Philip Weiss writes:
The news from the Jewish Federations’ General Assembly in New Orleans is important. I announce landmarks every 100 yards, but this is a big one. The significance of the event is that several young Jews calling themselves proud Jews took Palestinian solidarity into the Jewish family and made trouble with an explosive disruption of rightwinger Netanyahu’s speech. These Jews were brave and surely inspired by the countless brave Palestinians who have taken far greater risks in the occupied territories. But they said, this is our place to voice our anger, an official Jewish space. We are part of the Jewish community. Deal. And the official community responded with rage and violence.
These young people are liberators. The Jewish family will never be the same; the fight has begun inside the family and begun openly at last. Now Netanyahu, whose coalition included fascistic elements, has finally been called out to his face inside the Israel lobby, by angry young Jews, as their parents’ generation swallowed his ethnic cleansing and landgrabbing.
Last year at J Street, the Palestinian solidarity types were quiet. Rabbi Eric Yoffie attacked noble Richard Goldstone in a keynote speech and some people booed but they swallowed it. The panels were all Zionist. Jonathan Chait attacked this website twice during a panel with Matt Yglesias, and I said nothing about it. Passive. I thought, what is my place here, am I a real Jew?
It is only right that the moral Jews should be the ones to clean house in Israel. The excesses and murder committed in the name of Israel are their burden, too.
The Tao Te Ching says “That which must be shrunken must first be stretched out”. By the turn in the dialogue this week, the elections of November 2nd seem to have been the limit of the stretch. Those Americans who have been hiding their heads in the hopes things will get better are beginning to open to reality.
Building consensus is over — not that it ever started — and the gloves must come off.
I have to ask the question: “Why is it that the United States has more Jews than Israel”? Is it because in Israel, only the fanatics who are fast approaching if not already there, no different than the NAZI’S of WWII? As I’ve said many times before, what a waste of human power today in Israel, instead of taking a leadership role, building a peaceful Middle East, the instead promote ugly hatred while instilling the youth left there to carry on the whine & snivel.