Post-Zionism Zionism

Avi Zer-Aviv
March 7, 2006

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As a Jewish Israeli Canadian with a calling for social justice work, my focus has been on critiquing and challenging the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. I've lied down in front of Israeli army jeeps, been tear-gassed repeatedly and protested the Occupation at every opportunity. I've even been called a "radical" by self-identified lefties.

Yet for all my kvetching, Zionism has been a sacred cow I dared not touch. My dissidence has been the call for a two-state solution, with the inherent assumption of Israel being a "Jewish, secular, pluralistic and democratic State".

How dare I go after Zionism, the collective dream of Jewish national self-determination after so much genocide and slaughter? How dare I question the idea of a Jewish State when so many other groups base their identity on a state for their people? After all, I support self-determination and self-government for Tibetans, Kurds, First Nations of North America, Hawai'ians and other persecuted groups. Why would I even consider challenging the idea of a national homeland for my people, the Jews?

I've sat in on a lot of "anti-Zionism" talks and lectures, and always found myself ready to jump out of my seat and yell "hypocrisy." For all the posturing about Zionism being racism, Israel being a colonialist State and Jewish self-determination a paranoid reaction, not once have I heard a detailed vision or strategy for a post-Zionism that addresses Jewish concerns about safety and securi ty. The talk usually proceeds and concludes with the vision for a one-state solution rooted in a f ull right of return for Palestinian refugees, with some mention of "democracy" and "secularism".

As a Jewish Israeli with familial roots in the founding of the State of Israel, the plight of the Palestinian refugees is much more than a "fine detail" to be negotiated in an Oslo-style peace agreement. The fact that my country is built upon Arab homes and villages, including the suburb of Te l Aviv I grew up in, makes me a culprit in the story, just as my choice to live in Canada makes me a culprit in the story of colonialist Canada and the oppression of First Nations peoples here.

The fact that millions of Palestinian refugees live in third world conditions while Jewish Israel is live in their homes makes for a distasteful wake-up call. The fact that according to Israeli law, I have "the right of return" to Israel always, while my Palestinian brethren seeking entry are denied citizenship, is a testament to Zionism's dirty underbelly.

I'm not for demonizing Israel and joining the choir of rigid and simplistic voices calling for Her dissolution. Yes, Zionism has a very ugly side. And yes, Zionism as it is practiced is quite racist and exclusionary. And where would my grandmother, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor, go if Israel was not around? For all their talk of civil liberties and freedoms, Canada, the United States an d the global community certainly did not want all the Jewish survivors and refugees. Where would I be now if Israel was never around? A second-class citizen in a racist Europe? A refugee? Alive?

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the plot thickens and the simple "good versus evil" analogy (sorry, Dubya) is shattered. Does this mean that Jewish human rights take precedence to Palestinian rights? Absolutely not. Does this mean that the creation of a Jewish State is nothing more than a racist idea embedded in Jewish paranoia? No way.

Dilemma. Dilemma. Dilemma. Or as my sage friend would say, "Opportunity, Opportunity, Opportunity."

For all the debate, protesting and ideology, who is articulating a vision that works for BOTH Arabs and Jews? Who is articulating a process that seeks to build a foundation for Arab-Jewish cooper ative coexistence? Who is preaching a solution that speaks to the plight of the refugees, while speaking to the self-preservation instinct of the Jews?

I hate manifestos, and the thing I hate even more than manifestos is a "know-it-all" attitude. Two-state, one-state, no-state (my personal favorite) - these mean nothing without considering the p eople who are supposed to live in them. So I leave with a series of questions I would love explored and answered not primarily through theory, but through lived experience.

How do Arabs and Jews live together in or as a nation while being respectful and sensitive to one another's needs?

What needs to happen to change the hearts and minds of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians to embrace each other's struggles, break down all walls of separation and build a cooperative system root ed in full respect and dignity?

How can we make room for the full return of all Palestinian refugees to their ancestral homeland, while ensuring Jews full self-determination of their own affairs and full protection of their human rights?

What do we need to do to let go of all fear that separates Jew and Arab, and embrace a truly pluralistic, secular, democratic, multicultural and loving society?

I'm challenging you to add your questions here, or begin looking at these ones. Subscribe to www.salaam-shalom.blogspot.com and let's dialogue.

This article was inspired by reading the book 'Dancing On Live Embers: Challenging Racism in Organizations' (authors Tina Lopes and Barb Thomas).

 

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