Progressive Jews
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Heartwarming holiday surprise: Philip Weiss praises liberal Zionists and Israel Policy Forum
Saturday, December 8th, 2007
In a post that recounts an Israel Policy Forum dinner that I also attended (hat tip to Richard Witty), Philip Weiss describes his joy at discovering what has been available for years, waiting for him to encounter it: a community of American Jews who care about Israel, who consider themselves part of the Israel […]
Mearsheimer, Walt and the so-called “silent” Jewish doves
Thursday, September 6th, 2007I have read the Mearsheimer and Walt book. They have answered some–although not all– of my prayers, which were spelled out in my post on August 12th. The book is much more careful, more nuanced, more detailed and more convincing than their original paper, which was published in the Spring of 2006.
I […]
New Senate resolution: will “one-staters” sit on their hands?
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007There is a good chance that there is no hope. It may well be impossible to unravel the Gordian knot of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But there will certainly be no hope unless the U.S. gets more actively engaged and takes a more balanced approach. That is a no-brainer, isn’t it?
Americans for Peace […]
Peace Now: Remove most, but not all, checkpoints
Saturday, July 7th, 2007I took a deep breath and opened up a can of worms by discussing checkpoints and the wall in my previous post. The dilemma that confronts ordinary Israelis and Palestinians who won’t want to rely on glib rhetoric or simplistic solutions is how to reconcile two moral imperatives: the imperative of ending the occupation and […]
Why advocating a one-state solution does not help the Palestinians
Monday, April 23rd, 2007Uri Avnery, a longtime dove and gadfly of the Israeli establishment, is often quoted by people on the anti-Israel far left and Arab intellectuals. There are few Israeli Jews who have fought harder for the Palestinians or have taken a more uncompromising stand against Israel’s treatment of them. So it is worth reading a persuasive […]
Progressive answers to anti-Zionism — Part 2: Alternative visions
Wednesday, April 18th, 2007Some respondents to my previous post on “What Israel Could Be” were predictably furious that anyone could associate the word “progressive” with the word “Zionism.” They described Zionism as a movement that was, by its very definition, murderous and evil.
“Zionism” is one of those elastic words or phrases that have long since lost […]
Progressive answers to anti-Zionism — Part 1: A vision of what Israel could be
Sunday, April 15th, 2007There are perfectly reasonable, articulate, well-meaning people who share many of the values of progressive Zionists but do not believe the Jewish state should exist.
It is possible to believe this without being anti-Semitic. It is possible to believe this and still denounce protestors against the Jewish state who treat Palestinians suicide bombers as freedom […]
Worth reading: “Reclaiming the Z Word” (i.e., Zionism)
Friday, April 13th, 2007On Sunday, I am going to argue that it is important to start answering the claims of educated anti-Zionists with cogent, calm and respectful arguments, rather than engaging in frenzied efforts to deny them platforms. In the meantime, the following essay by Chris MacDonald-Dennis on why he calls himself a Zionist is worth reading. […]
Philip Weiss and the straw man of Jewish “separatism”
Wednesday, April 11th, 2007On April 1st, I remarked that a post by Philip Weiss had conveyed the far left’s discomfort with Jewish identity. Weiss’ response created so many straw men that it would take hours to torch them. But one of his ideological scarecrows deserves comment, because it is based on a notion of Jewish identity […]
The far left’s discomfort with Jewish identity
Sunday, April 1st, 2007Philip Weiss, a casual friend and often an ideological nemesis, has a fascinating, typically disturbing post about Jewish identity on his blog, MondoWeiss.
In his magazine articles and his blog, he has been asking very provocative, often necessary questions about American Jews and Israel. As a result, he has become an increasingly important […]