Opinion
A MIX OF IDEAS
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Editorial
Beinart's Blast
S
ome Jewish leaders are already
dismissing former New Republic
editor Peter Beinart's harsh
treatise on American Jewish leadership
because of its venue: the New York Review
of Books, a high-toned outpost for the
Israel-is-always-wrong crowd.
That would be unwise. Even while we
disagree with some of Beinart's analysis,
his essay points to critical challenges fac-
ing Jewish leaders as our community, like
the nation as a whole, becomes more bit-
terly polarized and as Israel faces growing
pressures, both internal and external.
Beinart asserts that the mainstream
pro-Israel community here turns a
blind eye to increasingly undemocratic
impulses in Israeli society regarding its
treatment of Israeli Arabs and attitudes
toward Palestinians. "For several decades,"
he writes, "the Jewish establishment has
asked American Jews to check their liber-
alism at Zionism's door, and now, to their
horror, they are finding that many young
Jews have checked their Zionism instead."
We must find ways to bridge the widen-
ing gaps between Jews with very different
perspectives on Israel's future or risk a
potentially calamitous decline in connec-
tion to the Jewish state and activism on
its behalf.
Jews on the left will find support in
Beinart's analysis for their argument that
groups like the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobby,
do not reflect the real views of a dovish
majority. Jews on the right will see con-
firmation of their conviction that liberal,
secular Jews simply don't care as much
about Israel as do more observant, politi-
cally conservative Jews.
One takeaway point underlying Beinart's
analysis: dissent is not treason. American
Jewish groups, out of a laudable passion
for Israel and an understandable fear
about its future, are increasingly intoler-
ant of dissent — and we're not talking
about dissent that questions Israel's right
to exist, but dissent about the best way for
Israel to achieve the peace and security its
citizens seek and deserve.
That, as Beinart points out, is part of
the estrangement of younger Jews from
an Israel cherished by their parents. He
favors a more open pro-Israel movement
that encompasses criticism of Israeli poli-
cies as well as the support most pro-Israel
groups feel is their obligation.
Truth is, there is plenty of healthy
debate in our community about every
aspect of Jewish life, and especially Israel.
There is, sadly, less historical knowledge
about Zionist history and modern Israel's
struggle for survival in a hostile Middle
East, especially among younger people
whose memories do not include the
creation of the state, the Six-Day or Yom
Kippur wars, the heroism of Entebbe, etc.
Instead, they know about the Rabin assas-
sination, Palestinian intifadas, unresolved
military conflicts and increasing attempts
to de-legitimize the State of Israel.
Tolerance for dissent is well and good,
but it's hard to see how pro-Israel groups
can be effective in their most important
mission — defending Israel and promot-
Greenberg's View
ing strong U.S.-Israel relations — while
also serving as forums for debate over
Israeli policy. That is especially true in
21st-century America, where ferociously
focused lobbying, not nuanced debate, is
what drives public policy.
In addition, Beinart seems to ignore
the impact years of terrorism and Arab
rejectionism had on a Jewish leadership
that saw so many peace moves met with
suicide bombers, not a willingness to
negotiate.
Beinart worries about the increasingly
Orthodox cast of American Zionism. But
that shift reflects a hard reality: drift from
commitment is not a factor in that corn-
munity as it is in so many other parts of
the Jewish world.
But it is also true that "liberal Zionism:'
as Beinart puts it, is a proud tradition
among American Jewry, and care must be
taken not to write it outside the pro-Israel
mainstream as Israel and its supporters
face.difficult new challenges. In our zeal
to defend an embattled Jewish state, it is
too easy to forget that Zionism has been a
diverse, contentious movement from the
beginning — and that active debate has
always been part of its strength.
And there is little doubt the "Israel
can do no wrong" approach of so many
Jewish groups is profoundly unappealing
to many progressive Zionists, especially
among the young, who must also be made
to feel part of a vital, vibrant pro-Israel
movement.
There is much we reject in Beinart's bit-
ing analysis, but he raises issues we can-
not afford to ignore. 0
countries compare Israel to
an apartheid state deserving
boycotts and sanctions. Even
our own American government
condemns new apartments in an
established, heavily populated
Jewish neighborhood in north-
ern Jerusalem, where 250,000
Jews live.
How do we stop the frenzy of
angry threats that back Israel's
supporters into a corner? As
Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder
of the Los Angeles-based Simon
Wiesenthal Center, writes, "It's
time for all of us who care about the State
of Israel to join together and fight back!"
When I received his "2010 Top Ten
Anti-Israel Lies" brochure in the mail the
day before I watched The Little Traitor, it
revealed clearly that one of Israel's big-
gest hurdles is convincingly explaining
why so much of the world's view is wrong.
Wiesenthal's fold-out pamphlet simply
and effectively addresses distortions
aimed at Israel and answers them with
facts clearly stated.
The map on its cover shows the little
sliver that is Israel, dwarfed by massive
countries such as Egypt, Syria, Iran and
Saudi Arabia. It confronts lies like "Israel
was created by European guilt over the
This editorial comment originated with the
Jewish Week in New York.
Fight For Little Israel
I
had never heard of the movie The
Little Traitor when my wife asked if I
wanted to join her and two friends at
the Maple Theatre in Bloomfield Township.
I didn't learn much other than it was an
Israel/USA co-produced movie based on
the novel Panther in the Basement by the
world-renowned author Amos Oz, and took
place in 1947 Palestine, just a few months
before Israel became a state.
The Little Traitor is no Avatar or Iron
Man 2 ... no violence, computer-gener-
ated special effects or giant box office
receipts. Instead, it's a simple, funny,
entertaining and touching movie about
a young boy, son of Holocaust survivors,
in British-occupied Palestine who simply
longs for the British soldiers to
leave so Israel can become its
own state.
Sixty-two years later, Israel
may be the only country in the
world still fighting to maintain
its statehood. Israel may not
be occupied by foreign troops
anymore, but it's still haunted
by the condemnation of much
of the world.
Relentless critical attacks
on Israel are hard to with-
stand. How do we counter
overwhelming critiques from
all sides? The U.N. Goldstone Report
lashes out at the Israel Defense Forces;
Little Israel on page 30
June 17 • 2010
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