Beyond Left and Right: A Plea for Sanity
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Beyond Left and Right:
A Plea for Sanity
Who is a loyal critic of Israel? How can we encourage reasonable
criticism, when so much of it is irrational? The campaign to
delegitimize Israel gives new urgency to these important questions
R ecently, at a Hillel meeting in Montreal, I asked two
dozen students at McGill University for an update
regarding the “Israel situation” on campus. One student
took my question to mean, "What is it like to be pro-
Israel on campus?” Others followed his lead, sharing
depressing tales of being bullied by professors, insulted
by roommates or abandoned by friends, for supporting
Israel. Unintentionally, I had convened a group therapy
session for Zionists Anonymous.
{ By GIL TROY
46 | Winter 2012Beyond Left and Right: A Plea for Sanity /// Gil Troy
These students, whose political views ranged
from left to right, identified a problem that
Patriotic Criticism
should concern us all. The systematic campaign Admittedly, Israeli politics is frequently a blood
to delegitimize Israel – initiated by Arabs but sport. Partisans from all sides believe they must
increasingly popular among radical leftists and scream to be heard. I have many criticisms
academics – is traumatizing young Jews, often about the right’s offensive stances and tactics.
forcing them to choose between supporting But the harshness of the radical Israeli left has
Israel and feeling comfortable on campus. its own pathology, as it frequently conveys
Beyond the universities, the impact of this contempt for Israel itself. Those on the Zionist
assault on Israel’s right to exist is even more left should acknowledge how much damage the
extremists do to their own cause. Israel is often
corrosive. The obsessive hatred of Israel distorts
caricatured as a failed state, a sick society, an
international politics, encourages Palestinian
anti-democratic, racist, colonialist, imperialist
rejectionism, masks anti-Semitism, bruises
project, conveying contempt for the Zionist idea
the Jewish soul and radicalizes the Zionist
itself with the trendiest of criticisms cooked
right. Within Israel, right-wingers feed off
up by others seeking to demonize Israel.
anti-Zionism, justifying their maximalist
The extreme reaction to extreme criticism
territorial demands and their minimal trust
reveals the vulnerability many Jews continue
in Palestinians.
to feel after two millennia of persecution,
Fighting delegitimization should not be a followed by six decades of war. Our unhappy
left-right issue. Liberals should understand this history teaches that words can kill. The scope
as fighting for honesty, for mutual respect, for a of the criticism, its intensity, its volume, its
climate of opinion that could facilitate a peace hysterical comparisons to Nazi Germany and
process in addition to combating incitement South Africa, all prey on Jews’ deepest fears.
and bigotry. Yet, when many of my friends on Growing up in the 1940s, Irwin Cotler, the
the left condemn delegitimization, or reject legendary Canadian human rights activist,
the anti-Israel boycott strategy, they do so learned from his parents “that there are things
half-heartedly. They mouth the right words, in Jewish history … that are too terrible to be
but few seem to feel my students’ pain, to share believed but not too terrible to have happened.”
my outrage. Those people positioned to help Israelis have seen repeatedly how incitement
the most – leftists who champion Palestinian leads to violence. Terrorism is a political crime
rights, who advocate a two-state solution, who best perpetrated with ideological cover fire
have credibility with both sides on the great from morally confused observers and guilt-
Middle East divide – largely are silent. Such ridden targets.
silence makes many on the Zionist left complicit
in a pernicious agenda. Our unhappy history
All too predictably, in this polarizing
environment, the Jewish community has teaches that words can kill.
become obsessed about criticism, wondering
who is a loyal critic, and who a “self-hating Jew”; The topic of Israel stirs great emotions, left
struggling to define when criticism is legitimate and right. Many Jews fear the delegitimization
or constructive, and when it is illegitimate, even campaign is alienating young Jews from Israel
destructive. Leftist Zionists frequently dodge and from their Judaism. And it is hard to
the debate by caricaturing the “establishment” encourage the reasonable criticism necessary
as monolithic and intolerant. Instead, they for rational discourse when so much criticism
should take some responsibility for the debate’s is irrational, and when the demonization of
shrillness – and help change the dynamics of Israel often builds on traditional anti-Semitic
the discourse. tropes. It is equally hard to encourage rational
HAVRUTA | 47discourse when some of the support is tribal, working constantly to make America a better
not rational – about one’s identity, not the place for future generations.”
give-and-take of politics. Obama praised the patriotic critic who
Leftist critics often see the tribalism among balances loyalty with the call of conscience.
Israel’s zealous supporters, while overlooking He understood that “when we argue about
the bigotry and prejudice polluting some patriotism, we are arguing about who we are
condemnations of Israel. Pro-Israel zealots as a country, and more importantly, who we
focus on the prejudice, while ignoring justified should be.” In a passage particularly germane
criticism. Meanwhile, the bigots use justified to Israel, with its intense policy debates, he
criticism as a mask to hide their hatred, while quoted Mark Twain: “‘Patriotism is supporting
the tribalists use the irrational criticism to your country all the time, and your government
dodge difficult issues. The irrationality of those when it deserves it.’”
who disagree with us – whoever we may be – In that spirit, some leading leftists have
seems clear; somehow, we only see our own condemned the New Anti-Semitism and what
logic. the Princeton philosopher Michael Walzer calls
the “fashionable” tendency to attack Israel,
The irrationality of those in a way that is “radically disproportionate
to the actually existing wrongs,” in order to
who disagree with us “question” Israel’s legitimacy. The sociologist
– whoever we may be – Todd Gitlin, a leading 1960s’ activist, recoiled
from the way the late Nobel Prize-winning
seems clear. novelist Jose Saramago and other Israel critics
talked about “the Jews.” Remembering that
This problem is not limited to Israel. Concern the German socialist August Bebel once called
about the role and loyalty of the critic is one anti-Semitism “the socialism of fools,” Gitlin
of those perennial democratic dilemmas, condemned this “progressivism of fools. It is
especially in the United States. We should a recrudescence of everything that costs the
learn from Barack Obama’s Independence left its moral edge.”
Day address in July 2008, when he shifted
the conversation from debating the critic’s “Patriotism is supporting
loyalty to detailing the patriot’s many roles,
which include both ardent nationalism and
your country all the time,
constructive criticism. and your government
Like the Zionist left, Obama’s Democratic
Party has struggled with some allies who criticize when it deserves it.” –
so harshly they often seem to hate the state they Mark Twain
ostensibly seek to save. Obama repudiated those
who not only criticized “government policies,” Without justifying Israeli settlements,
but attacked “the symbols,” like the flag, “and Israel’s military moves, or Zionism itself, yet
in extreme cases, the very idea, of America struck by the “one-sided view of the conflict,”
itself.” Obama insisted that “most Americans along with the “intense and consistent outrage”
understood that dissent does not make one that only Israel attracted, Ellen Willis of the
unpatriotic.” He explained that “patriotism Village Voice said “left animus toward Israel
starts as a gut instinct, a loyalty and love is not a simple, self-evident product of the
for country rooted in my earliest memories.” facts.” She wondered: “What is the nerve that
Fully realized, it “involves not only defending Israel hits?” while proclaiming: “I am an anti-
this country against external threat, but also anti-Zionist.”
48 | Winter 2012Beyond Left and Right: A Plea for Sanity /// Gil Troy
The patriotic Zionist left should understand Shimon Peres, to admit any mistakes or suggest
the political payoff involved in mastering the how to avoid another deadly debacle.
Zen of democratic dissent, wherein a little Zionists left and right should assert their
less can accomplish a lot more. By restraining own patriotism, and should acknowledge
the rhetoric, by following certain guidelines, that patriotic dissent, over a wide spectrum,
criticism will be more effective, more resonant, is a Jewish and democratic value. The Torah’s "Micah the Prophet
better heard and respected. Right now, shrill teaching of “tochecha” (reproach) makes a exhorts the Israelites
attacks frequently are dismissed, depriving mitzvah of constructive criticism, entwining to repent." Etching by
Gustav Doré, 1866.
Israeli society of important inputs. If, for the commandment not to hate with the
example, whenever a left-wing organization responsibility to rebuke. Analogously, the
is criticized, the left yells “McCarthy,” the left American Constitution’s First Amendment
will be ignored. guarantees free speech and a free press –
Moreover, left-wingers should acknowledge two freedoms that are essential gateways to
the problem of Palestinian Authority incitement, criticism of the government. The ability to
and of the anti-Semitic and exterminationist reform peacefully, thanks to loving criticism,
Hamas charter. If they nevertheless can find is a secret to democratic success, exemplified
a way forward, more Israelis will hear this by America’s mostly peaceful civil rights
important pro-peace message. Many Israelis revolution in the 1960s. Supporters of a Jewish
felt betrayed not only by the terrorism that and democratic state should acknowledge the
emerged from the Oslo peace process but by importance of a big tent which, like Abraham’s
the refusal of many Oslo architects, especially in the Bible, is open on all four sides.
HAVRUTA | 49Watch Your Language Demonstrate investment – acknowledge
consensus: In democratic terms, loving your
How can we build a civil, constructive country includes loving your opponent; in
culture of criticism? I propose the following Jewish peoplehood terms, ahavat Yisrael, the
guideposts as a committed moderate, who has love for Israel, relies on a shared sense of fate,
urged rhetorical restraint on Zionists, left to of being “part of a larger story” (to use Obama’s
right. As a scholar of American history, I have language), in this case the Jewish people’s
studied the difficult problem of seeking centrist story. That sense of solidarity transcends any
leadership in the American presidency too. I ideological litmus tests. It helps when the critic
know that moderates are often dismissed for acts like one of us, rather than channeling the
uttering apple-pie sentiments. Still, I believe wicked one, the Haggadah’s “rasha,” wondering
these steps could lead toward the rational yet what all “this” means to “you.”
spirited exchange we need rather than the
primal struggle we often get. Some restraints come from
Humility is a virtue, complexity a fact
of life: Simply imposing limits on ourselves
acknowledging Israel’s
in our anything-goes society is a positive act. complex predicament, rather
The advent of the blogosphere, bypassing
traditional editorial filters, has encouraged a
than arrogantly mouthing
shrill, no-holds-barred, public discourse – for simplistic sound bites.
good and bad. Those who impose limits on
themselves rhetorically risk being outshouted. During the first “Intifada” of the late 1980s,
Nevertheless, they remain more likely to be Woody Allen, American Jewry’s celebrity bad
listened to when their temperate sentiments boy, offended many Jews by snarling at Israel:
are heard. “My goodness! Are these the people whose
Some restraints come from acknowledging money I used to steal from those little blue-
Israel’s complex predicament, rather than and-white cans after collecting funds for a
arrogantly mouthing simplistic sound bites. Jewish homeland?” Allen stayed silent about
The Zionist right often overlooks Israel’s the Yom Kippur War, the Zionism is Racism
democratic and humanitarian dilemma – how resolution, and Munich, Entebbe, and other
dare we deprive Palestinians of their basic Palestinian terrorist crimes in the 1970s. Glib
rights – while the left frequently overlooks wisecracking about Israel’s serious struggles
the security dilemma: how to protect Israeli with violence suggested his lack of investment,
lives when previous concessions yielded more in true “rasha” style. Having read thousands of
violence, not less? letters sent to different presidents that now sit
Embracing the messiness is an important in presidential archives, I can attest to the fact
first step, along with policing ourselves. For that many begin, “As a concerned citizen,” “As
decades after 1967, many right-wing Zionists, a New Yorker,” “As a fellow American.” These
in Israel and abroad, insisted that Diaspora democratic supplicants understand that their
Jews defer to Israel’s citizens to determine request – or critique – will be heard better
Israel’s borders. Yet when Israel disengaged by affirming their respective stakes in the
from Palestinian territories during Oslo and country.
left Gaza in 2005, Diaspora dissent – from the Beyond demonstrating concern, commitment
right, opposing compromise – suddenly became and continuous relationship, acknowledging
legitimate. Rather than imposing limits on our consensus helps too. Emphasizing wide zones
Pro-Israeli demonstrators of agreement, not just disagreement, defuses
rallying in Prague, 2009. opponents, we should police ourselves – then
tensions. For all the vicious fights over who is in
Photo by Martin Kozák. apply the principles consistently.
50 | Winter 2012Beyond Left and Right: A Plea for Sanity /// Gil Troy
HAVRUTA | 51and out of the pro-Israel tent, most Jews today three great sins – racism, imperialism, and
accept Israel’s existence. Until 1937, the Reform colonialism – while comparing Israel to two
movement questioned the notion of Jewish of the 20th century’s most reviled regimes,
peoplehood and the need for Jewish statehood. Apartheid South Africa and Nazi Germany.
Similarly, three decades ago it was a crime to meet Since Israel’s struggle with Palestinians is
representatives of the PLO, and Israel did not national, not racial, it is absurd to claim that
recognize the Palestinian national movement. Zionism, meaning Jewish nationalism, is racist.
Today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Knowing that colonialism means settling land
leading a right-wing coalition, has endorsed to which settlers have no prior claim, Israel is
a two-state solution, while his predecessor not a colonial project. And imperialism cannot
Ariel Sharon led a withdrawal from Gaza after describe the world’s 96th largest country holding
calling the territories “occupied.” Contrary to onto neighboring territories it acquired after
our overheated rhetoric, the consensus has a war for self-defense, given Israel’s genuine
broadened, the gap dividing center-left from security concerns and its return of the Sinai to
center-right has shrunk. Recognizing this Egypt for the promise of peace. With so many
consensus should reduce tensions, pre-empting absurd accusations piling up, and frequently
accusations of disloyalty or apathy. echoing historic anti-Semitic tropes about
Jewish perfidy or power, critics should develop
Those who impose limits their own vocabulary. Distancing their rhetoric
on themselves rhetorically from that of the haters and delegimitimizers
will earn greater credibility.
risk being outshouted. There are many ways to criticize Israel and
Zionism without being anti-Semitic. We do not
Recently, in Israel, I hosted a visiting need an alternative political correctness. We
delegation of university students associated do need language that is civil and effective,
with J Street, the outspoken pro-Israel and with a higher goal in mind.
pro-territorial compromise lobby group. Before
addressing controversial issues with these areas Building Credibility
with these "J Streeet U" students, I discussed
In light of the toxic politics regarding Israel,
some basic texts about Jewish peoplehood
critics should be vigilant about how their names
and statehood. Once we established common
and stances are used. Last winter, a petition
language acknowledging Israel’s right to exist,
circulated among American foreign policy elites
and legitimate, if occasionally paradoxical,
urging President Barack Obama not to veto a
aspirations to be both Jewish and democratic,
Security Council resolution condemning Israeli
we could navigate with mutual respect more
settlements as illegal. Some leading liberal
contentious issues about settlements, territory
Zionists, such as Peter Beinart, signed the
swaps, and how to express dissent.
petition, along with many Israel-bashers such
Beware of minefields -- watch your
as the political scientists Stephen Walt and
language: The path toward a civil discourse
John Mearsheimer, the authors of the book
about Israel and Zionism is strewn with verbal
The Israel Lobby. Beinart, whose influential New
minefields. Israel’s enemies have used certain
York Review of Books article in the spring of
terms viciously, and cleverly, trying to rob
2010 captured the anguish of American liberal
Israel of its reason for being while ostracizing
Zionists dismayed by Israel’s treatment of the
Israel. Adopting their vocabulary endorses their
Palestinians, told the Washington Jewish Week:
approach, no matter the speaker’s intention.
“I don't like publicly criticizing Israel, It doesn't
In the last four decades, opponents have
give me pleasure.” The same could not be said of
tagged Zionism with the modern world’s
fans of his co-signers. “Washington ‘ecosystem’
52 | Winter 2012Beyond Left and Right: A Plea for Sanity /// Gil Troy
on Israel is shifting – Beinart signs on with Be Constructive: Finally, critics should be
Walt & Mearsheimer,” one pro-Palestinian constructive, not because they have to – but
blogger rejoiced. By listing his name with because it works. It will only enhance their
harsh Israel-bashers, Beinart encouraged their credibility. The day the Israeli left figures out
broader fight against Israel’s existence, leaving how to reconcile Palestinian rejectionism with
himself vulnerable to right-wing accusations Palestinian rights, explaining to the Israeli center
that the extremists were his true allies. how to make progress despite the Palestinians’
Unfortunately, in such a polarized ugly track record, will be the day the Israeli left
atmosphere, innocent petition signings become restores its electoral viability, rather than having
major markers – used as symbols by both sides. a situation where the ex-Likudniks in the Kadima Gil Troy, an
Critics from the Zionist Left should keep their party masquerade as the Israel left and a truly Engaging Israel
distance from the Walt-Mearsheimer camp, leftist party like Meretz has only 3 of 120 seats Research fellow
obsessed with exaggerating Jewish power, as in the current Knesset. Akiva Eldar argued in at the Shalom
well as the Chomskyite radical left, obsessed one of his Ha’aretz columns that Meretz is “still Hartman Institute, is
with exaggerating Israel’s sins. paying for the second intifada.” Many one-time a Professor of history
Avoid essentialism: In such a heated leftists believe, wrote Eldar, that “‘we gave the at McGill University.
atmosphere, where nothing is casual, too many Palestinians everything and they responded He is the author
critics unconsciously – or effortlessly – jump with violence.’ The peace camp can't seem to of seven books in
American history
from vigorously denouncing particular policies recover [from this blow.]”
including The Reagan
to repudiating Israel or Zionism altogether. Such During America’s fall 2010 elections, the
Revolution: A Very
framing raises the stakes destructively, and comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert
Short Introduction
has an ugly pedigree rooted in anti-Semitism. made a serious call to “restore sanity” to American as well as Why I
Essentialism is the mark of the bigot, going political discourse. We need the same regarding Am a Zionist: Israel,
from “I dislike what you did and said” – in the the Zionist discourse in Israel and abroad. Honest Jewish Identity and
case of a nation state, particular policies – to "I critics of Israeli policy should distance themselves the Challenges of
dislike your essence, your very existence.” from the historic ghosts of anti-Semitism and the Today. He chairs
The most infamous ideological attack on modern ghouls advocating Israel’s destruction, the International
Israel, the UN General Assembly Declaration keeping the debate focused on actions and Education
in 1975 that “Zionism is Racism,” helped push policies, rather than Israel's essence, or Israel's Committee of
criticism of Israel from the transactional – right to exist. We can also restore sanity to the Birthright Israel and
writes regularly for
Israel’s policies – to the ontological, the debate around Israel by refuting the claim that
the Jerusalem Post.
questioning of Israel’s existence. Despite the because some people demonize Israel, criticizing
UN’s decision to repeal the resolution in 1991, Israel is forbidden; as well as the equally spurious
this new big lie survived, most notably with claim that criticizing delegtimizers is an attempt
the "Durban Strategy" of ostracizing Israel that to silence all critics.
the NGO Forum adopted at the infamous 2001 In politics today, and especially in Zionist
UN Conference against Racism, and reaffirmed polemics, combatants often define themselves
– despite much Western opposition – at the by their grievances. Our students need to see
Durban follow-ups in 2009 and 2011. Such us go beyond our anger, learning to disagree
essentialism also appears when even self- democratically, with sanity and civility yielding
professed Zionist critics express their alienation more credibility and legitimacy for important
from Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies with political positions. Our students also need to
language about being “fed up” with Israel itself. see us protecting them, defending their right
The needs for vigorous criticism, and a wide to support Israel. The burden is on the left as
spectrum of opinion, are both too important to well as the right – and the payoffs could be not
countenance such intellectual and ideological just for the left or the right, but for the Jewish
sloppiness. people and the state of Israel.
HAVRUTA | 53You can also read
