Opinion

OTHER VIEWS

Overcoming Anti-Zionism

T

he "Sabeel Peace, Palestine and
U.S. Policy Conference" was held
in Birmingham Sept. 25-27 at the
First Presbyterian Church. Sabeel means
"the way" or "a spring" in Arabic. Sabeel
membership is primarily American and
Palestinian Christians and they
say they are pro-Palestinian
rather than anti-Israeli. It is
splitting hairs.
Sabeel has been influential
in generating hostility towards
Israel, and its use of theologi-
cally charged accusations has
belied its professed passion for
reconciliation. Sabeel, which
rejects Zionism on theological
grounds, has promoted the
idea that Zionism is based on
a false reading of the Bible and
it stands for injustice and in
opposition to God.
In addition, Sabeel often compares the
Palestinians to the crucified Jesus, and
Israel to his murderers, alluding to the
ugly and false deicide charge against all
the Jewish people — a concept rejected
by prominent historians and repudiated
by the Roman Catholic Church and other
Christian denominations.
The conference's speaker roster was
filled with Jewish speakers: Anna Baltzer,

Ilan Pappe, Joel Kovel. These Jewish names
and voices add a certain cache to the left-
leaning crowd and add legitimacy to their
cause. If the Jews find fault with Israel
then for sure their cause is correct.
The language at this kind of conference
is always one-sided, incendiary
and inflammatory. The fence
becomes a wall; the settlements
become occupation and the
entire situation becomes apart-
heid.
I have read the books of the
speakers and they discuss the
brutality of Palestinian life.
They are choked off from their
livelihood, separated from their
families, oppressed in every
aspect of their lives. They are
stripped of their dignity, unable
to move freely and unable to go
to work or to school because of
the illegal colonization.
Balzter, a Fulbright Scholar, frequently
uses inciting verbiage like genocide and
apartheid, no legal justification, inhumane
treatment and perversion of Zionism. She
continues to claim that the Palestinians
are quiet, nonviolent resisters.
In all the material that I have read by
the presenters, there is nary a mention
of terrorism or suicide bombers. I read

about nonviolent
resistance and
complaints about
the wall, the living
conditions and
the checkpoints.
As much as no
one likes the
fence, 90 percent
of terrorism has
stopped and
deaths from sui-
cide bombings
have been dra-
matically reduced.
Kovel, author
of Overcoming
Zionism:
Creating a Single
Democratic
Dr. Bruce Sherizen of Oak Park along with other protestors orga-
State in Israeli
nized by the Zionist Organization of America-Michigan Region
Palestine, who
outside the Sabeel conference
recently lost
his publishing
deal with Pluto Press at the University
of the Middle East:' He, too, usually uses
of Michigan, consistently argues that the
highly charged rhetoric like the potential
inner contradictions of Zionism have led
Palestinian state is more aptly called a
Israel to a "state sponsored racism."
concentration camp than a state-in-wait-
He continues to argue in Overcoming
ing.
Zionism "only a path toward a single-
He also says that "as long as Israel
state secular democracy can provide the
justice essential to healing the wounds
Overcoming on page A39

Growth And The Economy

I

n the 1980s, I had a high school
teacher named Mr. Buford who was
also the football coach. One day, he
decided to reveal to us the truth of our
future. Here, in an affluent Bloomfield
Hills school, he began slamming his fist
onto one student's desk and screaming,
"You will live a less-affluent life style
than your parents! You will pay for all of
Reagan's spending!" We were all pretty
aware that Mr. Buford doubled as the foot-
ball coach and sometimes used his coach
voice during social studies; but this was
loud, really loud, and I never forgot it.
We are currently submerged in a severe
economic crisis. But what we do not yet
fully appreciate is that we are also sub-
merged in a cultural crisis. If the Roman
Empire falls, what will be the new identity
of the Romans? If we are not as a country

A38

October 30 • 2008

super rich, super powerful, and
ence in multiple countries. We
super human, who are we? After
will cease to be the provocative
the mastectomy, what is the
self-appointed leader of the
body fundamentally? How does
neighborhood. With a little
the woman learn to reconstitute
more growth, we may even
her sense of self?
learn to work well as a team
I believe in the value of
with other nations.
forming new identities in the
The gift of this crisis is that
moment that they are neces-
we will cease to see ourselves as
sary because I believe that life
responsible for implementing
is fundamentally a process of
and maintaining the New World
Rabbi Tamara
positive growth. The process of
Order. Other nations will share
Kolton
reconstituting our identity as a
the
burden and the responsibil-
Community
country will ultimately serve us
ity
as
they see fit. Our soldiers
View
in big ways. We were not head-
can stop dying a world away.
ing in the right direction. As a country, we
What did the football coach know than
had lost our sense of gravity.
that we are only beginning to learn? He
Without the illusion of unlimited
knew that our behavior would bring about
resources, the United States will not be
the end of a certain kind of America. But
able to hold an aggressive military pres-
endings are also beginnings, however

uninvited; they are an opportunity to for-
mulate new identities based on all accu-
mulated knowledge and even wisdom.
No one wants to grow. But growing we
must do. The life of a nation reflects the
lives of the people who make it so.
Our country is embarking on a new
journey that ultimately will be a positive
one. It may be exactly what we need to
save us. Ironically this crisis may insure
the very way of life that we are so afraid
to lose.
How will we emerge as a nation from
this crisis? We will not emerge as a big-
ger nation but we will emerge as a better
nation.

❑

Tamara Kolton is rabbi at the Birmingham
Temple, Farmington Hills.