VTMBH Article: Body
A new generation of left-wing Jewish groups siding with the Palestinian cause has been gaining steam and press coverage as Israel's military action continues to drive protesters on both sides into the streets.
Fledgling groups on what many view as the far left are boosting their activity and membership across the country by joining pro-Palestinian rallies, conducting acts of civil disobedience, placing ads in newspapers and initiating petitions. They are also earning the expected criticism from right-wing groups within the Jewish establishment and even some mainstream left-wing groups.
The groups share certain positions well within the mainstream left in Israel itself: a call for an end to Israel's military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and, going slightly further, a demand for an immediate withdrawal that includes East Jerusalem. But some step off Israel's political map altogether by petitioning for a halt of United States aid to Israel, accusing Israel of terrorism or justifying attacks on Israeli soldiers in the territories.
Some activists in the pro-Israel peace camp accuse these groups, many of them formed since the outbreak of the intifada 19 months ago, of being anti-Zionist. The groups respond that their harsh criticism of Israel's recent incursions into the West Bank and of the occupation is for the safety of the people of Israel.
We act out of a motivation of love for both Israel and the Jewish people and we're doing what we feel will help Israel wean itself off of its self-destructive path, said Joshua Ruebner, cofounder and executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel, or JPPI.
Ruebner accuses the Israeli army of deliberately targeting civilians and calls all soldiers in the territories legitimate targets. His group helped organize an April 5 protest outside the State Department demanding the deployment of international peacekeepers to the region. Nearly two-dozen demonstrators were arrested for blocking the sidewalk.
Groups on the Jewish far-left represent a spectrum of ideas. Jews Against the Occupation supports the right to return for Palestinian refugees and calls for suspension of U.S. military aid to Israel. Not in My Name and a Women in Black vigil group in New York call for a just resolution to the Palestinian refugee problem but make no mention of a Palestinian right of return. Not In My Name calls for a suspension of military aid to Israel and Jewish Voices Against the Occupation goes one step further in calling for a reduction in economic aid. Nearly all of the above groups call on Israel to pull out of the territories immediately.
These differences on the Jewish left are expected to play out April 26-29 at a conference in Washington, D.C., to form a national Jewish peace organization, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom A Covenant of Justice and Peace. Some activists, disillusioned by what they say is a growing anti-Israel sentiment on the left, say Brit Tzedek offers a more balanced alternative in its calls for a two-state solution and by not promoting a Palestinian right of return to areas within Israel proper.
And yet JPPI, a new group of 50 that is helping to plan Brit Tzedek's founding conference, does call on Israel to recognize Palestinians right of return.
Steve Masters, a member of the Brit Tzedek organizing committee, said JPPI's views on right of return would not affect the Zionist-leaning approach of Brit Tzedek. Some organizers of the conference, however, said it is too early to tell whether the new organization will be Zionist. With the organization still in its embryonic stage, organizers pointed to its broad founding principles that state: Brit Tzedek v'Shalom is deeply committed to the well-being of Israel and all of its neighbors.
When you look at the left you see critics of the Israeli violence against Palestinians but not critics of the Palestinian violence against Israelis, said Masters, who last year formed the Philadelphia-based Progressive Zionist Alliance because he said his community lacked a dovish voice that was also Zionist.
There are new young activists energized from the anti-globalization movement whose orientation around Israel is all negative, Masters said. But founders of Brit Tzedek love Israel and we are approaching our work from a total support of Israel. Its a big difference for me.
Some on the left are also critical of some of the new groups for their willingness to equate Israeli military actions with terror attacks by Palestinians, including suicide bombings. Such an equation was drawn by Steven Feuerstein, co-founder of the 150-member, Chicago-based Not In My Name, in response to a question by the Forward.
We condemn all violence against civilians equally, including [Israeli army] attacks on Palestinians, said Feuerstein, who is also on the organizing committee for the Brit Tzedek conference. They are killing civilians in the name of Jews worldwide and I personally don't want it to be done in my name.
In a statement issued after a suicide bombing last August, Not In My Name condemned the cycle of violence in the Middle East and these occasional, dramatic, brutal crimes which also include Israeli state-sponsored terrorism, such as the use of tank shells filled with nails fired into neighborhoods, and assassinations without trial of Palestinians.
Leaders of the Labor Party-aligned Labor Zionist Alliance say such statements cross a line.
These groups are definitely lending legitimacy to the forces which seek to defame Judaism, said the executive director of the Labor Zionist Alliance, Ari Chester. What these groups are doing is drawing a moral equivalence between terrorism and military actions to prevent it. These new groups are subtly questioning the existence of Israel. It's intimated, it's an undertone, and people think that's the Jewish voice on the left because they're very vocal.
Leaders of Meretz USA, the American support group for the eponymous left-wing opposition party in Israel, said that while they are deeply critical of the current government they accuse these far-left groups of being too one-sided in their criticism of Israel. They added, however, that some Meretz USA members join protests by a few of these groups, such as vigils organized by the veteran group Women in Black.
I think these groups place a heavier onus on Israel than on the Palestinians and the Arab states, said Meretz USA Executive Director Charney Bromberg. It is important not to be so critical of Israel that the balance is disturbed, that we risk losing appreciation for the importance of American support for Israel.
But Naomi Braine, a cofounder of the New York-based Jews Against the Occupation and an organizer for the Israeli-founded Women in Black network, countered that Prime Minister Sharons military tactics endanger Israel and Jews around the world.
Israel actions against Palestinians do not make me feel safer as a Jew, Braine said, referring to the escalation of hate crimes in Europe since the military action began in the West Bank.
Organizers of the Women in Black group in New York defended their anti-occupation message at an April 4 vigil in Manhattan's Union Square. The Thursday vigil drew close to 200 people, the group's largest crowd in Manhattan since weekly vigils began last October.
I'm doing this because I'm a Jew concerned about injustice, said Irena Klepfisz, a poet and essayist who escaped the Warsaw ghetto before her father was killed as a fighter in the uprising in 1941. Jews know what its like to be without homes, they should be empathetic. Suicide bombings started a very short time ago, the occupation started 34 years ago. I dont see anyone protesting for 34 years and then stepping down because of suicide bombings. Its an excuse to not stand up for whats right.
To those who question the loyalty of Jews involved in these groups, Klepfisz said, I resent being asked if Im a loyal Jew. It has nothing to do with whether the occupation is wrong or not. The second you criticize the occupation you're not a loyal and authentic Jew. Theres no debate allowed within the Jewish community.
In a telephone interview from San Francisco, Bluma Goldstein, one of four organizers of a one-month-old ad campaign called Jewish Voices Against The Occupation and a retired University of California at Berkeley professor, seconded Klepfisz's concerns.
If a Jew criticizes Israel were self-hating Jews, and if youre a non-Jew youre anti-Semitic, said Goldstein, whose March 17 ad in The New York Times was signed by 450 people. The ad indicates there's a large body of Jewish people who oppose the policies of the Israeli government.
Represented at an April 6 pro-Palestinian march across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan were members of Jews Against the Occupation, who had helped organize the 1,200 strong protest, and members of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. Both said that although they did not agree with all the messages at the rally, such as a poster carried by one protester comparing the Star of David to a swastika, they said as Jews they could not remain silent at this time.
At this point what's needed is a coalition of as many people as possible to bring as much pressure as possible on the United States and Israel to end the occupation, said retired chemical engineer and JATO member Bert Lessuck.
Fledgling groups on what many view as the far left are boosting their activity and membership across the country by joining pro-Palestinian rallies, conducting acts of civil disobedience, placing ads in newspapers and initiating petitions. They are also earning the expected criticism from right-wing groups within the Jewish establishment and even some mainstream left-wing groups.
The groups share certain positions well within the mainstream left in Israel itself: a call for an end to Israel's military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and, going slightly further, a demand for an immediate withdrawal that includes East Jerusalem. But some step off Israel's political map altogether by petitioning for a halt of United States aid to Israel, accusing Israel of terrorism or justifying attacks on Israeli soldiers in the territories.
Some activists in the pro-Israel peace camp accuse these groups, many of them formed since the outbreak of the intifada 19 months ago, of being anti-Zionist. The groups respond that their harsh criticism of Israel's recent incursions into the West Bank and of the occupation is for the safety of the people of Israel.
We act out of a motivation of love for both Israel and the Jewish people and we're doing what we feel will help Israel wean itself off of its self-destructive path, said Joshua Ruebner, cofounder and executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel, or JPPI.
Ruebner accuses the Israeli army of deliberately targeting civilians and calls all soldiers in the territories legitimate targets. His group helped organize an April 5 protest outside the State Department demanding the deployment of international peacekeepers to the region. Nearly two-dozen demonstrators were arrested for blocking the sidewalk.
Groups on the Jewish far-left represent a spectrum of ideas. Jews Against the Occupation supports the right to return for Palestinian refugees and calls for suspension of U.S. military aid to Israel. Not in My Name and a Women in Black vigil group in New York call for a just resolution to the Palestinian refugee problem but make no mention of a Palestinian right of return. Not In My Name calls for a suspension of military aid to Israel and Jewish Voices Against the Occupation goes one step further in calling for a reduction in economic aid. Nearly all of the above groups call on Israel to pull out of the territories immediately.
These differences on the Jewish left are expected to play out April 26-29 at a conference in Washington, D.C., to form a national Jewish peace organization, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom A Covenant of Justice and Peace. Some activists, disillusioned by what they say is a growing anti-Israel sentiment on the left, say Brit Tzedek offers a more balanced alternative in its calls for a two-state solution and by not promoting a Palestinian right of return to areas within Israel proper.
And yet JPPI, a new group of 50 that is helping to plan Brit Tzedek's founding conference, does call on Israel to recognize Palestinians right of return.
Steve Masters, a member of the Brit Tzedek organizing committee, said JPPI's views on right of return would not affect the Zionist-leaning approach of Brit Tzedek. Some organizers of the conference, however, said it is too early to tell whether the new organization will be Zionist. With the organization still in its embryonic stage, organizers pointed to its broad founding principles that state: Brit Tzedek v'Shalom is deeply committed to the well-being of Israel and all of its neighbors.
When you look at the left you see critics of the Israeli violence against Palestinians but not critics of the Palestinian violence against Israelis, said Masters, who last year formed the Philadelphia-based Progressive Zionist Alliance because he said his community lacked a dovish voice that was also Zionist.
There are new young activists energized from the anti-globalization movement whose orientation around Israel is all negative, Masters said. But founders of Brit Tzedek love Israel and we are approaching our work from a total support of Israel. Its a big difference for me.
Some on the left are also critical of some of the new groups for their willingness to equate Israeli military actions with terror attacks by Palestinians, including suicide bombings. Such an equation was drawn by Steven Feuerstein, co-founder of the 150-member, Chicago-based Not In My Name, in response to a question by the Forward.
We condemn all violence against civilians equally, including [Israeli army] attacks on Palestinians, said Feuerstein, who is also on the organizing committee for the Brit Tzedek conference. They are killing civilians in the name of Jews worldwide and I personally don't want it to be done in my name.
In a statement issued after a suicide bombing last August, Not In My Name condemned the cycle of violence in the Middle East and these occasional, dramatic, brutal crimes which also include Israeli state-sponsored terrorism, such as the use of tank shells filled with nails fired into neighborhoods, and assassinations without trial of Palestinians.
Leaders of the Labor Party-aligned Labor Zionist Alliance say such statements cross a line.
These groups are definitely lending legitimacy to the forces which seek to defame Judaism, said the executive director of the Labor Zionist Alliance, Ari Chester. What these groups are doing is drawing a moral equivalence between terrorism and military actions to prevent it. These new groups are subtly questioning the existence of Israel. It's intimated, it's an undertone, and people think that's the Jewish voice on the left because they're very vocal.
Leaders of Meretz USA, the American support group for the eponymous left-wing opposition party in Israel, said that while they are deeply critical of the current government they accuse these far-left groups of being too one-sided in their criticism of Israel. They added, however, that some Meretz USA members join protests by a few of these groups, such as vigils organized by the veteran group Women in Black.
I think these groups place a heavier onus on Israel than on the Palestinians and the Arab states, said Meretz USA Executive Director Charney Bromberg. It is important not to be so critical of Israel that the balance is disturbed, that we risk losing appreciation for the importance of American support for Israel.
But Naomi Braine, a cofounder of the New York-based Jews Against the Occupation and an organizer for the Israeli-founded Women in Black network, countered that Prime Minister Sharons military tactics endanger Israel and Jews around the world.
Israel actions against Palestinians do not make me feel safer as a Jew, Braine said, referring to the escalation of hate crimes in Europe since the military action began in the West Bank.
Organizers of the Women in Black group in New York defended their anti-occupation message at an April 4 vigil in Manhattan's Union Square. The Thursday vigil drew close to 200 people, the group's largest crowd in Manhattan since weekly vigils began last October.
I'm doing this because I'm a Jew concerned about injustice, said Irena Klepfisz, a poet and essayist who escaped the Warsaw ghetto before her father was killed as a fighter in the uprising in 1941. Jews know what its like to be without homes, they should be empathetic. Suicide bombings started a very short time ago, the occupation started 34 years ago. I dont see anyone protesting for 34 years and then stepping down because of suicide bombings. Its an excuse to not stand up for whats right.
To those who question the loyalty of Jews involved in these groups, Klepfisz said, I resent being asked if Im a loyal Jew. It has nothing to do with whether the occupation is wrong or not. The second you criticize the occupation you're not a loyal and authentic Jew. Theres no debate allowed within the Jewish community.
In a telephone interview from San Francisco, Bluma Goldstein, one of four organizers of a one-month-old ad campaign called Jewish Voices Against The Occupation and a retired University of California at Berkeley professor, seconded Klepfisz's concerns.
If a Jew criticizes Israel were self-hating Jews, and if youre a non-Jew youre anti-Semitic, said Goldstein, whose March 17 ad in The New York Times was signed by 450 people. The ad indicates there's a large body of Jewish people who oppose the policies of the Israeli government.
Represented at an April 6 pro-Palestinian march across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan were members of Jews Against the Occupation, who had helped organize the 1,200 strong protest, and members of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. Both said that although they did not agree with all the messages at the rally, such as a poster carried by one protester comparing the Star of David to a swastika, they said as Jews they could not remain silent at this time.
At this point what's needed is a coalition of as many people as possible to bring as much pressure as possible on the United States and Israel to end the occupation, said retired chemical engineer and JATO member Bert Lessuck.