An anonymous friend from Busboys and Poets reports from Pittsburgh:
Peter Beinart spoke to a crowd of about 250 at Pittsburgh's temple Rodef Shalom Thursday evening, on the topic, "Is the Love Affair Over? Young American Jews and Israel." The moderator was delighted to observe that "usually we see only grey heads at these events, but this evening we see brown heads; there are many, many young people." From the balcony, one could count about 35 "brown heads" in the audience, several of whom were asleep.
The young people were not only the special focus of the talk but also of fierce lobbying afterward, when numerous audience members, disgruntled with Beinart's suggestions, cornered individual youngsters and explained to them how Beinart was wrong. Comments heard: "Beinart shouldn't talk about the bad things Israel does, or about Lieberman. We should focus on Israel's successes." And, "Why is Beinart so concerned about Gaza? Israel is out of Gaza; we have nothing to do with Gaza." And, "If Beinart wants to send his kids to Jewish schools he should move to London or Australia."
The comments were reactions to Beinart's suggestions upon being asked what should be done to "make young Jewish Americans love Israel and Zionism as much as we do," Beinart immediately suggested, "More trips to Israel! The Birthright trips are great."
But, continued Beinart, the tours in Israel should include Gaza and the West Bank. Here, Beinart returned to his theme that young American Jews demand "authenticity" and more honesty in viewing Israel's government and policies.
His second suggestion was to commit more resources to good Jewish schools in the US. Beinart mentioned that young Jews in London or in Australia could attend very good Jewish schools at manageable cost, but that the same was not so readily available in the US. "Frankly," said Beinart, "we should stop building Holocaust museums and start building schools," which was greeted with the first burst of applause of the evening.
Beinart continued, "For many Jews, the cost of Jewish schools in the US is very high. I know I worry about my financial obligations and sending my children to Jewish schools. Perhaps we could support voucher programs; partner with Catholics and get vouchers," which was greeted with more applause.
Beinart's presentation was standard fare: Young American Jews are not as emotionally involved with Israel and Zionism as I am; I want my children to love Zionism as much as I do; there is a flag of Israel in my son's bedroom. "Young American Jews hear from us that they should love Israel, but they see the bad things that Israel's government is doing. They want authenticity."
Beinart touched upon the way many American Jews are shut out of a Jewish place to express their concerns on campus. "Many young Jews in the US are part of Palestinian organizations," where they can express their liberal values, which are not welcome by Jewish organizations on campus, he said.
In the Q & A period, Beinart touched again on the systematic way that young American Jews experience only a selective version of Jewry's history. "We celebrate Purim, and we're happy that Queen Esther foiled the plot to kill Jews. But we don't come to grips with the other half of that event, the morality of Jews having massacred 70,000 people. Likewise, when we celebrate Hannukah, we do not grapple with the morality of a breakaway group having engaged in another massacre." Young American Jews demand authenticity, said Beinart, returning to that theme; we have to acknowledge the entirety of Jewish history.
Beinart responded to most questions head-on; the one exception was his dodgy response to a complex question about the involvement of Jews, in the US and in Israel, in generating Islamophobia. To this Beinart said, "Both the Muslim and Jewish communities face distortions" about our beliefs, "although, we didn't blow up the World Trade Center." Beinart continued, "The degree to which we want to lecture Islam" should be tempered by the fact that Jewish terrorism does exist. Beinart mentioned that Baruch Goldstein was an American Jew, then expanded on anti-Islamic activities evidenced at Israel Day parades in New York, where followers of Kahane are leaders, speakers, and sponsors of posters bearing vicious and hateful attacks on Muslims.
Beinart said, "I fear being anti-Muslim has become the core of what it means to be Jewish... We should ask Muslims if they criticize Hamas, but without the genius of Muslim civilization, Maimonides would not exist." My sense is, Beinart was trying to counsel the audience to isolate the Palestinian situation and not apply the sense of conflict with Muslims in Palestine to the entirety of Islamic civilization and culture.
After similarly cautioning against overuse of charges of "antisemitism," Beinart said, "If you look at what Israel has achieved in terms of what it gives to Arabs, how it elevates Arabs, we have much to be proud of. . . .And this is based on zZonism's earliest ideals: Herzl and Pinsker were children of the European Enlightenment; they believed all men should be free; that's what they wanted to achieve . . .for Jews and Arabs." Beinart cited Herzl's novel, <i>Altneuland,</i> to support this belief.
Ironically, Beinart strongly cautioned against the establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya, without a thorough understanding of the implications of such a scheme, and plans for who would replace Qaddafi.
While many adults in the audience nodded approval to several of Beinart's arguments as they listened in their seats, as the crowd broke up and left the auditorium, many more adults were heard to voice disapproval of much of what Beinart had to say.
Beinart: “although, we didn’t blow up the World Trade Center.” [ * * * ] “The degree to which we want to lecture Islam should be tempered by the fact that Jewish terrorism does exist. ”
Beinart is in big trouble (and not he alone) here. If “we” (human kind? Jews? American Jews? Americans?) didn’t blow up the WTC, is he saying that “all Muslims” did? Pish! And as to Jewish terrorism, there is not only the murder of Rabin but also the pre-1948 Jewish-against-Jewish terrorism mentioned in the “Einstein” (NYT) letter. In my own view, which I would ask Beinart to comment upon, much of Israel’s STATE policy and behavior is terrorist (the smashing of Gaza, the Mavi Marmar, the 2006 smashing of Lebanon, Jenin, not to mention the entire settlement movement, intending to terrorize Palestinians into leaving Palestine).
Good catch. “WE” didn’t blow it up anymore than “THEY” did. Also, if we are going to start properly pointing fingers at culpable individuals, then we must include the Israelis apprehended after being seen in New Jersey laughing, cheering and filming the destruction of the towers. The “high-fivers” story was very widely covered shortly after 9-11, including in the Forward.
“… although, we didn’t blow up the World Trade Center.”
(“We” didn’t?)
“… Beinart returned to his theme that young American Jews demand ‘authenticity’ and more honesty in viewing Israel’s government and policies.”
He’s right and that means nothing’s out of bounds. Numbers of young Jews, inside and outside the US, while maintaining open minds, temporarily suspending their disbelief, focusing on the facts, and using their common sense are (among other players involved) seriously googling “Israel 9/11.” They’re the ones who are trying to teach us to get out of our own way and look past all smoke and mirrors.
Beinart is, himself, young but not as young as I once thought him to be. There’s more than a universe of time between anyone who’s actually young and anyone who says “… although, we didn’t blow up the World Trade Center.”
Go Beinart!
Go young American Jews in Palestinian solidarity!
Young American Jews will fix Israel. Sure, Okay! I bet the Israelis are just waiting for an intervention, but are too shy to ask. Cause there’s nothin’ the nation which set up the whole settler movement wants more than a big injection of liberal and progressive values.
All we need young American Jews to do is turn away from AIPAC and stop doling money to Zionist causes. Israel will starve without outside support.
As for Beinart: “If you look at what Israel has achieved in terms of what it gives to Arabs, how it elevates Arabs,…”
What a condescending, smug expression of colonial mentality. Right. Elevates them right out of their homes and into heaven, I guess.
link to youtube.com
Trader sailed a jeweled crown
Humanity rowed the way
Exploring to command more land
Scheming how to rule the waves.
Trader spied a virgin plain
And named it for velvet robes
Wrote home declaring,
“There’s a place
Where totally folks are free
(Happily completely)
Nourishment fills the prairies and the hillsides
And animals stalk the mountains and the seaside
And fish abound the lakes and birds the skies
Signed sincerely.”
Trader found the jeweled land
Was occupied before he came
By humans of a second look
Who couldn’t even write their names shame
Trader said they’re not as good
As folks who wear velvet robes
Wrote home again and asked, “Please help
Their breasts I see; they’re not like me
Banish them from our prairies and our hillsides
Clear them from our mountains and our seaside
I want them off our lakes so please reply
Signed sincerely.”
Trader he got the crown okay
Cleared humanity from his way
He civilized all he saw
Making changes every single day say
Shops sprang over the prairies and the hillsides
Then roads cut through the mountains to the seaside
The other kind fled to hide, by and by,
And so sincerely
Cried.
The word “terrorism” has morphed. It was initially a tactic of the French Govt. How is it that the policies of Israel regards to the Palestinians not terrorism. Just because they have helicopter gunships and tanks etc doesn’t mean that the tactic used by the IOF is anything other than terrorism. You could apply that to US tactics in the middle east as well.
what is it to be a jew
our youth are now deciding
is it to support co-religionists in their takeover of someone else’s homeland?
or is it to side with the victim of said land grab, the palestinian people?
their decision at least partly dependent upon whether our youth believe that we jews are somehow better and more important than our fellow human beings
rather than our being just one among equals
as in you are i, i am you, we are one
“their decision at least partly dependent upon whether our youth believe that we jews are somehow better and more important than our fellow human beings”
Yep, that’s the crux of the problem.
I remember as a kid in Sunday school being told that Jews WERE (past tense) G$d’s Chosen People. Later in life, I was surprised to learn that so many Jews think they really ARE G$d’s Chosen People.
Rod Serling, the writer, director and producer of the popular weekly show called “The Twilight Zone” would appear on camera as the narrator and would say that we all live in a world of imagination and can easily take a wrong turn and step off into the “Twilight Zone.” Little did we know then that Mr. Serling was describing the future post 9/11 world of political correctness. Thus, if he were alive today his narrative would read something like this:
Your are in the Twilight Zone. This is the world of fantasy where terrorists are called “militants” and the war against terror is not a war against the fundamentals of Islam, but a war against a small minority of one hundred million fanatics who “hijacked a peaceful religion”. This is the world of bizarre twists and convoluted turns where murderers and thieves are rewarded with the property of their intended victims and the “road map to peace” requires total surrender to homicidal lunatics.
This is the world beyond reality where atheists pray to themselves in the “Church of Non Belief”. This is the world of imagination in which the officiators of marriages declare, “I now pronounce you husband and husband.” This is the world of denial where threats of genocide are met with open borders and entitlements for all who chose to enter that “unseen” place in the realm of human reflection where right is wrong and left is right. More at link to