There has been a lot of discussion on this site about liberal Zionists and Peter Beinart in particular. Liberal Zionists have one thing in common: they ultimately choose ethno-religious preference over what I consider to be the fundamental inviolable principle of equality. But there also is a wide variety of LZ’s, and I have often been enlightened by the honest sort, like Uri Avnery or Jerome Slater, even if we disagree on the nature of an ultimate solution that seems ever more distant.
Case in point: A column by Beinart in Haaretz, in which he demolishes in painstaking detail the Gaza narrative that would win 110% approval in the US Congress and 99 44/100% approval in the mainstream media: Israel withdrew from Gaza as a peace overture; Palestinians responded with terror and the election of Hamas; Hamas violently seized power (please don’t notice the apparent contradiction); Palestinians destroyed the greenhouses generously left behind instead of building an economy around them; the blockade was instituted to protect Israelis from terror; blah blah blah.
Most MW readers are not deceived by this historical record that has been repeated so often and consistently in US political discourse, especially in recent weeks to justify the mass murder of defenseless civilians. But there is a lot of heavy lifting required to expose this narrative for the sham that is, and Beinart has undertaken the task in a thorough and comprehensive manner. True, I would not endorse every single sentence of this essay, but it is well worth reading.
The same Peter Beinart who admitted that he could live with Palestinians not having full citizenship rights. Don’t forget.
In the end, when the chips are down, ALL “liberal” Zionists choose ethnocracy over democracy. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be Zionists.
Have to say I have been impressed by Beinart and especially MJRosenberg this week.
This Gaza op is a shibboleth for Jews. MJR says there is no point in bringing up the Shoah while cheering on Netanyahu.
Gaza is going to fight right until the end. Israel is going to destroy the conditions of life in the Strip. Israel is beyond saving. 95% approval says it all.
The question is where do people go from here
Unfortunately the article is behind Haaretz’s paywall. If you don’t have a premium subscription, you cannot access it. Is there any other way to people to access the full article?
Thank you David. Would that Israeli mothers and fathers gave more of a dam* about the children, their neighbors and the human race. I still don’t believe in liberal Zionism– a terrible oxymoron– but I do believe in Jewish people devoted to justice and peace and truth. Israel faces it’s biggest and only threat from within.
I wish Beinart and his family good luck in their journey toward the light.
(and might I say that the effort to impeach President Obama is insane– but, I’d dearly love to have a referendum on our unfailing support for the Apartheid Occupation Terrorist state of Israel!)
Pretty useful. Still, there’s a huge contradiction between the first part of the piece, in which Beinart talks about Sharon’s withdrawal from Gaza serving the ends of the Occupation, and the last two paragraphs of the essay, which restore the Hamas Mooslim Boogeyman, which cunningly tricked Israel: “Israel has repeatedly played into Hamas’ hands by not strengthening those Palestinians willing to pursue statehood through nonviolence and mutual recognition.”
As if that were ever Israel’s goal. Beinart can’t admit that its actual goal is a semi-fascist militarized state, dead Palestinians, and a school reduced to bloody rubble.