Why silence over Israel's wrongs is anti-Zionist
Israel is not living up to its potential, and one reason for that is because American Jews have not insisted that their voices be heard.
By Alex Sinclair Tags: Jews in America Jewish World Zionism Israel newsIsrael is not living up to its potential, and one reason for that is because American Jews have not insisted that their voices be heard.
The recent flood of articles and essays about American Jews "losing their love" for Israel is based not only on a misguided conception of Israel-Diaspora relations, but also on a misguided conception of what a loving relationship is about.
There is a famous Rashi on Genesis 2:18, in which God decides to create a partner for Adam. The Biblical narrator has God say "It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helper against him." The Hebrew here, "ezer k'negdo," is tricky, and has always perplexed translators. Some try "corresponding to him," some try "beside him," some try "fitting." None of these captures the oddness of the Hebrew.
Rashi comments as follows: "If he is worthy: a helper; if he is not worthy: against him, to fight with him." Generations of rabbis have used this beautiful comment to talk about the complexity of the relationship between spouses, and to suggest that a true marriage is based on the ability and willingness to give honest and critical feedback to one's spouse if they lose their way. A spouse is not a yes-man (or woman); a spouse is someone who disagrees with you when you are wrong.
The current crisis - and it is a crisis, make no mistake about it - in the relationship between American Jewry and Israel is because we have forgotten this Rashi.
We need to remember this Rashi because it suggests that American Jews should offer angry, vocal, confrontational critique when they feel that Israel is practicing particular policies that they find unworthy. Note the word that Rashi uses: "to fight." Not just to critique, not just to gently remind, not just to seek to influence, but to shout, to confront, to demand to be heard.
If we want American Jews and Israel to be in a truly deep relationship, then we need to enable American Jews to be the ezer k?negdo, the helping spouse who fights. After all, they do enough helping. We can't ask American Jews to support us, visit us, give us their money, and be inspired by us, without allowing them - demanding of them - to tell us what they think. It is taxation without representation. It is an abuse of the relationship between us. It is blasphemy to the very notion of a Jewish state.
This approach will ultimately lead to a much richer marriage between American Jews and Israel. Young American Jews throw their weight behind other causes, causes where demands are made on them, where they are encouraged to fight against injustice, to debate, to create change. We don't give them these opportunities with Israel. Go and change the world, we say; but when it comes to Israel, you must close off your creative energies, your critical thinking, your fiery emotions, and just support politely from the sidelines. No wonder they are not interested.
Young American Jews will not develop renewed commitment to Israel unless we demand that they make demands; that they become the ezer k'negdo. Every Jewish day school should require every single student to join an Israeli political party. Every synagogue should do the same for its members. When American Jewish groups come here on missions, they should be doing so not just to support, but also to demand, to critique, to tell us where we are going wrong.
The lack of American Jewish voices in modern Israel is a tragedy. Israel, for all its wonders, its achievements, and its robustness, is not living up to its potential, and one of the reasons for that gap is the lack of American Jewish voices in its culture, religion, and politics.
Thomas Friedman writes more perceptively about Israeli politics than any Israeli journalist or politician; why are his pieces not regularly and immediately translated into Hebrew? Abraham Joshua Heschel revolutionized our understanding of Jewish spirituality; most religious Israelis have never heard of him. Diaspora Jewish educational thinkers and practitioners have made enormous strides in working out how to get Jews of different religious streams to sit, talk, and learn together; Israel is decades behind. There are countless other examples. Both sides are at fault. Israelis have been too stubborn, too arrogant, or too busy, to listen; but American Jews have not been willing to be the ezer k'negdo, the spouse who fights.
Israel is not living up to its potential, and one reason for that is because American Jews have not insisted that their voices be heard. This is scandalous. It is anti-Zionist. It is suicidal. It must change.
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While I do understand you op-ed piece is your opinion. Let me give the atheist/view from the bench point of view if you will. First, the southern baptists are more loyal to Israel than jews in the US. While the US media will happily do whatever the Israeli government says, it should be noted a lot of people, regardless of religion and including Jews are none too happy about the Israeli treatment of its prisoners in its two open air prisons in Gaza and the West Bank. If I were a jew, I would not be too quick to pledge my allegiance to Israel, either. Also, why should people of any faith pledge their allegiance to a government? That is essentially what you are asking for. Besides, you might get the Jewish schools in the US to go along with forced political loyalty, but once they are 18 they are out of there, especially the smart ones. Religious organizations cannot legally do that in the US thanks to the recent voting law changes.
1. Israel: An Echo of Eternity is not a Zionist book in any normal, secular sense. It is a proclamation on the enternity of Jewish faith as embodied in people, and the "where" isn't really relevant. What is the most-quoted sentence in the book? "We do not worship the soil". Zionism without land, Zionism of religious rapture - as I said, good for American Jews, not so much for Israelis. 2. Am I "slurring" Friedman's wife by mentioning her religion? Really? Is that something to be ashamed of? No, the fact is that Friedman is an American Jew, with a typical mixed family of American Jew, and that embodies - to my eyes - his detachment of the Jewish life of average Israeli. He lived here? He lived in Beirut, as well, so he's Lebanese
...obviously hasn't talks of what he knows nothing about, and hasn't heard of Abraham Joshua Heschel's "Israel: An Echo of Eternity," 1968, Schocken Press, which is one of the most Zionist books ever written. And by casting slurs on Thomas Friedman's wife, how low down into the gutter does he go? But he has to go after Friedman's wife because he can't say a word about Friedman, who is 100% Jewish in every sense and has spent many years living in Israel and his whole life traveling back and forth from there and talking to people and writing about his experiences. His left toe knows 1000 times more than Boris.
First of all, the happy era when American Jews had a presence of mind to remind themselves that they don't really know much about Israel, has long passed away. Now your average American Jew just can't shut up giving unsolicited advice to Israelis. That goes for Liberal Jews, but also for uber-patriots for whom Israel isn't killing Arabs fast enough. Now, for a little details that give a moron away. Ton Friedman, a Jew with Christian spouse and Christmas-celebrating kids, doesn't have a clue about Israel (but, of course, is certain that he knows everything - he's an American Jew after all). Abraham Heschel was an anti-Zionist whose main struggle was against American involvement in Vietnam (the fate of Vietnamese under the communists didn't bother him much). Reform Judaism is an attempt of Jews to pretend they are Christians without Christ. To sum: I don't care two hoots about "experience" and "ideas" of American Jewish minority. They have nothing in common with our national reality
I'm Iranian and when I criticized Israeli policies to my Israeli friends in NYC they told me to choose sides. i.e. you're either with us or with the Palestinians. When I criticize Germany (and I have) I'm not told to choose sides. With Israel apparently it has to be unconditional love. I say grow up.
you can't expect Israelis to take seriously criticism from people for whom the stakes are so relatively low - no compulsory military service for you or your children, no Qasams, etc. One of the reasons we are in this predicament is that progressive, humanitarian American Jews do not typically come here. You could not have elected Obama without voting. How do you expect to affect change here while sitting in cushy American colleges, suburbs, and synagogues? Our motto, back in the day, was, "If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem." (But do feel free to criticize while waiting for your flight and continue to send money.)
Some use political statements that brand any criticism of the Israel state as Anti-Semitism. This article elegantly explains the apolitical truth, and the ancient wisdom of the writing.
Well, I guess that red necks can also be Canadian. It sure is easy to be a hero from 5,000+ miles away. I am an Israeli and my kibbutz has been repeatedly bombed by kassam rockets, but we retain our humanity and find it more than sad and unnecessary that the IDF killed and wounded so many innocent Palestinian citizens. When you are willing to be part of the army we send in, let me know and I'll have a recruiting officer pay you a call. By the way, are you a native English speaker?
1.All Diaspora Jews are NOT AMERICAN ... So stop with this only American Jewish opinion is "worthy" (IF it criticises Israel "constuctively" to these supposed "ethical" ideals of the LEFT... Fact is there are more LEFTY CRITICIZERS in America-maybe the rest of us Diasporas-like ME in Canada see things less cloudedly than the mis-guided LEFT such as: 2. IT anin't easy being so lofty ethically LEFT (=angelic) when THEY are lobbing rockets with nail shardfs at you,when THEY are calling for your existence to end and brainwashing THEIR kids tobe shaheed "martyrs" for the PAL cause. 3. IF THEY (PALS) tried that to wipe out AMERICANS -do you honestly think ANY AMERICAN,let alone Jewish ones would give a rat's ass about lofty liberal/lefty morality/ethics/nincompoopery to live upto the American ideal? (which by the way is to BOMB and NUKE "EM ,or send in the army to SHOCK+AWE them). STUPID confused Lefty/liberal idea of REALITY...America "better" ethics than Israel? LOL!!!!
True friends dare to be critical, denounce their critics, lose their love!
Silence is not anti-zionist behavior, but how did so many become silent is the more importnt question. Group-think dominated mainstream thinking..if you are not 100% with me you're on the other side-- against me or in this article's case anti-zionist. Politicians and government leaders take a position and every opponent is bad. For example, Bibi calling White House aides "self-hating Jews," the same week Congress voted $2.7 billion for Israeli military. Please explain to (me)this Christian, why Netanyahu called top US officials "self-hating Jews."
the criticisms should be kept within the Israeli and Jewish community. We should not be complaining about our Jewish brothers to the US, EU, UN, etc.
American Jewry has finally found its voice - in the JStreet inaugural conference last week. Far from anti-Zionist, the majority of the 1500 attendees are Zionists, pro-Israel and pro-Peace. For 3 days they raised their voices and amongst several great moments was the ringing endoresement from the Obama administration delivered by the National Security Adviser General Jones. None of this of course will register with Israelis and the Israel Right or Wrong crowd who delight in an existence of sheer denial.
Mr. Sinclair's article might be spot on, but it should be directed to the Jewish American public, most of whom do not read Ha'Aretz. The misdirected support given to AIPAC by our American cousins indirectly encourages the Israeli right-wing to close its mind, heart and ears to the ethical obligations Israel owes to the majority of the subjugated Palestinian people who are innocent of violent acts against Israelis. The settlers are nurtured, pampered even, by American Jewish millionaires who could easily find better uses for their money. Hopefully, if Mr. Sinclair's words are given effective media coverage, they will help convince American Jewish fence-sitters to take another look at J Street's positions, which are analogous to those of the Israeli peace movement.
Albert Einstein said in 1947, "My awareness of the essential nature of Judaism resists the idea of a Jewish state with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power, no matter how modest. I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain -- especially from the development of a narrow nationalism within our own ranks???." Einstein predicted a rift between a Jewish state and the Jewish religious values. It has happened. However too many of us are afraid to admit it. It does not make us any less a Jew to recognize when our civil leaders have gone amuck.
I'm certain that to a sincere zionist being called anti-semitic is quite painful. As long as this is the treatment critics get (and the general population unquestioning backs the charges) you can't expect any but the brave indeed to take the chance of criticizing Israel.