Bernie Sanders and the Plight of Jews Who Criticize Israel

[oberliner]

When you’re a Jewish person who is willing to criticize the State of Israel, you quickly discover three things:

1. To many other critics of Israel, the authenticity of your position will be constantly questioned. Indeed, whereas a non-Jewish critic of Israel can easily acknowledge that the situation is complicated, a Jewish critic is often held in suspicion if he or she makes any concessions whatsoever to points made by the Israeli government or pro-Israel camp. If you aren’t as radically anti-Israel as possible, in their eyes, you’re a covert Zionist.

2. Even if you don’t initiate conversations about Israel, frequently you will be expected to discuss it by simple virtue of your heritage. Because you are a Jew, the expectation is that you should be held particularly accountable for the actions of a government on the other side of the Atlantic.

3. None dare call it anti-Semitism.

This issue came to mind because of a recent incident at a Bernie Sanders rally. Apparently a staffer ordered that several activists from Boston Students for Justice in Palestine be ejected from the event after they were seen holding a sign saying, “Will Ya Feel The Bern For Palestine?” Although the campaign immediately apologized and explained that this was an error from an individual staffer—and Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver has since removed the staffer from his position, reiterating that the Sanders organization has always been open to protests—this didn’t stop Murtaza Hussain of The Intercept from condemning Sanders as a “not-entirely-progressive” supporter of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

To paraphrase Daniel Patrick Moynihan: Hussain has the right to his own opinions, but he doesn’t have the right to his own facts. Hussain starts by claiming that during a town hall meeting last year, Sanders told audience members to “shut up” when they tried to “question him about U.S. support for Israel” and accuses him of “attempting to change the subject to ISIS.” If you watch a video of the event, what you’ll actually see is Sanders offering a nuanced analysis of the Israel-Palestine conflict—he criticizes Israel for its overreaction and bombing of UN facilities but acknowledges their legitimate security concerns about Hamas – and only getting frustrated when hecklers tried to make it impossible for him to answer their questions.

http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/bernie-sanders-plight-jews-criticize-israel-mrzs/#sthash.1mIt07VG.dpuf

[dougolat]

1. The touchiest subject of all

'verbally mined territory' so to speak, with the booby-traps and mines coming from all sides.
That's a problem because matters like Gaza need attention, but good luck covering that, since derailing disruption seems inevitable, if not immediate.

[oberliner]

2. Yes, indeed

Sanders has handled it well thus far, in spite of the challenges.

[sabrina 1]

5. Good points, we've seen it right here on DU sadly.

[beam me up scottie]

3. Good read.

Perhaps the worst part of all this, though, is that they inject covert bigotry into a debate that needs none of it. Make no mistake about it: It is entirely possible to criticize the Israeli government, military, and right-wing political establishment without being anti-Semitic. Indeed, I’d go so far as to say that one of the biggest problems with America’s foreign policy in the Middle East is that pro-Israel hawks have successfully stifled opposition by lobbing the “anti-Semite” charge at their critics even when it doesn’t apply (which is most of the time). By relegating Palestinians to a state of second-class citizenship, stealing Palestinian land through building settlements, and engaging in disproportionate warfare that takes thousands upon thousands of Palestinian lives, Israel has developed an appalling human rights record that is deplored by decent people everywhere.

At the same time, when a Jewish person who recognizes these things is automatically assumed to be pro-Israel simply because of their background, that is anti-Semitic. It may not be chic to say as much (I am certain, if nothing else, that I will receive considerable backlash for being a “Zionist” for making this point, despite my own views on Israeli policy) but it’s true nevertheless. Whether they realize it or not, the people who can look at the record of a Jewish critic of Israel – be it Bernie Sanders or anyone else – and only see evidence that they’re too pro-Israel is operating from a bigoted assumption.

This kind of prejudice needs to be called out. The time to start is now.

Thank you for posting this, oberliner.

[artislife]

4. They had a booth outside the evening Seattle event

Nothing big, no drama..hardly any impact from what I could tell.

[Chitown Kev]

6. This is a sensitive topic

Remember, Dr. West hesitated for a bit on a formal endorsement of Sanders because of the Israeli-Palestinian issue and even mentioned it in his formal endorsement.