Obama's post-tribalism is opening doors all over Jewish life for ecstatic idealism rather than the murderous logic of Israeli expansion. And suddenly this website is part of a new wave in Jewish life! The eight Jews affiliated with the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network who shut down the Israeli consulate in LA last week have issued a statement about their action. It is bracing for its unapologetic support of the right of return and acceptance of the fact of ethnic cleansing and for its call on non-Jews to get into the water. Says Eric Romann:
We, better than any, know that criticizing Israel is NOT anti-Semitic — however much its supporters may claim that it is. We hope that our saying so will make people of all races and religions more willing and able to speak out against Israel's crimes.
The basic Zionist idea — that Jewish safety can be secured only through a state built on the dispossession and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people — is ultimately responsible for the violence of the conflict. It promises permanent war for the people of the region, while fomenting animosity towards Jews worldwide.
A lasting peace can be achieved, but only by upholding basic principles of justice. That is, by granting Palestinian people their individual and collective rights guaranteed under international law. This includes Israel's complete withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967 and the right of return for several million Palestinian refugees displaced through the wars of 1948 and 1967.
