Zionist dream

by on March 15, 2009 15
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Last night I had a dream where I was on a subway platform with a lot of other people in a private party and one group of us suddenly announced themselves as Zionists. They wore blue and white hats or armbands and were singing songs, one of them a girl, was a little out of control. I was doing everything I could to distance myself from them, to say, this is not my group.
Then a tall one at their table—now it was a big table like at a party—came over to me and said, Phil, join in. She recognized me, and I sort of recognized her. She was tall and beaky and reminded me in spirit of a neighbor of mine who’s a Zionist, but also of Hannah Mermelstein, an anti-Zionist whom I like. She said, Will you sing the Sabbath song? I don’t know the Sabbath song, I thought, but I nodded, and I said, will you be singing it too, and she nodded and said she would feed me the words. It was still a moment of anxiety, like being in a synagogue and being summoned to the altar to say Hebrew, as one sometime is. I half-remember and half-recognize the Hebrew and try and overcome the awkwardness by singing well in that situation. But it’s not like I have kept up on my Hebrew, the language of my people, as Jeffrey Goldberg puts it. I’ve let that go.
My interpretation of the dream is that it's about New York (the subway) and my alienation from a lot of my old Jewish NY intellectual crowd over the pro-Israel issue. Many times in recent days, names of old friends have come up and I've winced, wondered about talking about them by name on this site, because they are engaged in pro-Israel activities, but I feel some flicker of loyalty to them as friends. The Jewish family issue. The dream is also about the possibilities of ultimate reconciliation over the question. Hannah Mermelstein and my neighbor could not be more different politically. Yet both of them have great compassion: my neighbor for the Jews of Israel, Hannah for the Palestinians of the occupation.

About Philip Weiss

Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Posted in Beyondoweiss, Israel/Palestine, US Politics

{ 15 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. Rowan says:
    March 15, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    Understandable and commendable, Phil.

  2. Richard Witty says:
    March 15, 2009 at 3:56 pm

    Compassion is a good message.

    You have a rebellious side. I observe that whenever you bring up reflective issues on this site, particularly dreams, you accompany that with a radical, sometimes hateful tirade.

    As if you are baring your soul for the permission to go to war.

    You did that today with the issue on dual loyalty, stated with "I dare you to criticize me". "Fuck you if you do".

  3. DICKERSON3870 says:
    March 15, 2009 at 7:01 pm

    RE: "Last night I had a dream where I was on a subway platform with a lot of other people in a private party and one group of us suddenly announced themselves as Zionists. They wore blue and white hats or armbands and were singing songs, one of them a girl, was a little out of control…."

    ME: "ROSEMARY'S BABY II, BEWARE THE NY SUBWAY!"

    Pardon Roman Polanski.

  4. Rowan says:
    March 15, 2009 at 7:41 pm

    I do want to get across my idea — which I could only have arrived at by discounting ideological politics in favour of geopolitics (think of it as short for geographical politics): you are all going around in your respective, partially overlapping circles, because you are all thinking of Israel as a projection of 'American ideals', and merely arguing about what these are, or should be.

    If instead you think of it as part of Eurasia, or even just part of the near East, then you will instead start from the 'ideals' of its occupants, and progressively discount those who are merely 'Americanists', whether left or right, which includes a great many settlers. If they are not 'rooted in the Land', but in their basically 'American' fantasies, then they will not be able to stay.

    To operationalise all these shifts in perspective, I propose, imagine waking up tomorrow with no oil. No oil for aircraft carriers. No oil for submarines. Even with nuclear aircraft carriers — no oil to fuel missiles and fighter bombers, so no way to get these off and into the air. No offensive sea-borne capability. See my point?

  5. Rowan says:
    March 15, 2009 at 8:18 pm

    I may have mentioned this before: personally speaking, the Jewish-Israeli interest in all this lies close to my heart. It so happens that the Anglo-Jewish people I feel closest to are what you might call ‘left Reform’, and prone to Atlantism, i.e., dependence on the Anglo-American heritage, because they perceive it as more ‘progressive’ than Eurasism. So I clearly have a lot of explaining to do.

    The main establishment for such 'left Reform Judaism' — referred to here in London as 'Progressive Judaism', owing to the endless splintering of tendencies, which forces endless changes of labels — is called the Leo Baeck College:
    link to lbc.ac.uk

    They have a very good library, and lots of people whom I like. However, of course, such 'Judaism' is not recognised in 'Israel', even if one was to go through the arduous process of 'converting' to it. There is also the fact that what spiritual life I have is derived from a rather mystical form of Islam: as ibn Arabi said: "People know well that I am in love, but they do not know with whom."

  6. Citizen says:
    March 15, 2009 at 8:36 pm

    "You have a rebellious side. I observe that whenever you bring up reflective issues on this site, particularly dreams, you accompany that with a radical, sometimes hateful tirade.
    As if you are baring your soul for the permission to go to war.
    You did that today with the issue on dual loyalty, stated with "I dare you to criticize me". "Fuck you if you do".–Witty, Phil's jewish youth summer camp buddy, which idyllic time took place in the USA, protected by young goy solders.

    Who doesn't have dreams? Here's a different one:
    American dream:

    Last night I had a dream where I was on a subway platform with a lot of other people in a private party and one group of us suddenly announced themselves as True Americans. They wore red, blue and white hats or armbands and were singing songs, one of them a girl, was a little out of control. I was doing everything I could to distance myself from them, to say, this is not my group because I did not believe in the USA, right or wrong. My problem was that I had read German history.
    Then a tall one at their table—now it was a big table like at a party—came over to me and said, Hey, join in. She recognized me, and I sort of recognized her. She was tall and had a cute, snub button nose and reminded me in spirit of a neighbor of mine who’s a total girl next door, but also of Hannah Montanna, an anti-ideologue whom I like. She said, Will you sing the American song? I don’t know the song, I thought, but I nodded, and I said, will you be singing it too, and she nodded and said she would feed me the words. It was still a moment of anxiety, like being in a church and being summoned to the altar to say Latin or just speak from the bible, as one sometime is. I half-remember and half-recognize the national anthem and try and overcome the awkwardness by singing well in that situation. But it’s not like I have kept up on my Latin, the language of Catholics, nor of my people, the Christians general in any of their their orthodox spiel. I’ve let that all go.

    My interpretation of the dream is that it's about New York (the subway) and my alienation from a lot of my old crowd I grew up with over the USA (my dad was transfered a lot) over the pro-Israel issue. All most of them think Arabs are sand niggers, and they know zippo about the Nakba, nor do they have a clue why 9/11 towers were hit, or why we attacked Iran and will attack Iran. They mouth the usual they get from the MSM, if they even do that. Many times in recent days, names of old friends have come up and I've winced, wondered about talking about them by name on this site, because they blindly support pro-Likud Israel activities sans giving it a second thought, but I feel some flicker of loyalty to them as friends. I was a GI, and they spawn them too. The all-American family issue. The dream is also about the possibilities of ultimate reconciliation over the question. I have great compassion for my fellow Americans, and this includes Jewish Americans who are universal humanitarians, which I view as the focus of import for my nation, currently the only superpower.

  7. Citizen says:
    March 15, 2009 at 8:43 pm

    correction: "or why we attacked Iran and will attack Iran." Please replace with "or why we attacked Iraq and will attack Iran."

    thanks

  8. Rowan says:
    March 15, 2009 at 9:59 pm

    … the Leo Baeck College: link to lbc.ac.uk
    They have a very good library, and lots of people whom I like. However, of course, such 'Judaism' is not recognised in 'Israel', even if one was to go through the arduous process of 'converting' to it …

    I bet Susie Kneedler knows some people there. Maybe we should have a chat.

  9. Rowan says:
    March 15, 2009 at 10:09 pm

    By the way, has anybody except me noticed that Susie Kneedler and 'Suzanne' are never here at the same time?

  10. Chris Berel says:
    March 15, 2009 at 11:17 pm

    Everyone has noticed. Just as everyone has noticed that your antisemitism stems from the fact that your father didn't like you.

  11. Rowan says:
    March 16, 2009 at 1:08 am

    goodness, Chris, it "stems", does it? What a sophisticated word that is.

  12. Todd says:
    March 16, 2009 at 9:02 am

    Stemming anti-Semitism is the worst kind. You should be proud of yourself, Rowan.

  13. Mooser says:
    March 16, 2009 at 11:04 am

    "People know well that I am in love, but they do not know with whom."

    Rowan Berkely

    Too late Rowan! I've told everybody about us, it's all over Face-book and Myspace, and the MSM is starting to pick up on it.
    C'mon, Rowan, like everybody in my building can't hear us? And it would aid discretion if you could keep your hands off my butt for at least a minute or two in the supermarket checkout line. Cell phones have cameras, you know!

  14. Mooser says:
    March 16, 2009 at 11:05 am

    Anyway, Rowan, same time and place today? I mean, we don't have much to hide anymore!

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