Total number of comments: 11 (since 2010-01-17 00:16:09)
HHM
I am co-director of the Al-Nakba Awareness Project based in Eugene, Oregon. The Al-Nakba Awareness Project Advocating Freedom, Justice and Equality in the Holy Land We believe Middle East peace will come only through recognizing and correcting 62+ years of dispossession imposed by force upon the indigenous Muslim, Christian, and other Arabic peoples of Palestine. Peace cannot bypass justice. We advocate a solution based upon principles of democratic equality, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and international law which include the unequivocal right of return for over 4 million UN-registered Palestinian refugees. As the origin of the conflict, we believe that awareness of the Nakba, the Palestinian catastrophe, is critical for understanding and solving the problem. Israel’s original goal and its ongoing strategy of “nishul” – displacement or dispossession in Hebrew – remains unchanged since 1948 and has blocked resolution for many decades. We learned from our own Jim Crow history, affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, that separate is never equal. We therefore do not support a two-state solution, which would institutionalize segregation of two peoples and allow the apartheid system within Israel to remain unchallenged. A “Jewish and democratic” state is an Orwellian oxymoron. It cannot be both. In truth, Israel is a democracy only for its Jewish citizens. Non-Jews in Israel are denied equal rights in virtually every area of life. Instead, we support an integrated, egalitarian state with freedom and equal rights for all its citizens. The Arab population of historic Palestine, including the 20% non-Jewish citizens inside Israel, must be provided constitutional protections against the racist laws that currently exist. Colonial Zionism is an archaic, ethnic nationalist,19th century ideology that continues to underpin a Jewish supremacist system not unlike South African apartheid and white supremacist, segregationist Jim Crow in our pre-1960s South. We challenge this and its support by our country as incompatible with American principles of government and international standards of human rights. American knee-jerk support of Israel and its continuous human rights violations has been maintained by a relentless campaign of deception, disinformation and financial political control by the most powerful lobby in Washington affecting our foreign policy - AIPAC and some 50 other major American Jewish organizations. Israeli occupation of both Palestine and Washington, D.C. must end. Obstruction has also come from the left, the so-called “Alternatives to AIPAC,” which promote dialogue, negotiation and compromise rather than enforcement of international law. The victim of a robbery cannot be required to negotiate or compromise with the thief over how much to return. Before dialogue or negotiation can yield resolution, external, non-violent intervention forces must be applied to equalize power, which is now grossly imbalanced. Citizens deeply disturbed by our pathological symbiosis with Israel can apply pressure through product boycotts and divestment ( www.pacbi.org and http://www.bdsmovement.net/ ) from Israeli businesses as well as U.S. companies supporting the occupation, and demand an end to U.N. Security Council vetoes by the U.S. (42 to date) that have long protected Israel from international justice. This will simultaneously save Israel from its current path of self-destruction, which many insightful Israelis recognize. To survive, gain admission to the community of nations, and emerge from its self-imposed ghetto behind fortress walls, Israel must repudiate Zionism and transform itself into a normal, multi-ethnic, non-discriminatory constitutional democracy in the modern Western tradition. www.al-nakba-history.com HappyHeartMom@comcast.net jack@jdresser.com chrisbarghout@hotmail.com
Marc Ellis, professor of Jewish Studies at Baylor University states in his book, Judaism does not Equal Israel, "The progressive Jewish two-state option is too limited, has become dishonest, and is discredited - it is simply a cover for power."
And didn't Ben-Ami say the main difference between J Street and AIPAC is that J Street has different priorities rather than different views?
J Street hosted Olmert at their DC conference. ( link to tinyurl.com
)
The January 2012 issue of the Lane County Jewish Federation Newsletter, (link to jewishfedlc.org
page 7 advertises a local event as such: J-Street and AIPAC will present how each organization supports Israel "Come find out how both groups are walking different paths to the same goal."
J Street Field Director Carinne Luck stated in this Jewish Review piece on one of Eugene, Oregon's J Street events: "...J Street is more often lobbying on the same side as AIPAC..." link to tinyurl.com
Yes, since young American Jews are opting out (link to tinyurl.com
(and this survey was done before Operation Cast Lead and the Mavi Marmara massacre) perhaps "we all need to go somewhere where we fear to tread." Perhaps what is needed is for more American Jews to "come out" in support of Palestinian human rights - the Palestinian civil society call for non-violence in the form of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, including the right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.
Hostage,
Please stay on topic. I'm talking about those Arab/Muslims who allow themselves to be positioned as the “moderate” voice and sole representatives of the Palestinian people in their communities. By doing so they obstruct advocacy for the right of return, BDS, and the vision of a one democratic state. And I gave an example of this. They function to rubber stamp the " progressive Zionist" positions such as J Street's. Again, it only takes one or two in each community to effectively obstruct BDS advocacy.
A few years back a piece in our Jewish Federation newsletter bragged how both dialogue was used to neutralize local Presbyterian efforts for divestment and right after Cast Lead to neutralize education and mobilization for Palestinian human rights at the university with the students.
Annie,
What would you think about a Palestinian/Arab/Muslim who accepts the community's "peace-builder award" in a well-attended ceremony at the "progressive" synagogue nominated by the very rabbi who has organized and written against pro-Palestinian activists and speakers like Ali Abunimah? Or for that matter, the Christian pastor he works with along with these rabbis at the Interfaith Service and dialogue who gave a sermon one Sunday slamming the one democratic state solution and promoting J Street? This very pastor declined to host one of Sabeel's noted speakers, Mark Braverman, because MB had signed a statement supporting a one democratic state. "Dialogue" is misused as a strategy to eviscerate potential support for BDS.
BTW, this rabbi and other local/regional rabbis signed the statement against Methodist divestment.
I have much documentation on this in my community and state. I'm glad others are beginning to write about this problem also. Pls. see link to ikhras.com
I suspect church leaders did not want to offend the rabbis they have worked together with for decades on "Interfaith Dialogue." You'll hear no support for BDS from Palestinian Arab/Muslims who participate in this either. Community leaders including rabbis will always position those Arab/Muslims as the "moderates" and sole representatives of the Palestinian people. It just takes one or two in every town to effectively obstruct human rights advocacy by "extremists" promoting the right of return, BDS, or a one democratic state.
I couldn't help myself. I donated $20 I can ill afford, thanked her for her work on Palestinian human rights, and speaking out against AIPAC. And told her J Street is no better.
J Street is strongly opposed to a One Democratic State and works to suppress support for that possibility.
I cannot help but wonder if any of these IDF soldiers have duel American citizenship. I recall that on Aug. 16, 104 immigrating 18- to 22-year-old Americans arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport to enlist in the Israel “Defense” Force. Will they, too, attack and shoot non-violent American human rights activists on Israeli command? Or spy on Americans if/when they return?
JFK said the same thing: "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
Last July, I petitioned our Eugene Human Rights Commission to draft a strong statement condemning the flotilla massacre. Since I had to limit my time to 3 minutes, I also gave them a stack of informational resources so they would have most everything they would need to write such a statement.
The local Israel Defense Network found out and wrote about it here, pg. 10:
www.jewishfedlc.org/newsletter/JFLCNewsletterJan11.pdf
(Justice advocacy is not for the faint of heart...)
Of course the meeting was indeed flooded by pro-Israel lobbyists and all comments strongly condemned the EHRC proposed statement with the J Street representative heading the lineup. Deceptively sweet, reasonable-sounding J Street advocates represent one of our biggest obstacles to effective justice advocacy in Eugene, Oregon and I suspect throughout the U.S. Their (in my opinion, racist) concerns focus on preserving Jewish majority in Israel and institutionalizing segregation in the two-state model, which would forever abrogate the right of return for Palestinians. The R-O-R would then be confined to that Israeli-approved entity. I cannot even bring myself to call it a state. J Street is not about human rights, freedom, justice or equality.
The EHRC meeting was all quite disgusting. Here is the Register Guard write-up of the event:
link to tinyurl.com
Please wish us luck as the struggle continues.
Most people here probably know there are Jewish organizations which do support Palestinian human rights. One of my favorites is the IJAN. Here are their points of unity for those new to the issue or this blog. Compare this to J Street.
Points of Unity link to ijsn.net
While we all come from diverse organizing and activist experiences, and have diverse relationships to our Jewish histories and identities, we share the following points of unity:
* Solidarity with the struggle for Palestinian self-determination, including full political, economic, cultural, social and land rights for all those living in the historic Palestine, and the right of return for its refugees;
* Rejection of the Israeli apartheid state, premised on Jewish supremacy and Zionist ideology, and support for all struggles for legal and economic equality against it;
* Support for the building of just societies in historic Palestine, the larger region, and the other places in which we live;
* A commitment to the values of democratic self-determination, social justice and solidarity, gender equality and cultural rights, and to assert the same values in our own organizing and political practice;
* Commitment to the call from Palestine for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel;
* Challenging the current use of Islamophobia as a strategy for defending and justifying an imperialist US-European agenda;
* Challenging white racism, including its manifestations as Ashkenazi racism against Mizrahi Jews;
* Challenging the privileging of Jewish voices in conversations and negotiations about Palestine;
* Rejection of the ways in which the Zionist movement and Western governments exploit the Nazi holocaust to justify the historic and current actions of the State of Israel; and
* Rejection of alliances with anti-Jewish racists, white supremacist and Nazi holocaust deniers in our Palestinian solidarity work.
J Street is just another Israel lobby group designed to appeal to the so-called "progressive" left as good cop to the bad. Their major concern is loss of Jewish majority. In no way are they to be considered a Palestinian solidarity organization.
There are Jewish human rights-based alternatives to J Street. The International Jewish Anti--Zionist Network lists the right of return for the Palestinian refugees in their first point of unity.
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network IJAN
link to ijsn.net
Points of Unity
While we all come from diverse organizing and activist experiences, and have diverse relationships to our Jewish histories and identities, we share the following points of unity:
* Solidarity with the struggle for Palestinian self-determination, including full political, economic, cultural, social and land rights for all those living in the historic Palestine, and the right of return for its refugees;
* Rejection of the Israeli apartheid state, premised on Jewish supremacy and Zionist ideology, and support for all struggles for legal and economic equality against it;
* Support for the building of just societies in historic Palestine, the larger region, and the other places in which we live;
* A commitment to the values of democratic self-determination, social justice and solidarity, gender equality and cultural rights, and to assert the same values in our own organizing and political practice;
* Commitment to the call from Palestine for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel;
* Challenging the current use of Islamophobia as a strategy for defending and justifying an imperialist US-European agenda;
* Challenging white racism, including its manifestations as Ashkenazi racism against Mizrahi Jews;
* Challenging the privileging of Jewish voices in conversations and negotiations about Palestine;
* Rejection of the ways in which the Zionist movement and Western governments exploit the Nazi holocaust to justify the historic and current actions of the State of Israel; and
* Rejection of alliances with anti-Jewish racists, white supremacist and Nazi holocaust deniers in our Palestinian solidarity work.