The reverberations from the Israeli elections continue to be felt. Besides the political fallout, we are also beginning to better understand what they tell us about Israeli society, as well as the American Jewish community.
Jonathan Ofir offered two useful articles this week along these lines. The first was a rundown of the members of the Religious Zionism party that will serve as the kingmakers in the new Israeli government. It’s a real rogues gallery, but they are also, he says, a perfect reflection of where Israeli society is heading. In addition, he shared a review of Tom Suarez’s new book, Palestine Hijacked, on the Zionist movement’s use of terror throughout its history. Although some are bemoaning that this new government is an end to the Israel they love, the truth is that history shows us that it shares a clear continuity with the past.
In this regard Phil Weiss offered an important reflection on the election and what it means for the American Jewish community’s relationship to Israel. Clearly, the results have left many in disarray and Phil says that is a good thing. “Zionism—the ideology Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu embody, one of Jewish supremacy in the Jewish land– is, at last, becoming problematic for American Jews,” Phil writes, and declares — the war over Zionism inside American Jewish life has begun.
We also had elections this week in the U.S., of course. The Israel lobby suffered a stirring defeat in Pennsylvania where Democrat Summer Lee fought off her second AIPAC-funded candidate of this election cycle. Mitchell Plitnick wrote that while the landscape for Palestine advocacy in Washington is still challenging, there are some important opportunities that activists should be taking advantage of.
Also, this was another busy, and tragic, week of news from Palestine. Mariam Barghouti continues to file amazing profiles of the resistance taking place in the West Bank, and be sure to read this report from Jenin where the “Wasps’ Nest” is setting an example they hope the rest of the occupied territory follows.
Finally, we published the first pieces in our new monthly poetry series BEIT and you can read them here. Learn more about the series, including how to submit poetry this month, here.
