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The trap

Is one state in Palestine/Israel your fallback position? I know what my priorities are. I want all people to be free, I believe in equal opportunity and one man one vote. My ideals were formed early on by concepts such as melting pot, equal rights, and principles set forth in our Constitution. Truth be told, this is why I am not a Zionist. But…(big but) we all have to choose our own battles, and being diametrically opposed to a Zionist state is not the battle on my front burner. That’s why I support two states. My priority is for all Palestinians to be free and to live in peace in Palestine and if that means in half of Palestine or even a third of Palestine or even less in a viable defendable state of equal rights, geographic contiguity and self determination, fine. The reason I support two states is because it has international support, whereas one state of equal rights and opportunity in all of the currently-apartheid entity of Israel/Palestine meets a very heavy resistance and the charge that this state would essentially ‘destroy Israel.’

So I support two states, but do I believe two states is possible? No I do not. Why? Simple. Because if Israel wanted two states there would be two states by now. I’m really not interested in a debate about whose fault it is that there are not already two states because we’ve all argued that ad nauseum. Suffice it to say, the two states I do support I do not believe will ever come about because of Israel. This is why I think one state is inevitable. One state is not only my fallback position, it is what I believe is in the best interests of each and every individual. Why? Because I’m an American and this is what I was raised to believe. Way before I ever knew what a Jew was or a Palestinian or even an Arab, or the concept of nationalism or even the meaning of politics. The idea of freedom for anyone and everyone together in our melting pot. Very simple.

I am certainly not motivated by the desire to destroy anyone or any state, which brings me to my point. Zionists in our blogging world are going off the rails. Zionism and the policies of the state of Israel are becoming harder and harder to defend, therefore many are choosing not to defend them but to go on the attack..against me. Against Us. We are their problem. Oh I know, they acknowledge Israel has turned further and further to the right, they know Lieberman and his party now are the third largest party in Israel and want to transfer the Palestinians far far away. They know Shas has risen and the Minister of Housing (settlements people) is a Shas party member. They know the Radical Settlers are out burning mosques and setting fires to olive trees and the IOF are protecting them (and then some). They know the IOF has been infiltrated by Religious Fanatics which would make extracting the settlers from the territories virtually impossible without a civil war inside Israel and might require international intervention.

Need I go on? They know. They know all this… and I’m their problem. Why?

Because even tho I support two states, I think what ought to happen, and what will inevitabilty happen is as the window of opportunity closes on two states, not only the world but world Jewry will turn against the Racist Oppressive Apartheid Zionist State of Israel. Not Israel mind you, but the Zionist State of Israel. And I do not think that will be the end of Jews, I think it will mark a resurgence in Jewish social justice, and art and culture will flourish.

Back to my point. I blog at various I/P forumns on the web and I’m noticing a trend gaining momentum. That trend is that those like myself who advocate and support two states and lobby the Prez to clamp down on Netanyahu and advocate for the settlement freeze and negotiations to begin are continually being accused of wanting to destroy Israel. Yesterday someone said to me “I am arguing against those who want Israel to not exist”. Who says that?

Beware, this is the strawman we are up against. That we are out to end Israel’s existence, to destroy Israel, which inevitably will lead to the final death knell of the Jews. That’s what it boils down to, we support the end of the Jews. And that is why these so called ‘Liberal Zionists’ are not out battling the forces of the rightwing Zionist blogosphere advocating transfer and supporting the settlers. Because I’m worse.

Pinch me so I can wake up from this nightmare. Don’t fall for it people. Don’t let them define you as the problem, because we are not the problem. Human Rights Activists are not the problem. Don’t let them turn the argument into us defending ourselves against this ridiculous aggressive victimhood strawman ad hominem argument. This is a trap. How many times do we have to go on the defensive and say “No no I don’t want to destroy Israel and the Jews”? We want Israel to be a nice place, so they should fix it and direct their energies towards those ruining it. Get off our backs, we are not your problem.

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