Too often, the rhetoric around Israel and Palestine on campus is polemical, rigid and one-sided. The advocates for each side generally do not think about the legitimate national rights of the other community. We throw facts at each other to demonstrate that the other side is wrong and does not have legitimacy. In this heated debate, many progressive Jews who do not see a contradiction in being pro-Israel and pro-Palestine have been silent. We are frustrated by both sides and are often mischaracterized by both. The pro-Palestinian side sees us as apologists for Israel while the pro-Israel side tells us that hate ourselves and that we are putting Israel in harm’s way. Though we may defend Israel to some, we often do not speak against the Occupation or the ways in which the Israeli government miss opportunities for peace because we see Israel under attack.
It is time for us to find our voice and stop being silent.
If anything has forced me to find my voice, it is the recent controversy around the Union of Progressive Zionists and the Israel on Campus Coalition. We have much to celebrate this week as the Israel on Campus Coalition chose not to throw out the Union of Progressive Zionists at the urging of the right-wing group, Zionist Organization of America for bringing the group Breaking the Silence. However, as progressive Jews who support Israel, whether we identity as Zionists or not, we should be afraid that our voice is being silenced in our own community.
It is time for us to take back the term “pro-Israel” from groups such as AIPAC and ZOA. We need to name those groups for what they are: pro-Likkud or pro-rightist. As an academic, I welcome their voices at the table and will certainly entertain their ideas. However, they have silenced alternatives voices from the Left who care deeply about Israel. Many will state that they challenge voices that are critical of Israel but we all know that these groups have challenged Left-wing governments of Israel and have not supported the actions of Israel as it pursues peace. Thus, they too challenge the Jewish state. So do we, but for different reasons. We care about security and justice for both Israel and Palestine. It is time that we break the silence that being pro-Israel means following a certain political line and means we cannot challenge Israel on the occupation or its treatment of its Arab citizens. It is time for us to make our voices heard.
