Saturday, January 27, 2007
JTA reports on a meeting of the "Progressive" Jewish community out in San Francisco to address the disturbing phenomenon of the rising tide of anti-Semitism among its fellow travelers: ‘Progressive’ anti-Semitism? S.F. meet considers phenomenon:
“The growing acceptance of anti-Semitic rhetoric is so commonplace it is not even recognized as anti-Semitism,†wrote the activist, who went on to list a number of anti-Semitic incidents in her community that had left her rattled.
Despite her opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, the woman had not attended a recent anti-war rally due to her reluctance to support the group organizing the protest.
“We’ve gotten calls for help like that almost weekly here for the last three years,†said Bernstein, director of the Anti-Defamation League office in San Francisco. “With each case we’ve helped put out fires by trying to get the right person to speak out about whatever the issue is.â€
On Jan. 28 the ADL will try to do more than just douse fires when it convenes Finding Our Voice, a daylong conference in San Francisco aimed at empowering Jewish progressives to respond to anti-Semitism on the left.
Co-sponsored by more than 50 Jewish organizations from across the political spectrum — including the ADL, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, Americans for Peace Now and the Jewish Labor Committee — the conference aims to empower participants to respond to what organizers describe as an alarming trend...
That being San Francisco, the place where the Soviet Union never died, it just moved West, I'd imagine it will be quite a significant gathering of folks. There are some who are not invited, however. Perhaps they're assumed to be beyond hope, and that's probably a good assumption:
“We’ve all had to break out of our comfort zones to put this together, including myself,†Bernstein said.
But for some, the ADL hasn’t broken out enough.
Two prominent Bay Area Jewish organizations active in the progressive movement — Tikkun and Jewish Voice for Peace — were not invited to co-sponsor the conference. Two others were invited to participate but declined, citing concerns about the agenda.
Rabbi Michael Lerner, the founder of Tikkun and perhaps the most well-known Jewish progressive in the country, will be in Washington on the day of the conference protesting the Iraq war.
A spokesperson for Jewish Voice for Peace, a liberal advocacy group working on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said: “From our perspective, you cannot get to the roots of anti-Semitism in the progressive movement without honestly addressing the severe human-rights violations that Israel engages in every day. Judging by the lineup, that kind of honest examination is not likely to happen at this conference.â€
A source involved in planning the conference told JTA that it was precisely that type of discussion that organizers wanted to avoid out of concern that it would distract from the primary focus on Jewish oppression...
Ah, Jewish Voice for Peace, anywhere there's an anti-Israel protest, you'll find them, seemingly without a care in the world for who they're standing next to. When Israelis Left and Right were united this summer in their fight against Hizballah, who was out in the streets of Boston, standing next to Israel's most vicious enemies, willing to join those enemies in accusing the Jewish State of the worst of crimes? Members of JVfP.
This is narcissism drawn to the highest order -- that any evil done to me is simply a reflection of myself and therefore it is not the doer who is to blame, who has any agency, but only myself who carries the blame...and the shame.
Such is the level of self-abrogation that far Left groups like JVfP mirror to a disturbing degree hate groups like neo-Nazi National Vanguard in their choice of arch-enemies...the Anti-Defamation League of all groups.
The ADL stands in the way of both groups' favorite target of criticism...Jews.
While Wheels of Justice was motoring through Andover earlier this month, bringing their message of demonization and encouraging the divestment and isolation of the Jewish State in front of High School students, it must have given them heart to know that there was a Jewish group out there pulling for them. The new JVfP blog set up to chastise those Jews who possess the temerity to stand up for themselves has a post attacking ADL (a favorite target) and lauding two letter writers in Arlington who want to keep ADL's No Place for Hate program out of the town. Both use the Andover experience with which to beat ADL. First, from Arlington resident Hilda Bernstein Silverman:
Thank you to Ms. Silverman for making Tarsy's point. Jews speak out and even other Jews claim a backlash is deserved. ADL has a reputation and a voice earned through decade after decade of good work, and if they had not used that voice to speak up about a group not, as Silverman would have it, there to "about conditions of life for Palestinians," but for a far more sinister purpose, then they may as well not have that voice at all.
Here is Silverman on another day, so you can get an idea of where this type is coming from:
I struggle with the fact that at the height of a major crisis for the people of Israel-and to a lesser extent for Jews worldwide-I am empathizing more and more with “the other side.â€...
...I attend the magnificent Workmen’s Circle commemoration of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. People are singing their hearts out, but the words are, under the circumstances, quite jarring. There are songs of pride about Jewish honor being upheld by fighters armed only with stones and rifles against the Nazi tanks. I start to cry. I cry through the entire second act. One of my friends in the chorus later confesses only half facetiously that she got through the experience by pretending she is a Palestinian.
Days later I read of Palestinian pride that in the ferocious battle of the Jenin refugee camp a 13 year old boy threw stones at Israeli soldiers after he had run out of ammunition. Stories of such heroism are circulating widely among this devastated but still-proud people...
Gevalt.
The other letter of note for JVfP? That of Elaine Hagopian, another familiar name in these circles:
In this case, of course, it is spot on that ADL criticized a group dedicated to Israel's destruction, as Hagopian should know. She read Mazin Qumsiyeh's book (while she wasn't busy bowdlerizing Hamas' record and giving advice to the PLO). She loved it so much Qumsiyeh posted her review at his site.
Ah well, at least Hagopian herself isn't a "Jew" (that I'm aware of), but that a Jewish organization should be holding her opinions up as something praise-worthy...?
Charles Jacobs tackles the issue in his latest column: It's Hard to Be a Jew (in full):
We need some humor. Jewish PR for Israel is straight-line, humorless logic. Here’s a chuckle: The wife of the Neturei Karta fellow who was photographed kissing Ahmadinejad is suing for divorce. Jews don’t do fatwas; divorce might be the next best thing.
There is a serious question here: How should the community deal with Jewish enemies? In a significant policy shift, the ADL is holding its first conference to address anti-Semitism within the progressive Jewish left.
In Boston, Jewish radicals defame Israel daily. Of course there’s Chomsky, king of the Jewish anti-Zionists, but there’s also a host of Chomsky-lites. There’s the fellow who embraces Sabeel, a Christian organization run by Na’im Ateek who tells Christians that Jews are crucifying Palestinians, just like they did Jesus. Ateek inspires divestment campaigns against Israel. Our guy participated in the one in Somerville.
Another progressive Jewish woman does a PowerPoint all over town explaining how the Jews needlessly oppress the Palestinians with “the wall.†(As though Jews build walls for no reason. As though the inconvenience faced by Palestinians trumps Jewish lives that the terror-fence saves.) I’ve been to her presentation; she is making people in Boston hate us.
What to do with Jewish enemies? The first step is to understand them.
On one foot: It’s hard to be a Jew. We were 10 percent of the Roman Empire. If Jews were not forcibly converted, persecuted, oppressed, marginalized, massacred and gassed, the number of Jews today would equal the populations of Greece and England combined. There would have been, for every one of us walking the earth, 14 other Jews. Breathing while Jewish is a dangerous occupation. Escaping this burden has understandably tempted millions. In ancient times, to abandon Jewry one converted to Islam or Christianity. In modern times, a Jew can disappear into secularism. Marxism lured millions of Jews from their brethren with the false promise of membership in the “international proletariat.†Today, in a sort of Marxism-lite, Jews looking to run away from the burdens of our condition become “citizens of the world.†The sweetest benefit here is the pose of moral superiority. Jewish “citizens of the world†can look down on those who care to protect Jewish peoplehood: “You care only about your own small tribe, whereas I care about all of humanity.†The hypocrisy is transparent: In order to bash Israel and save themselves (so they seem to think), they abandon millions (women, gays, minorities, etc.) oppressed in the Arab/Islamic world. They’re not for the whole world. They’re just ducking the shots coming our way. Pitiful cowards.
Lenin, the communist mastermind, described anti-Westerners who became Communist sympathizers as “useful idiots.†Maybe the best thing we can hope for in the case of Jewish enemies is to make them less useful. We don’t have fatwas. But we should find a way to sue for divorce. Pay close attention to that ADL conference.
Sometimes it seems that there's no one these people won't stand up for, so long as they put up a superficially "Leftist" front...hatred with a human face.
Remember that UCC Church in Cambridge that booted the Somerville Divestment Project out of offices they were leasing on their property when they finally found out what the group was all about and when the SDP refused, as a condition of staying in their digs, that the SDP condemn all violence in the Middle East? (see: Merry Christmas to First Church Congregational UCC in Cambridge, MA)
Well look who was upset, JVfP's Martin Federman, fixture at Boston area anti-Israel protests. Federman wrote in The Jewish Advocate (both The Advocate and The Boston Globe are generous with space for these people): Bullies on the block (a snip):
Let’s be clear – there are some vicious anti-Semites out there, and some do use anti-Israel and anti-Zionist rhetoric to cover it. The targeted churches, however, have warm relations with the Jewish community and even a history of support for Israel. Nevertheless, the “activists†cannot abide anyone criticizing any of Israel’s policies. Since they cannot simply silence these voices (freedom of speech, you know), they use the one indefensible accusation: anti-Semitism. Since this is rightly a heinous accusation, old friends are intimidated into doing anything to insulate themselves from it. Consequently, these churches are frightened into second-guessing any connection with voices possibly unacceptable to Jews...
The Advocate published several very good letters in response, including from a Christian explaining that the action taken "against" (really, in cooperation with) the church was exactly the correct one. My letter was short and to the point:
Martin Federman is put out over the Somerville Divestment Project’s ejection from offices in a Cambridge Church, saying the group “questions Israeli policies.â€
In fact, the group is explicit in opposing the existence of world’s sole state for the Jews, is run through with hardcore anti-Semites, many of whom routinely show up to disrupt Jewish sponsored events, are prolific purveyors of the most hateful rhetoric and, when given a last opportunity by the church to condemn all violence in the Middle East, refused to do so. So much for the Jewish Voice for Peace.
A church has every right, in fact, they have a responsibility, not to be associated in any way with such a group, particularly one known for making the most of such associations, no matter how tenuous.
If Federman is so upset about the eviction, why doesn’t he let the SDP shack up in his basement?
In Federman's words, "Let's be clear here." Even Nazis, fringe anti-Semites and those who would call for a second genocide against the Jews, like many of those in the Somerville Divestment Project, have a right to speech. They do not, however, have a right to speech unresponded to, nor do they have a right to that speech at all times and in all places, such as public High Schools or Churches which do not wish to be seen as affiliated with their message.
The writer, by the way, was one of those Jews in the audience who was most rude back in '05 when I went to see Robert Spencer speak:
Ah well, some things never change, though I hold out hope for a transformation. In the mean time, we'll just have to keep speaking out, in spite of, as Jacobs puts it, the cowards, as well as the haters, both of self and other. There is a silver lining, after all. The fact that the Jewish Community is so diverse that it even has people within it working overtly with its enemies puts the lie to the conspiracies.
JVfP and their ilk are just going to have to sort out the difference between criticism, even of the vociferous variety, and true crushing of dissent. The truth of the matter is that theirs is the call that political radicals of all stripes have had since time immemorial -- they desperately want to get their radical message into the mainstream, and almost any ally on the way to their goal is justified, but the mainstream won't have it. It doesn't fit. The rest of us -- Jews and Gentiles -- recognize the detritus they drag along with them, even if they themselves don't notice or don't give a damn.
Post Script: Excellent radio interview with Anthony Julius, the British attorney who will be keynoting the conference that started this post. This is via Norm who has a lot of good stuff today (go look) and quotes from the interview concerning, by coincidence, "the 'muzzling' of debate":
Brilliant piece - so many of us on the Left are just shocked by what's happening - the sense of having been stranded and betrayed by "our" wing of the political spectrum - and when it's our fellow Jews adding fuel to the flames it's especially difficult to handle.
I think the term "narcissism" is appropriate. I hadn't thought of it in those terms. But indeed it is utterly selfish, whether it's a member of Neterei Carta kissing Admadijenad, or some fool marching with Hezbollah supporters, and these people deserve a spanking.
This doesn't mean we can't "criticize Israel." But I think we all know that the resurgent and truly frightening antisemitism we're seeing isn't "criticizing Israel." It's the ugly old conspiracy theories, the blood libels, the accusations of dual loyalty, the willingness to believe the absolute worst - and buying into that stuff is suicidal.
Worse, it's endangering all of us and it's doing nothing to promote reconciliation in the Middle East. It's muddying the waters, in fact, it's indulging the extremists and giving cover to the bigots. It is costing lives, not saving them, by endorsing the worst, excusing the worst, instead of fighting for the best, the nonviolent, loving solution.
So please - if this is you - STOP. Stop and think - we have a responsibility, as members of a community, to help one another. And marching around with a swastika scrawled on the Star of David - literally or figuratively - isn't helping.
"The hypocrisy is transparent: In order to bash Israel and save themselves (so they seem to think), they abandon millions (women, gays, minorities, etc.) oppressed in the Arab/Islamic world."
Which they try to cover with
"“From our perspective, you cannot get to the roots of anti-Semitism in the progressive movement without honestly addressing the severe human-rights violations that Israel engages in every day. "
So for these progressive "Jews" the Palestinians are the "Ubermenschen"?
Sophia,
These people, to my way of seeing things, are "bleached" of Jewishness and then their behaviour gets the better of them and far from being appreciated for it, they become the target for non-Jewish anger which ends up including all Jews.
It seems that the ACLU crowd of "Jewish names" is already causing some tension in the US.
An example from South Africa of frustrated but not necessarily anti-semitic people
http://southafricasucks.blogspot.com/2006/12/its-not-just-whites-who-are-gatvol.html
"As with the Jewish community, they helped build South Africa into a regional economic superpower. And similar to the Jews, many came forth from their ranks to establish the corrupt Marxist regime which has been foisted on a long-suffering South Africa. The Jews cursed us with KGB colonel Joe Slovo and that repulsive slimebag Ronnie Kasrils, ..."
(Mr. Kasrils, Minister of Intelligence in the ANC government has been particularly nasty to the Jewish community)
http://supernatural.blogs.com/weblog/2006/12/ronnie_kasrils_.html
"Ronnie Kasrils: SA Minister of Totalitarian Affairs"
"This is the same Ronnie Kasrils who has been campaigning tirelessly to sever South African diplomatic ties with Israel and to impose anti-Apartheid type sanctions on the Jewish state."
They will not heed your plea to stop and think because they do not wish to associate themselves with your community. They are utterly selfish people.
"Days later I read of Palestinian pride that in the ferocious battle of the Jenin refugee camp a 13 year old boy threw stones at Israeli soldiers after he had run out of ammunition. Stories of such heroism are circulating widely among this devastated but still-proud people... "
Erekat's version?
There was an 11 year old who blew himself up and several Israelis when they went to attend to his "crying" in the approximately 300 ft by 300ft piece of real estate that was "Jenin".
But nothing about the booby-trapped ground floors, the women and children "human shields" on the second floor and the great heroes on the upper floors and roofs of the apartment blocks?
Thank you for the link about South Africa.
"Bleached of Jewishness" - good phrase.
Maybe, we should work to once again, seek the core of what it means to be Jewish.
It isn't necessarily being "religious", it is - look at "Neturei Carter":)
But we have a long, rich history, and certainly - let's face it - a culture of surviving against incredible odds. We try to be creative, to build and contribute. We have a tradition that says, "L'chaim"! and rejects the seductive allure of death: it's important to live, to try and do good HERE and NOW.
Our very symbol, the Star of David, marries opposites. It's a Buddhist symbol as well. Heaven and earth, good and evil, all incorporated into the wholeness, the oneness, that we perceive.
I think all of us are valuable, as each and every human, plant and animal is valuable, has a purpose. But if we have a problem it's in a kind of self-hatred and a lack of ability to accept the fact that, yes, we have survived.
Maybe we feel guilty about that. Maybe, in regard to Israel, we feel guilty that not only did we manage to survive Holocausts, pogroms, 2,000 years of diaspora with its brutal persecutions, and second-class citizenship in the East, where we were very vulnernable - look at Yemen right now - but yes, look at Israel. Israel DID survive. And that required surviving a horrible civil war, it required somehow outsmarting the perfidious Brits, it required the 1948 war and the tragedy of the Nakba - and so many wars and acts of terrorism since.
Yes, we're bloody. We survived and in so doing, we've done harm.
What was the alternative?
It's hard for some of the most sensitive, well-meaning souls among us to deal with that. But let me ask them this: does the mother lion shrink from feeding her cubs? Or should she consign them to starvation because hunting strikes her as being evil? Should she refuse to defend them from predators because clawing a hyena might be unkind?
We could give up being Jewish. We could just say, oh to hell with it, let's just try and assimilate, because keeping the covenants makes us different, and that makes us a target, and defending ourselves gets us bloody and dirty when we manage to survive at all.
Many have tried that only to find that generations later, they were killed and tortured anyway, and lost something precious in the meantime.
So I say, let's be Jewish, and let's forgive ourselves for having survived, and let's celebrate what's good and beautiful about us, about Israel, and keep working to do better.
What more can anybody do? Shall we be ashamed of that humble goal?
"Yes, we're bloody. We survived and in so doing, we've done harm."
No, we have not done harm. We have been harmed.
We did not go out willfully, deliberately, premeditatedly to cause harm. We did not go out to destroy another for the fact that he is different.
We just wanted to live life according to the social teachings of right and wrong, of justice, honesty, sincerity bequeathed by our forefathers but were forced to fight for every breath.
"There is a silver lining, after all. The fact that the Jewish Community ... even has people within it working overtly with its enemies puts the lie to the conspiracies."
Sorry, but I don't think so. Those who are determined to believe in a Jewish conspiracy will simply say that these radically anti-Zionist Jews are simply brave souls who dare to follow their consciences, break ranks with their brethren, and speak out.
To add insult to, well, insult, those determined conspiracy believers will then use their liking for such "brave" Jews as proof that they're not anti-Semitic, just anti-Zionist.
On another subject. I don't know if the star of David is a Buddhist symbol, but I do know that it is a Hindu one. On palaces and mausoleums in India, you'll see stars of David on the walls. In fact, you'll also see swastikas, which are also Hindu symbols. One Indian man told me that there's a legend in India that Hitler eventually lost the war because he made that Indian holy symbol stand for something that was against everything the Indian swastika traditionally stood for.
I ask, where is a group called "Muslim Voice For Peace" that denounces Fatah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas for brainwashing young people to become "suicide warriors"?
Where is "Muslim Voice for Peace" that trys to disrupt Hamas nazi saluting rallies?
There ain't any because to do so would result in a death fatwah on all who would be members of such an organization.
Sadly there are too many what someone else called "Jews who are PROUD to be ashamed they are Jews".