When I was in Syria last year I tried to have a conversation in a restaurant with an Arab friend, a woman, about women’s rights in the Arab world and she held up her hand. "Let’s have this discussion back at the hotel," she said. There are a lot of things you can’t talk about in the Arab world. Just ask Salman Rushdie.
I’m more interested in Jewish identity, and it saddens me to think that over the last year and a half, a strong pattern has emerged inside the Jewish community of suppressing free speech. The Rachel Corrie play, banned in New York. The several Carter Center’s advisory board members (all Jews, the Jerusalem Post reported) who quit because they didn’t like a book Jimmy Carter had written. J.J. Goldberg refusing to moderate a panel at City University of the important new Walt-Mearsheimer book. Brandeis pulling down an exhibit of Palestinian children’s art. A speech by Tony Judt to the Polish consulate, canceled under pressure from Jewish groups. A report by the American Jewish Committee smearing Jewish critics of Israel as "anti-semites", in an effort to shut them down. The list goes on and on. No wonder Jewish Voice for Peace started a new website called Muzzlewatch to track the stifling of debate over Israel/Palestine.
All of this comes out of the Jewish community’s dedication to protecting Israel no matter what. "A sacred mission" (as Dershowitz wrote in The Vanishing American Jew). Thou Shalt Not Criticize Israel in the United States (as a girl from the ZOA stated in my presence last year). When it comes to a free-form conversation about Israel, we’re as bad as the Catholics were over Andres Serrano’s Piss/Christ or the elephant dung virgin at the Brooklyn Museum. Only our omerta is distorting foreign policy.
We’ve got a problem. A lot of Arab intellectuals are embarrassed by their communities’ behavior over
women’s rights and free speech, and I’m embarrassed by my community
over free speech issues. The Jewish community needs to reform. If you can’t have conferences about Walt and Mearsheimer, can you have them about censorship?
Phil, if your embarassed by the Jewish community you can always opt out. It's not like your a regulat synagogue goer, observe any of the religion and you are a vehement opponent of the existence of Israel. You can join the Moslems, your basically there already.
Second, its a reach even for you to compare speech in Syria where they have a very efficient secret police with American Jewry. I don't notice the W&M boys disppearing into a night and fog situation.
Lastly, an Oriole fan, it figures.
Phil,
I've been reading your blog for a while now. I commend your patriotism. Jews are often accused of having dual loyalty, and as you pointed out once, it's true – it's just awkward to say it. It's the same problem, apparently, that newly immigrated Mexicans to the US are having – they feel like, why bother assimilating if we're either (1) going to be demonized or treated differently no matter what, or (2) maybe even deported. The obvious difference is that most Jews have been here for generations and are as American as any other group. I can't help feeling that these fears are simply irrational.
You are right to indicate that you're an American, these men (Mearsheimer and Walt) are trying to be good Americans, just like Israeli politicians who press their national interest are trying to do the job they were elected to do. Why don't we listen to what they have to say? It's crazy and does the Jewish community no credit — indeed the Jewish community is fostering antisemitism by suppressing free speech, not the other way around.
I think having more open discussion about gentile complicity in the idea that criticism of Israeli policies unless conducted by Jews and for Jews within a specified set of boundaries (not in public, etc.) is anti-Semitic(ish) would be an interesting place to start. How can Jews silence criticism of Israel without heavy gentile agreement to "keep quiet" if they disagree with its policies or even have questions about the ethnic exclusivity of some aspects of the way the Jewish state is conceptualized and defined in terms of laws, etc.
BP mentions attendance at synagogue as acid test of PW's Jewishness.
What does Judaism have to do with the secular state of Israel?
Nothing.
Which is a good thing, otherwise Israel's entrenched criminality (every Israeli PM save for Sharett and Eshkol have been gangsters) would be a bad look for Judaism.
The amazing thing is that so many people are happy to allow a tacit conflation.
Evan. my point is that you when you niether oberve the religion, believe in God, and advocate the destruction of Israel what exactly makes you Jewish.
Yah, I know. the Israeli's are the wors war criminals there ever were. And the Arabs are just a bunch of happy go lucky lads who if not for the evil kikes would be living in paradise.
Long past time to end the incredible hypocrisy on the issue of the Israel lobby and the huge Jewish power in America.
People who point out that Jews control much of the mass media and have huge influence in Hollywood and Wall Street are often accused of bring "anti-semitic" even though everybody knows this power is real. So one does not have to circulate lies about Jews killing Christian babies to be called an anti-Semite — all one has to do is tell the truth about the immense Jewish power in America.
Now I for one have no problem with this power as such. Jews have made enormous contributions to many areas of American life. But when it is used to blackmail politicians into supporting Israel –a racist colonialist state with a truly horrendous human rights record that kills near defenseless Palestinians almost every day year in and year out — that is another matter entirely. And does anyone doubt that the lobby — including both neo-cons and neo-libs — was a major factor, possibly the major factor, behind the decision to invade Iraq and threaten Iran.
That's right Phil if you are not in touch with that sky goblin that thinks you are special or fully subscribe to Israel's murderous and oppressive policies towards the Palestinians, you simply can't call yourself a Jew. I think it says that in the Torah or something. No wait I think that is from the AIPAC articles of incorporation. Any way I think it is funny that Pearlman hangs on your every word here at Mondoweiss. He could be over at Tiny Green Hamsterballs or some other moonbat central like blog feeling the love of other fascist self worshipers, but instead comes here to make you feel guilty about your every word. I think it is because guys like you that put your humanity before your ethnicity are dangerous to them. You must be special.
Bill,
I don't think you get it. No one has the right to define for Phil whether he is a Jew or not. You are making the same accusation as you did at the public forum a few months back. And at that time, If I recall correctly, you backpedaled quite quickly after you were confronted.
Phil sees himself as a jew. Full stop. He has a right as a member of his community to criticize it, just like you have a right as an American to criticize the government or the Orioles.
It's wrong when critics of the Iraq war are called anti-American and it is wrong to call a Jewish critic of the American Jewish community a non-Jew, or self-hating or an anti-semite.
And Phil has never called for the destruction of Israel, quite the contrary.
Please respond to the substance of Phil's post. What do you make of the list of examples he gave of pressure successfully brought to bear to quell criticism of Israel?
Philip: See this article from this past Week's New York Jewish Week.
SOURCE link to thejewishweek.com
/>
Larry, I don't back pedal at all. Phil Weiss is only Jewish through an accident of birth, that's it
Second, to comp[are freedom of speech in any Moslem country to the United States in generally and American Jewry in particular is a reach of truly epic proportions. Don't you think.
Geting back to Phil, his entire "Jewish identity is tied up in advocating the destruction of Israel. And if you don't htink so your not reading what he writes.
One additional thought, Philip:
You write "We've got a problem. A lot of Arab intellectuals are embarrassed by their communities' behavior over women's rights and free speech, and I'm embarrassed by my community over free speech issues."
I don't mean to bust your chops unfairly, but what do you mean when you write "my community"? This is meant as a serious question. In what way or ways do you feel connected with "the Jewish community"? Most Jews who feel that "the Jewish community" is "their" community feel so because they are connected with in some way with a congregation, even if they go once or twice a year or not at all; because they give to one or more mainstream Jewish community funds, whether it's to the UJA-Federation of New York or any one of dozens of charitable / non-profit organizations; because they are either members or or attend activities at a local Jewish Community Center; because they try to impart some manner of Jewish identity to their kids when young by enrolling them in a "Hebrew School," even if it teaches things that are not quite consonant with the lives of most of the students' parents; and so on and so on ….
There are, of course, Jews in teh 'States who are not affiliaed in any way, whether congregational, donational, educational, participational, who nevertheless when push comes to shove, feel that they are Jews, and that they are in some way quite clear to them but elusive in terms of articulating part of the Jewish community. Shared memory? Gastronomic preferences? Taste in books, movies, humor? Reactions to disasters, whether across the street or across the world? It's all quite complicated, for non-affiliated Jews, for affiliated Jews, and even moreso, often, for non-Jwish neighbors, friends, relatives …
Part of what I am driving at, or rather circling around, or whatever, is the reality that the mainstream of "the Jewish community" is notwithstanding the cases you cite, liberal, committed to pluralism in general and within the Jewish community, and in need of those who consider the Jewish community "my community" to write letters to the Jewish Week, to join in some way in the activities of the mainstream Jewish community's organizations …
The title more or less says it all. The people that objected to the staging of "My Name is Rachel Corrie" want right and wrong to be muddy if it is no longer possible to depict Zionism as heroic and virtuous.
http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9616728
New play
The muddiness of right and wrong
Aug 9th 2007
From The Economist print edition
————-
Betty accepts a lot of the Zionist narrative in The Black-Eyed. I understand why she does it, but I would not. I suppose that is the reason she can get production funding, and I cannot.
For a more Palestinian understanding of the issue of terrorism in the context of the theft of Palestine by racist Central and Eastern Europeans, I recommend Susan Abulhawa's "The Scar of David."
If you want the impression of a horrified observer, you can take a look at:
http://members.aol.com/ThorsProvoni/twoweeks.pdf — Two Weeks in September: A Desperate Palestinian Refugee Family agree to star in an Israeli pornographic film in order to pay for medical treatment for a desperately ill child — inspired by true events.
http://members.aol.com/ThorsProvoni/NewTwoWeddings.pdf — Devorah's Two Weddings: When an Israeli American woman, who is a returnee to Judaism, realizes at her wedding to a similar return that she is making a big mistake, she fixates on her new husband's opposite, the Palestinian violinist that plays at her wedding — all inspired by true events, but I moved the story from Jerusalem to Boston.
A director friend suggested some modifications to Two Weeks in September to get it past the Wiesenthal Center. The changes may be okay, but the current version may take too much time to reach the critical turning point.
An Israeli peace activist recognized all the real people on which the characters of Two Weeks in September were based, but she felt my depiction of checkpoints was too harsh. I thought I was too kind. In 10 years, I never had a good experience at a checkpoint.
Please sign petition to support Nadia Abu el Haj.
The latest salvo against Arab and Muslim academics being waged by extremist and fanatic Zionists in the ongoing Tenure Wars is a conspiracy to deny Nadia Abu el Haj tenure at Columbia University.
Here is background information:
http://eaazi.blogspot.com/2007/06/tenure-wars_4724.html
http://eaazi.blogspot.com/2007/06/long-version-of-tenure-wars_14.html
http://eaazi.blogspot.com/2007/07/re-new-comment-on-long-version-of.html
http://eaazi.blogspot.com/2007/08/nadia-abu-el-haj-and-yael-zerubavel.html
http://eaazi.blogspot.com/2007/08/nadia-abu-el-haj-and-truth-about-wizard.html
Please sign the following petition to support her tenure application.
link to petitiononline.com
/>
The reading today reminded me of Phil's plight, and the plight of all counter-cultural Truth Tellers:
And the princes said to the king: We beseech thee that this man may be put to death: for on purpose he weakeneth the hands of the soldiers, that remain in this city, and the hands of the people, speaking to them according to these words: for this man seeketh not peace to this people, but evil.
Jeremiah Chapter 38