Israeli occupation Middle East peace process Palestinians Progressive Jews

Peace Now: Remove most, but not all, checkpoints

I 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 […]

Far left Israel Middle East peace process Palestinians Progressive Jews

Why advocating a one-state solution does not help the Palestinians

Uri 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 […]

American Jews Far left Israel Palestinians Progressive Jews Zionism

Progressive answers to anti-Zionism — Part 2: Alternative visions

Some 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 a […]

American Jews Anti-Semitism Far left Israel Palestinians Progressive Jews Zionism

Progressive answers to anti-Zionism — Part 1: A vision of what Israel could be

There 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 […]

American Jews Anti-Semitism Far left Israel Jewish identity Palestinians Progressive Jews Zionism

Worth reading: “Reclaiming the Z Word” (i.e., Zionism)

On 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. It […]

American Jews Anti-Semitism Far left Israel Jewish identity Palestinians Progressive Jews Zionism

Philip Weiss and the straw man of Jewish “separatism”

On 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 that is […]

American Jews Anti-Semitism Far left Israel Palestinians Progressive Jews Zionism

The far left’s discomfort with Jewish identity

Philip 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 figure to […]

American foreign policy Israel Israel lobby Progressive Jews

Should Arab Americans and Jewish Americans join a new lobby?

Yesterday, Aviva called for a survey of American Jews and American Palestinians, indicating that the voices of the majority in both communities are often not heard. Great idea. What follows is an edited excerpt from a book I’m working on, tentatively titled “A Lobby for the Rest of Us.”   It is followed by another question from me. […]