinians violates our own history and religious traditions. Our Torah tells us we were, ourselves, slaves in the land of Egypt. Redemption - freedom - is at the center of our religion. We were herded into ghettos and camps. We swore it would never happen again. Did we mean, only to the Jews? Our rabbis tell us that while any human being is in bondage, no Jew can be free. How can we repeat these words without a pang, thinking of Palestinian villages walled in on all sides and surrounded by gun towers?
5. We have dreamed of Israel as a representative of all that is best in Judaism - a light onto the nations. Because of the occupation, and all that must be done to maintain it, respect for Israel in the international community is fast eroding.
6. The injustice of the occupation, and the daily wrongs against individual Palestinians that are well covered in the Arab media, fuel radical anti-Western sentiment throughout the Arab world. This sentiment poses a threat to both Israel and the United States.
7. We envision a future of peace and prosperity for Israel. Israel cannot attain this goal without finding a just settlement to the problems of the Palestinians and the occupied territories.
8. Conversely, Israel’s best guarantee of a peaceful future would be a stable, democratic Palestinian state on friendly terms with the Jewish state. Among other things, the process of state-building and the hope it would bring to the Palestinian population would strengthen the Palestinian civil society movement and weaken the attraction of radical anti-Israel parties.
9. The occupation is sapping the morale of Israel’s youth and of the armed forces. Conscripted to defend the state, they find themselves party to oppression, sometimes atrocities, in the territories. Read, for example, the accounts collected by the veteran’s group Shovrim Shtika. At one time, to be a pilot or a commander was a great honor for any Israeli youth. Now, with the exception of the radical Orthodox of the settler movement, a good share of Israelis hope to carry out their service in desk jobs far from the horrors of the territories.
10. In the face of international condemnation, Israel has become ever more reliant on American political and economic support. The resources of the American Jewish community are increasingly devoted to defending Israel, at the expense of other causes such as social justice and religious equality. We are losing ground in these areas. In addition, the narrow focus on Israel is alienating a good portion of American Jews, who are chosing a path of assimilation over participation in Jewish affairs.