(US) zionism

Justin Schwartz jkschw at hotmail.com
Thu Jul 12 22:21:58 PDT 2001


Actually, I am with Brad here. I am an activist with Not In My Name, a Jewish organization in Chicago dedicated to opposing the occupation. In the Jewish community, we are off the left end of the earth. But we would be out of the solar system if we opposed Zionism as such. The group, and others like it elsewhere, includes many self-identified Zionists who hate the occupation and are really serious about equality and justice for Palestinians. Among the more prominent of these are Michael Lerner of Tikkun magazine and Arthur Waskow, the Philly Rabbi. There is simply no percentage, in this work, in attacking Zionism. It would only alienate good allies, actual and potential, and shut us out of the possibility of influencing the American Jewish community.

I myself am not a Zionist, because I oppose religious states in general. I think the seperation of church and state, or synagogue and state, etc., is a good idea everywhere. But I don't think this is a point of organization. If those who call themselves Zionists can really commit to a just peace in Israel/Palestine, if they can oppose the politics of occupation, and call for and end to US military aid, withdrwal of settlements, negotiations on terms that resspect the Palestinians' right to self-determination and the like, maybe they ccan create a Zionism that is different from what Zionism has become. I wish them luck. I won't attack them for trying.

So, from my point of view, Brad is right: the traget should be the policies of the Israeli government, and the US government's support for those policies.

--jks


>From: Brad Mayer <bradley.mayer at ebay.sun.com>
>Reply-To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
>To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
>Subject: Re: (US) zionism
>Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 19:13:08 -0700
>
>Because the central aim is to attack the US state, not "Israel", which is
>_nothing but_ an appendage. It is crucial to grasp this. Likewise,
>Zionism - regardless of its European historical origins - is now entirely
>an annex of American politics and ideology. Contemporary historical
>developments have presented this to us as the prime target of
>anti-imperialism - not by choice - but necessarily so, since ideologically,
>Zionism neatly comprises all the reactionary "core values" of US
>imperialism: settler-state, Gods' country, manifest destiny, chosen people
>("americans", that is), military supremacy, race-based "democracy", the "go
>it alone, fuck the world" attitude - the thematic parallels are well
>established in American historiography.
>
>Politically, we see that US Zionist politicians (the most important of
>which have not been Jewish at all, but who have made support of "Israel"
>one of their specialties) have very much occupied a bipartisan catbird seat
>in the US regime, but with a noticeable tilt (with historical roots)
>towards the Democrats. Well, that just happens to be the party favored by
>the majority of US leftists, and attacking US Zionism would threaten the
>ongoing suppression of an organized independent Left. So, for this and
>other reasons, US Zionism is a crucial nexus for holding together the US
>regime. It's hardly the only one, but its the one that current developments
>have offered up as a target, and it is as good as any other potential
>candidate.
>
>And, when - as we should - we place the whole "Israel" question in the
>greater context of US intervention in the Middle East, we begin to see that
>this struggle is much more like Vietnam than South Africa. The US never
>seriously strove for "victory" in South Africa, but it did in Vietnam and
>it is attempting to do so in the Middle East today, where annihilating at
>least one Arab nation will serve a subjugating example for the rest. Ain't
>that how Empire's done, if necessary?
>
>And what was really radicalizing about the anti-Vietnam War struggle was
>that it caused a lot of people to begin to question these "core values", to
>begin to see that this "America" really presented a huge problem for the
>development of humanity, indeed, its number one problem.
>
>So, to focus on the so-called "foreign" state of Israel is not only besides
>the point and misleading, but a positive political disservice as
>well. This only serves to mobilize the anxieties of American Jews (who
>will reject "attacks on the state of Israel") along reactionary lines,
>while keeping the rest of the American population asleep.
>
>But it will keep the Democratic Party intact. And preserve the status quo
>among US leftists.
>
>-Brad Mayer
>
>At 12:41 PM 7/12/01 -0400, you wrote:
>>One thing I have never understand (or may understand well) is why
>>opponents
>>of Israeli repression insist on referring to it simply as Zionism, as in
>>"Zionism equals racism" when it would be simple enough, less inflamatory
>>and
>>more accurate just to say the Israeli state practices racism and
>>oppression.
>>
>>Zionism is a broad theory and ideology of population migration that had
>>many
>>strains, some of which worked closely with Palestinian groups in the early
>>part of the century. All sorts of groups over the millenium have seen the
>>need to leave their present residence to escape repression and seek a new
>>home. The world is hardly a place where every person is in the same place
>>their ancestors lived and the world map is shaped by mass migrations of
>>peoples.
>>
>>To single out the migration ideology of the Jews as uniquely racist is not
>>anti-Israel but anti-Jewish. It is the specific end-product of that
>>migration, the Israeli state that deserves the criticism, so casual
>>attacks
>>on "Zionism" rather than the Israeli state just melds anti-semitism into
>>the
>>criticism.
>>
>>As well, of course, the history of this century has such propaganda as the
>>"Protocols of the Elders of Zion" which gives attacks on "Zionism" in
>>criticisms hands an extra taint of the antisemitic propagandists.
>>
>>So I wonder why people insist on attacking "Zionism" rather than attacking
>>the Israeli state?
>

_________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list