In practice, this has resulted in the terms of debate being set by the fringes of the far right and far left with all their attendant issues of bigotry and maximalist positions, of the kind that are persuasive only to those who require no persuasion. An echo chamber is not the same thing as a conversation. The rest of the nation, to the extent that it is even interested - and I would posit that most Americans, of the left or right, simply can't be bothered to unravel the Byzantine complexities of the Arab-Israeli conflict - has no voice in that dialogue.
Which is why I am really rather intrigued by Peter Beinart's new blog on The Daily Beast, Zion Square.
It begins with the naming. A square is a place where people meet, exchange goods and ideas, where our communities are centered. By definition, a square is open to all.
Zion, meanwhile, and note I'm writing this as a Gentile, is a deeply resonant name in our society. 'Jerusalem' is often called England's unofficial anthem. The American landscape is dotted with little Zions of our own, and in our own land of milk and honey, places matter. They form our collective memory, the ground where our dreams take hold.
We often hear - and rather loudly, at that - from the above-mentioned fringes that Zionism is in crisis. I would argue the contrary; as national liberation movements go, it is a spectacular success. The state it has built, a thriving, tolerant liberal democracy, is not something normally created in the blink of the eye of historical time. But it happened, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. You might get a sense of just how difficult that is from the paroxysms currently shaking Egypt.
Our job, as Americans, is to try to understand the complexities inherent in this unprecedented endeavor, and to do so without the rancor and division the subject so often inspires. We can't shout each other down. So why don't we try talking?
Maybe in Zion Square.
My big problem with Beinart is that he does nothing to really distance himself from those who hold him as an example of young Jewish-Americans separating from Israel. We are still staunchly pro-Israel and we are still actively engaged, We seek an Israel that is a Jewish and democratic state. The problem is that those who wish to eliminate Israel and destroy Jewish national liberation and national self-determination hold his writings up and use them to spread their distortions.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but that's not his fault. You can use anything and everything if you try hard enough, is my experience.
DeleteI say welcome to Beinart as well... Agree or disagree with him (and when I actually read him, I agree more than disagree) it is good to have progressive voices in the Zionist movement. Lately it seems the right has hijacked the movement and it is like Ben-Gurion was not the prime mover but Jabotinsky was. I reject that. I would rather align with those voices from the old Yishuv than with the revisionists. But maybe that is just me as an American speaking.
DeleteAnyway.... Just my $ .02
Here's the problem with that site, it lends legitimacy to a twisted, inflammatory asshole like this -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/20/liberal-zionism-a-contradiction-in-terms.html
And then there's the accompanying photograph in the 'article,' just classic. This is exactly what I feared would come of it.
"Any sympathies “Liberal Zionists” have for Palestinian rights generally stops at the green line. This is moral and intellectual cowardice."
And 'comments are closed.' Nice. Because surely, Munayyer can't handle any disagreement so why bother even giving anyone the opportunity to disagree? Talk about a real coward...