This week two Nobel Peace Prizers knelt before my people–American Jews–to ask them to acknowledge the suffering of the Palestinians.
At a church in Boston, Desmond Tutu gave a speech about apartheid and Israel/Palestine. He invoked a passage from Deuteronomy about compassion. When we harvest olives, we must not shake the boughs–but leave some for the "widow, the orphan and the sojourner…" American support for Israel may make it impregnable, Tutu said; still it is corrupted by the occupation, which is in ways worse than South African apartheid. He said that American Jews need to come alive to these facts. Amen.
Meantime, The Forward reports that Jimmy Carter met with a small group of progressive Jews to try and build bridges with the Jewish community, but that representatives of the larger Jewish political community declined to do so. A pity. In the Forward, M.J. Rosenberg of the pro-Oslo-process Israel Policy Forum, who did see Carter, says that it is "offensive" that mainline Jewish organizations declined the former president’s offer.
I submit that M.J. Rosenberg is the most crucial figure in Jewish politics in America today. He is part of the heart and soul of Jewish organizational life. He works in Washington, he knows the Hill, he knows the lobby. He has complete street-cred. And he has spoken up for Carter, and Walt & Mearsheimer, while keeping the faith as a member of organizational life.
Rosenberg’s Jewish soul caught fire (according to J.J. Goldberg’s fine book Jewish Power) in ‘67 when he was leading the anti-war movement at SUNY Albany, and the Six-Day war happened. He became a pro-Israel campus activist, then went to work at AIPAC. But where ‘67 and ‘73 cast the Jewish community in concrete, as a support organization for Israel-right-or-wrong, M.J. has been working on these issues ever since and has often questioned Israeli policy, even in the Jerusalem Post. When talk of an alternative lobby bubbled up last year, the name you always heard was Rosenberg’s.
Rosenberg is important because he has great journalistic/political instincts. In this column for IPF, for instance, he is unstinting in describing the rocket attacks on Sderot as terrorist, but also speaks movingly of the 8 Palestinian Fulbright scholars who have been basically imprisoned in Gaza by Israeli measures. No wonder Jimmy Carter wants Rosenberg’s ear. So does SAIS at Hopkins. In the Middle-East-politics world, both right and left watch him. We on the left sometimes wish he would be more outspoken on our side. But he is in a far more sensitive spot than any of us are. He’s not in Brooklyn, Boston or Berkeley, the three Bs of progressive Jewishness. He’s right there in Washington.
Rosenberg’s gift, I think, is that he behaves like an Israeli journalist. He loves the openness of the discussion of these issues is in Israel, and he wants to bring that discussion here… Amazing.
Related posts:
- Hark, Obama: ‘For the last 30 years the most important issue of my life has been peace in the holy land’ (Jimmy Carter)
- White Hunter Dershowitz Bagged Finkelstein– Now Claims Carter Too
- ‘Obama Would Put Thru a Peace Deal Tomorrow If Not for the American Jewish Community’–MJ Rosenberg
- Rosenberg: It’s not democracy if a high appointee can’t be a harsh critic of Israel
- Alleged spy for Israel tries to get MJ Rosenberg fired for supporting Ambassador Freeman
{ 18 comments }
Let's get one thing straight about 'missiles' hitting Siderot.
If all things were quiet at Siderot would it make any difference to Israeli treatment of Gaza?
Not a skerrick. The genocide would continue. There's always an excuse.
So where is the real courage amongst spokespersons for American Jewry?
Israel is a criminal state, period.
WHy isn't American Jewy en masse out in the streets, in the corridors of power, saying 'not in my name'?
Tribalism still rules at home.
Debate, debate, angst, hand-wringing.
Every day more Palestinians assassinated, thousands (including children) rotting in incarceration for no crime other than not being Jewish, livelihoods appropriated.
Barbarism.
'So where is the real courage amongst spokespersons for American Jewry?'
Philip has just mentioned one – MJ Rosenberg, who I agree is one of the more important elements in the sea-change that is beginning to happen. OK, so he's not an official spokesperson, but any Jew who gets up to clear his or her throat publicly in support of Palestine and against Israeli crimes is a spokesperson.
The bona fides of the official spokespeople can in any case be questioned; it is clear that most of the official organisations are about the interests of a small-ish subset of Jews in the US rather than a comprehensive representation.
And Rosenberg is not the Lone Ranger either; for me Philip's work, along with that of Tony Judt, Tony Karon, Norman Finkelstein etc is equally crucial at this time. You can have heavyweights like your Carters and Tutus and Walts and Mearsheimers scraping away at the coalface, but they could not break thru without the aid of courageous Jews prepared to wear a bit of flak for the greater good.
this is a very valid question methinks.
WHy isn't American Jewy en masse out in the streets, in the corridors of power, saying 'not in my name'?
it brings to my mind the tom lantos remark to the europeans..when he told them that the europeans werent that outraged over the nazis during the holocaust…in response to their outrage over guantanamo cuba.
That Lantos, who is very representative of judaics who support israel and zionism unconditionally, would dare to accuse at the top of his voice the europeans in general for remaining silent while the jews of europe were being targeted, while very conveniently remaining silent and thus complicit to the plight of palestinians, who have suffered and continnue suffering the abuses of racial genocide, ethnic cleansing, and political oppression is cynical and immoral.
So if you take judaics as a whole, they, en masse believe that europe and christianity in general, were complicit through their silence for holocaust crimes but conveniently exclude themselves from accountability for the zionists crimes against palestinians from the late thirties until today, and all because israels ought to be unconditionally excused because of their history.
'So where is the real courage amongst spokespersons for American Jewry?'
i personally applaud and give kudos to the many jewish bloggers who bravely stand up to the injustices commited by zionism, and recognize the injustices commited against palestinians.
But the overall community of judaics remain oblivious to israels crimes, or zionisms history…they believe the myth, and will defend it with the accusatory anti semitic label for anyone who says israel is an apartheid oppressive state, or for anyone who says israel is the reason why america is hated so ferociously by the other nations of the middle east.
the myth of israel is like a spell from one of those fairy tales many of us watched as kids.
can the spell be broken?
"WHy isn't American Jewy en masse out in the streets, in the corridors of power, saying 'not in my name'?"
For me, the times when I went on the street to support Palestinian rights, I was accompanied by chants or "Zionism is racism", which I DON'T believe, and don't want to be associated with directly or indirectly.
Doesn't anyone give any credit to those bloodthirsty Jews for killing all of those Arabs?
Better dead than living in our neighborhoods.
Methinks that if we start killing the Jews again, they may fight back this time.
"Tribalism still rules at home"
This condition may also be observed where Schumer and Feinstein accept an Attorney General nominee who refuses to condemn waterboarding. The excuses they offer up for doing so are exceedingly lame. (Schumer)"However, Judge Mukasey, whose integrity and independence is respected even by those who oppose him, is far better than anyone could expect from this administration."
Does anyone really doubt that Schumer's tolerance for Mukasey is completely incumbent upon Mukasey's Jewishness?
If I buy a jar of pickles at the store, the contents are required to be labeled. Maybe it's time the American public gets the same with regard to political candidates and nominees so that the public might discern the true nature of their leadership?
The book, Wrestling with Zion, certainly highlighted the moral dilemma that post 1967 Zionism has created for those who identify themselves as Progressive American Jews. I write “moral dilemma” but “an acute cognitive dissonance” may be more apt. Regardless, many of the views presented in the book warrant respect, although I couldn’t help but roll my eyes a few times when reading endlessly about so many committees for the justice of this and that, none of which work. We are all aware of "the committee for the justice" game and no one is immune. Simply put: join a Marxist committee while in college, then go to Wall Street or law school after graduating.
It seems to me, at least at this point, the best hope for Zionism was the Martin Buber approach perhaps defended by some of the insights of Martin Van Creveld. But this view apparently is now (nuclear) dust in the wind. The reason Buber & Van Creveld now are anachronisms could be due, in part, to a shift from secular Zionism to religious Zionism — a transformation that has accelerated increasingly since 67 and, in fact, seems to have reached near critical mass.
Gorenberg is just fantastic in describing this transformation as are the Hasidic rabbis of Satmar, at least in my opinion. I find it both revealing and ironic that only in 2007 Akiva Eldar echoed in Haaretz (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/895161.html) the view expressed by Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld who decades ago stated:
"The Jews do not want, in any way, to take that which isn't theirs. And they certainly do not want to contest the rights of the other inhabitants to the places held by them which they regard with honor and consider holy. And in particular there is no foundation to the rumor that the Jews want to acquire the Temple Mount.”
http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/rabbi_quotes/sonnenfeld.cfm
Increasingly, I am becoming convinced that the Hasidic dynasties of Satmar and the like have a much deeper understanding of the dynamic of anti-Semitism and Zionism. And I sometimes wonder if progressive American Jews — like the rest of us — spent too much time studying Freud instead of the works of Satmar Grande Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum.
From what I can tell, both George Washington and Rabbi Teitelbaum believed that Torah spirituality should remain part of the American experience from beginning to end. And both believed that neither anti-Semitism nor ethnic nationalism should become part of American civic life.
Oh, I know…mentioning George Washington is probably considered gauche by those members of a committee for the justice of this and that. But to be provocative: I hope the militant ethnic nationalism of AIPAC does not destroy the American dream or, if you prefer, does not break a civic covenant with our founding fathers. Chaos will ensue, as will anti-Semitism. I already see signs of such, including among the secular progressive left.
But who knows the answers…I certainly don’t. Just searching for new organizing principles.
Here's a big jar of pickles hinting at the nature of American leaders: The judge recently ruled Candy Rice and other former and present key leaders can be subpoened by the defense in the AIPAC spy case to show AIPAC's back channel is the normal way we conduct middle east policy. Should be interesting to read the Nutrition Facts on the jar's label commencing next January. Food for thought, at least if Bush doesn't blank the label.
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Have we finished the WM disgrace?
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It was a WWI style frontal propaganda, a cooked up attack on a good name of a nation.
WM had the audacity to smear all Jews in a most indecent manner.
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The current expansion wants to save the Palestinian people.
Tutu and Carter have to explain us which Jihadi Palestinians are their favorites, and the enemies of peace in the Palestinian camps: The racist Grand Mufti, the corrupt Arafat, the secretive Abu Nidal, Meshaal, or the Hamasi Haniyeh?
When all these heroes are buried, I hope the decent and proud ordinary Palestinians, my friends will overcome their messy traditions, and renovate the Palestinian house, without scapegoating Israel .
"and renovate the Palestinian house…"
What house, Steve? You mean the leaky shed the Palestinian has been forced into, while the main house on the property is now occupied by the Conqueror who has also laid hold of the garden ?
When will you stop talking nonsense?
It seems to me that for many American Jews the reason they are not in the street demanding a change in Israeli policy vis-a-vis the Palestinians (and a related change in US policy towards Israel) is the stance of the Palestinians and their supporters. The Palestinians seem to be just as fanatical, tribalist, and supremacist as the Jews. The missles on Sderot may not threaten the existence of Israel at this time, but they seem to have damaged the argument of the peace loving Israelis and their American supporters that if the Israelis just leave the occupied areas the Palestinians will actually live in peace with the Israelis.
"The Palestinians seem to be just as fanatical, tribalist, and supremacist as the Jews."
'fanatical' in trying to survive -
'tribalist' in understanding that mutual help is the only chance they have -
'supremacist' over who or what? They are at the bottom of the ladder.
In the list of righteous Jews, don't forget to add Richard Silverstein, and Cecilie Surasky and the MuzzleWatch folks.
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/
http://www.muzzlewatch.org/
Hysterically funny to me that we gentiles who have been pointing out Israel's madness and AIPAC's treason were called anti-semites and Jews who do the same thing are called courageous.
But, never mind…this Israeli fetish in the US government, as well as Israel are both going to crash and burn..right along with the USA. I suggest when that happens we hang both the Bush neo's adm, congress and the uber zionist that helped send us down the tubes.
We need another revoultion to clear the air.
Carl,
Courage is in free-thinking, independant of the norm.
Silverstein is free-thinking relative to the neo-conservative vision (not even compared to AIPAC if Americans for Peace Now are also in it).
But, relative to the left, he may be (I don't know him individually) entirely conforming, living in some fear of censure of his own.
Those gentiles that wish to be thought of as couragaeous, should demonstrate it by some free-thinking themselves, as many have in the form of actively purging their own anti-semitic views and freely supporting Israel's right to exist confidently, while urging decency towards Palestinians on its part.
Here's a free thought:
Congress passes a sense resolution and alerts all media worldwide that it will end instanter all foreign aid to Israel until Israel gives up all its settlements. And, will recognize a democratic Palestinian state on condition, and as soon as, it officially declares Israel's right to exist within pre-1967 borders. The USA will be part of a UN Commission authorized to preside over negotiations between the two states.
Charles – Great idea. Where do I sign the peition.
Carl – Your plan is ok with me as long as we get to hang all the assholes right afterwards. What's your height again?
You've got my vote too Charles. How about you Richard?
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