This article resonates with me deeply. For a long time I have thought that it should be possible to be simultaneously pro-peace, pro-Palestinian, pro-Israel, pro-human rights, & pro-social justice. And yet, as an American Jew, I get messages from my community that this is not possible. I have even been criticized for suggesting it! Among Jews, I am often told that Israel must come first. Praying for peace with the Palestinians (and btw yay that the right is finally referring to them as Palestinians) is allowed, but criticizing Israel is problematic. Among social justice activists, there is often no room for loving Israel or even open debate about identity & the conflict. No wonder that so many left leaning American Jews see anti-occupation activism & BDS as their only option for Israel engagement. It is just so challenging to reconcile identities -- it is my Jewish identity that connects me to the holy land, and yet it is also what estranges me from it. Israel claims to be “the Jewish state,” and yet its Occupation policies and the violence that flows from those policies have a devastating impact on the ethical claims of the Jewish people, defame God’s name, and leave a historical memory that for thousands of years will plague our people in the eyes of others and in the relationship that ethical Jews will have to our traditions.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 14:30:03 +0000
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