I was just at dinner bragging to my wife about my day and telling her about my "I'm not a post-Zionist, I'm an anti-Zionist," declaration. My wife said, "Be a post-Zionist! It means that old construct is worn out and we're sick of it." Just passing that along. Then I got this from Jack Ross:
think your polemic against is a bit unfair, which does not mean it's
wrong. It may be a catch-all term, but I will accept the definition
proffered by Avraham Burg, and heartily seconded by my beloved rabbi, when he said that "Zionism was a beautiful and honorable movement of the past but it has no place in the modern world".
I
absolutely do not agree with that, nor can I even accept what you say
Phil when you say that "Zionism was a response to the reality of Jewish
exclusion from the West which is totally contrary to the reality of
today".
Nevertheless I can appreciate that something positive
was created by the culture of European Jews who settled in Palestine
and that for some therefore they need to understand themselves in terms
of how that creation can have a life in a world where Zionism is at
best antiquated and at worst lethal to humanity.
have a very similar attitude toward the old socialist cause, that is
the historic American democratic left: that it was a beautiful and
honorable movement of the past with no place or purpose in the
contemporary West.
All that being said, there is a reality of
wishy-washy liberals who need to hide behind "post-Zionism" to avoid
the harsh implications of anti-Zionism, though I suspect they are
becoming less and less so with the unfolding reality of Gaza. If a few
Jewish liberals who have never really dealt with the issue still need
to pass through the phase of stubborn post-Zionism, as seems to be the
case with Dana Goldstien, that's only natural.
In the end, I don't think the crimes of Zionism are proving to be that much of a shock to American Jews.
The real outrage to American Jewish sensibilities is to oppose the
religion of Jewish peoplehood, which is distinct from Zionism but
fundamental to American Jewish identity both generally and with
Zionism. That crisis is inevitable and it has indeed begun in earnest
with Gaza.
