Pages

Search This Blog

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Is Liberal Zionism Dead?


Is Liberal Zionism Dead?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/08/opinion/liberal-zionism-jerusalem.html



Allan Brownfeld has sent the following letter to the editor of the New York Times:

To the editor,
      Congratulations to Michelle Goldberg for her column, "Is liberal Zionism dead?"
      She is surely correct in lamenting that Israel is moving away from a two-state solution and is now considering the annexation of the West Bank.  A "one-state solution" without giving the Palestinians equal rights would indeed create a state similar to apartheid-era South Africa.
      Where Ms. Goldberg may be wrong, however, is in assuming there was ever such a thing as "liberal Zionism."  From the beginning of the Zionist settlement, Zionist  leaders intended to dominate all of Palestine.  In the late 19th century, when Zionism began, Palestine had approximately 340,000 people, only 13,000, or 4% of whom were Jewish.  Even when the state of Israel was established by the U.N. in 1948, Jews constituted a minority of the population.
      In 1937, David Ben-Gurion revealed his strategy:  "After the formation of a large army in the wake of the establishment of the state, we will abolish partition and expand to the whole of Biblical Palestine..We will expel the Arabs and take their places."
      From the beginning, Zionism intended to dominate all of Palestine.  Sadly, in response to the Holocaust, Jews in America,who previously opposed Zionism, acquiesced.  In this sense , the indigenous population of Palestine may be said to be the final innocent victims of the Holocaust.
      Sadly, the moral integrity of Judaism has been challenged by support for such an enterprise.  For too many Jews in recent years, the state of Israel has become a virtual object of worship, a form of idolatry similar to the golden calf in the Bible. The idea of "liberal Zionism" is more a matter of wishful thinking than historical reality.
      Sincerely,
                  Allan C. Brownfeld,
                        Publications Editor, American Council for Judaism

No comments: