You can learn about this historic gathering at www.jewsconfrontapartheid.org. And here's more from the Electronic Intifada article "Jewish challenges to Zionism on the rise in the US":
Accountability of Israeli, US government and international Zionist support for Israel will not come from a shift in US policy but through shifting American public opinion and debate, fomenting popular movement, using international and US legal sanctions and supporting the Palestinian call for BDS. The 2010 US Assembly of Jews seeks to contribute to these efforts and reflects a significant departure from Zionism that has been building since the second Palestinian intifada broke the stranglehold of the Oslo accords. It has continuity with a long history of Jewish participation in struggles for human emancipation. Ours are among the growing voices of Jews who seek a departure from the course that Zionism has been and continues down -- a course that is a betrayal of our humanity as it simultaneously denies that of Palestinians.
I sure hope this amounts to something … only U.S. Jews taking by force the reins of power from israel and forcing a reasonable and rational policy that ends the apartheid system, open racism, collective punishment and redraws borders with mutual security in a fair way will bring the peace – the israelis will never do it themselves
And the rest of the US, to put it quite bluntly, is too far under the thumb of the American Jewish establishment to do anything about it, even. Just look at Cynthia McKinney, Helen Thomas, the Holy Land Foundation, Jeremiah Wright and Cindy Sheehan, to name a few examples of relative powerlessness against the American Jewish lobby.
– the israelis will never do it themselves
Neither will their enablers, the American Zionists.
this looks hopeful, in that Jewish people are confronting their own situation rather than demanding that the US government solve their problems for them.
We non-Jews would do well to help frame the plight the Jewish people find themselves in as an internal/civil war that has swept two peoples- the American people and the Palestinian people — into its battlefield, and threatens to engulf another state, the Iranian people.
Americans have a right and obligation to resist this battle, but we must be careful to distinguish who the offending parties are.
It is quite legitimate to define zionism–specifically, militant zionism, as an offensive political movement, and to combat it.
I think a key line from ei’s story on the conference raises a point about the usefulness of violence:
(This) reflects a significant departure from Zionism that has been building since the second Palestinian intifada broke the stranglehold of the Oslo accords.
“The second intifadeh broke the stranglehold of the Oslo accords.” It also broke the back of the Israeli left. It left most Israelis sure that there was no chance for a two state solution- not because of Likud stubbornness, but because the true face of the Palestinian attitude was revealed by the blowing up of pizza parlors and buses and the joy those events seemed to evoke in the Palestinian society. The net effect of the second intifadeh was to announce to Israel that peace is not just around the corner, but that peace is an illusion, that the Palestinians prefer Jewish blood to peace. This is the stranglehold that was created by the second intifadeh. This is the assurance that there will be no peace soon between Israel and the Palestinians.
To the editors of ei this is cause for celebration, because the peace that might have resulted would have been a two state solution which the editors of ei abhor. So violence was used successfully to scuttle the chance for a two state solution and make the one state solution the only possibility, a possibility that will come only after much more bloodshed.
See, and I think the relevancy of your post, WJ, is that it really does prove that Zionism equals racism.
“It left most Israelis sure that there was no chance for a two state solution- not because of Likud stubbornness, but because the true face of the Palestinian attitude was revealed by the blowing up of pizza parlors and buses and the joy those events seemed to evoke in the Palestinian society.”
As a description of how “liberal” Israelis saw the world that may be accurate. But you’re also inadvertently describing the narcissistic tribal values of your own society. During the first several months of the second intifada the death toll was overwhelmingly Palestinian–they were being gunned down by the hundreds. The gap closed somewhat after the immoral and horrific suicide bombings began and yet as horrific as those attacks were, the death toll was still 3 or 4 Palestinians for each Israeli, and the majority of those on both sides were civilian.
Do you see what is wrong with this picture? How can Israeli “liberals” have the gall to lecture Palestinians about their joy over Jewish bloodshed when you don’t show one damn bit of remorse for the much larger quantities of blood your side spilt? Do you think Palestinians in 2000 and 2001 were too stupid to notice this? Do you think maybe that being the recipients of not only much greater violence, but this racist condescension by Israeli “liberals” might be part of the cause for Palestinian hatred?
Donald- One can always find causes to hate and the fact that Israelis, including the left, were more concerned about their own dead rather than the greater number of Palestinian dead, is yet one more cause for hate. To label the second intifadeh as that “which broke the stranglehold of the Oslo Accords” is to disregard the deaths on both side or to consider them useful deaths, which is in accord with the world view of the editors of ei, because the Oslo Accords were aiming at a two state solution with an inadequate answer to the refugee problem (as evidenced by the Geneva Initiative). Do you agree that the second intifadeh was a great stride forward for the Palestinians?
You seem to be glossing over the fact that the cycle of violence is almost always triggered by Israel and is always overwhelmingly the Palestinians who suffer the vast majority of the casualties in this conflict.
link to huffingtonpost.com
“Donald- One can always find causes to hate and the fact that Israelis, including the left, were more concerned about their own dead rather than the greater number of Palestinian dead, is yet one more cause for hate.”
Sigh. What you just did there was paint the Israelis as innocent or at worst slightly self-absorbed people quite legitimately concerned about their own lives, in contrast with those evil Palestinians full of hate. And oh, yeah, you did kill far more of them than they did of you and your side started out doing it and then they responded with suicide bombing and you still outkill them by a huge margin, but they’re so hateful and that’s why there can’t be peace. You’re just re-illustrating my point. That’s classic racism.
“Do you agree that the second intifadeh was a great stride forward for the Palestinians?”
I don’t think the deaths were a great stride forward. That’s a separate question from whether the second intifadah played a role in destroying the idea of a two state solution and which ultimately leads to a fair and just one state solution. I can’t predict the future, so I don’t know if that is how it will work out.
Anyway, it’s common for large historical events to have consequences both good and bad.
Donald- My primary reason for commenting regarding the quote from the article was the implication that the second intifadeh was a great stride forward. You say you don’t consider the deaths a great stride forward, but you have no opinion about the general effect of the second intifadeh. (In other words you decry the means, but are unsure about the ends?)
To set the record straight: I don’t think the Palestinians are guiltier of the crime of hate than are the Jewish Zionist Israelis, nor do I think they have a greater inclination in that direction.
I think that the authors of the article in ei condemn Zionists for lacking heart, but when they speak glowingly of the second intifadeh they reveal themselves to be heartless as well.
Oh Donald. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.
Of course, it’s best to let someone learn from their own mistakes. For if one tries to warn others to spare them the time and energy, they’re more than likely to dismiss him.
Have fun. It looks like you’ve got a project on your hands.
“To set the record straight: I don’t think the Palestinians are guiltier of the crime of hate than are the Jewish Zionist Israelis, nor do I think they have a greater inclination in that direction.”
That’s good, but the portion of your post that Chaos and I cited –
“It left most Israelis sure that there was no chance for a two state solution- not because of Likud stubbornness, but because the true face of the Palestinian attitude was revealed by the blowing up of pizza parlors and buses and the joy those events seemed to evoke in the Palestinian society.”
describes a racist attitude. Now I don’t doubt that it is an accurate description of how Israelis saw the situation, because I’ve seen this claim many times. It might be interesting to find articles where it’s been said before, but I’m too lazy and am about to go to bed. And I don’t think it’s an attitude limited to the Israeli man on the street–it’s the sort of thing I think I’ve seen from so-called intellectuals. To the extent that they not only describe the attitude, but defend it then they are racists themselves.
As for the 2nd intifada and the one state solution, I already answered. I don’t know if a one state solution where both sides live together in peace and equality in a democratic state is going to happen, but if it did, then the EI people would probably be right that the 2nd intifada was a stepping stone towards that end point. It’s not the easiest way to reach it, I don’t think, but speculating about alternative histories of things that haven’t happened yet isn’t something that interests me much.
Donald- I did not express myself well. The blowing up of pizza parlors and restaurants and the joy about those explosions expressed one aspect of Palestinian society, not the entirety of Palestinian society. But it was taken as proof by a large part of Israeli society that this was the true essence of Palestinian society.
I think that the blood shed in the second intifadeh on both sides made the gap between Israelis and Palestinians wider than it was before and thus it was a great leap backward. I am unfamiliar with the Palestinian side and its shift during the second intifadeh, but my familiarity with the Jewish Israeli side leads me to conclude that it was a great leap backward and any organization that speaks glowingly of it is truly cold hearted.
The blowing up of pizza parlors and restaurants and the joy about those explosions expressed one aspect of Palestinian society, not the entirety of Palestinian society. But it was taken as proof by a large part of Israeli society that this was the true essence of Palestinian society.
Please, you are full of it.
The Israelis themselves were having picnics to the background of the IDF slaughtering Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. They hardly have any ground to look down on the Palestinians for their “joy” about “explosions.”
Did you also happen the chants of “Death to Arabs” commonly heard in the Israeli demonstrations supporting the IDF flotilla raid? What about the settlers in East Jerusalem celebrating Baruch the serial killer?
Outburts of anger and joy over violence is unsurprising in a bloody conflict among certain groups, but it takes a specially warped society to use carnage as the backdrop of recreational activity.
“I did not express myself well.”
Au contraire my friend. You have expressed yourself only too well, and tell us everything we need to you.
And if there is ever any question, Wondering Jew, I, for one, hold that you are eminently qualified to join your brother at the settlements. You need a reference, just have them e-mail me.
“I am unfamiliar the Palestinian side”
This is your problem, at least you are honest about it. Get to know those you oppress, and through their eyes revisit the Israeli and/or Jewish society you live amongst with a fresh perspective capable of seeing through its colonial ideologies. Until then, please save your questions for a more appropriate forum, there are those of us with work to do organizing to end zionism and create a new non-racist Jewish identity in solidarity with Palestinians and all oppressed peoples of the world.
” It left most Israelis sure that there was no chance for a two state solution- not because of Likud stubbornness, ”
And what, do you think, did the doubling of the settler population between 1993 and 2000 tell the occupied Palestinian population? Do you think it sent a positive message that Israel was ready for a two-state solution?
I see Donald has already pointed out the ugliness in your True Face Of The Palestinians argument so I won’t go there – except to add more than 1 million projectiles (bullets and other) were reported to have been fired by the IDF in just the first few days of the Second Intifadah. Very peaceful huh?
Sumud- Do you think the second intifadeh was a great step forward?
Why don’t you ask Ehud Barak, you know, the one orchestrated the whole thing?
Was the ethnic cleansing of half of Palestine’s native population worthy of Independence Day celebrations? You tell us that one, WJ.
Where have we heard this before? After repeated atrocities the Palestinians “must not” employ violence? Because we all know that their use of violence is different than the violence of the Israelis (as ifd we have two equally armed groups just feuding) –
“WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT RESIST VIOLENTLY”
your posts are so off-topic and unwarranted. who are you to judge the 2nd Intifadeh? That which needs to be judged are the Israeli settler occupation conditions which gave rise to the 1st and 2nd Intifadehs, leaving no choice but desperate resistance on the parts of Palestinians. This is just like whites deploring the strategies of Civil Rights actvists but ignoring the apartheid conditions that brought them about – you should read Letter From a Birmingham Jail!
There is a lot of misunderstanding in reading posts these days, you need to read what I said yishai, follow the link, and than reformulate what you are saying. In short, you have misunderstood what I wrote and probably have not looked at the link, it is the only way you could respond like this. Plus you do not know the history of my posting here. Could be an honest mistake on your part, its feasible.
I think he’s reffering to WJ. Who mentioned the 2nd. Intefada several times.
I’ll answer your question WJ, right after you answer mine..
VR, my bad, my intention was to reply to WJ as Demize says. I love the footage you linked to, makes the point brilliantly. Its always striking to me that MLK also made this point in his work, at the same time, coming from a different vantage point – because it is so resonant and true…
this is the same rationale as the destruction of Helen Thomas. When resistance to incessant provocations proves futile, and in frustration erupts into ‘violence’ — either the violence of words of truth or the violence of the same sort of shedding of blood that the resisters have experienced, the oppressors react with the disproportionate violence that was taught to them by Jabotinsky.
Which book of Torah recites the Jabotinsky portion?
The US Army Core of Engineers need immediate redeployment from the Rafah crossing into Gaza from Egypt (where they were building a huge steel underground tunnel barrier to hermetically seal off Israel’s concentration camp) to the port of Gaza to immediately upgrade the port facilities to accomodate the ‘Gaza Sealift’ armadas on the way.
The Gaza port needs immediate upgrades to handle the 100′s of vessels that are creating the 21st Century’s remix of the ‘Berlin Airlift’ to save the Gazans from their tormentors
The world has turned – and quickly. It is time to protect the Palestinians from the Israelis.
The UN should never have permitted the Israelis to hold it’s hands around the neck of Palestine for all of these years – it’s time to take Palestine out of the hands of the mad Israelis
As soon as we rescue Gaza – we move to the West Bank to liberate the camps and villages of Palestinians there, then on to E Jerusalem
I like the graphics of the poster. Very “Agitprop”.
I agree. The poster is very cool.
Israel shouldn’t be an American issue, and Idon’t believe that the people who brought the issue to America are capable of solving the problem, or of serving actual American interests. Instead of cheering these people on, we should be questioning whether or not Jews are capable of serving the American masses as an elite group. My guess is that the group mentioned in this thread would involve the U.S. in the region more deeply in one way or another.
Todd, you have rung the bell, hit the bulls-eye, and are entitled to cigar or coco-nut, your choice as winner!
Yup, that’s the question. WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN AMERICAN JEWS SEE THAT THE END OF ZIONISM MEANS ALSO THEIR END AS AN ELITE GROUP IN AMERICA????
That’s what I mean about the “win” I go on about. We expect to win, every time, we don’t lose. Anotherwords, if Israel must be changed, or reduced in power, we “win” the moral battle, we win plaudits for our ethics.
But what if the end of Zionism is simply a “lose” for us (and it will be, mark my words)? What happens then?
Of course I’m already such a big loser it won’t matter to me, but a lot of other Jews may find it unbearable. Anyway, is it fair, is it right, that some American Jews should get their righteousness fix from the mistakes and intransigence of Israelis? Go judge the Goyim, kapos!
Jewish privilege is mostly under the guise of white privilege generally, which is much more often a Christian variant. Whatever happens to Israel, and we hope social justice for all living there, especially those currently dispossessed, white Jews in the US will continue to have privilege as long as whiteness reigns supreme. The struggle against whiteness is much larger than that against zionism, which is one nationalist variant among many, albeit an important one. Anti-racist struggles to engage within and outside of Jewish communities, so your false categories undercut your reply, and reveal defensive concerns about the Assembly coming up, something which predictably runs through much of the Jewish response on this list.
Not to worry; the status quo continues:
link to dsadevil.blogspot.com
Yeah and Caroline Mahoney, Charlie “Rent Control Apartment” Rangel, and a couple of other douche buckets had another “don’t persecute Israel” rally today in Times Square. She was going on about how the same enemies of Israle are ours, neglecting to mention her own damn constituents maimed and killed by them. They were surrounded by the usual Greek Chorus of Yamulka’d dickheads. Bleggh!
Caroline Maloney. Sorry for all the other spelling errors guys.
Wondering Jew i agree with what you said why Oslo failed.
Note that Common Dreams picked this up complete with the poster. Check out their comments.
Palestinian Gay Groups not to happy with US.Social Forum for including “Stand with us” link to bekhsoos.com
demize: Neither are other progressives, radical Jews such as IJAN, and the entire Palestinian delegation, both of which have protested and threatened to walk-out. It is sounding like the zionist front group claiming gay politics is being uninvited, as they should be…