The JC features extracts from essays recently published in Bicom’s Fathom Journal about the polarised conversation the diaspora is having about the Jewish state
November 18, 2018 08:01
Former chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council
“The British Jewish community’s discourse around Israel is now so polarised, vicious and impoverished that it constitutes a long-term existential threat to the community. An emergent Jewish hard-left, virtually indistinguishable from the anti-Zionist far-left in its animosity towards Israel, seeks to drive a wedge between the Jewish community and the Jewish state.
"An emergent Jewish hard-right, meanwhile, uses increasingly aggressive tactics to intimidate and censor those members of the community who recognise an urgent need to debate Israel’s current direction of travel and who worry about the effect this drift has on our community and our relationship with Israel…
“The polarisation within the community is, of course, complicated by events both in Britain, particularly the rise of Jeremy Corbyn and with him the antisemitic anti-Zionism of the leadership of the British left, and in Israel, primarily through the increasingly right-wing actions and rhetoric of the Netanyahu government, as exemplified by the Nation State Law…
“It is vital for a dynamic, strong diaspora community to maintain a robust and resilient Zionism and to be authentically engaged with Israel, but that is only possible if it is grounded in reality, intellectually honest and rooted in our values…
“For criticism to be acceptable, it needs to meet three criteria.
“First it needs to take place within the framework of the values set out above Israel’s legitimacy as a Jewish state, strong belief in Israel’s need for security, strong belief Israel must remain democratic, strong belief Israel should seek lasting solution to conflict.
“Secondly, it needs to be based on facts, not on the lies propagated by Israel’s enemies.
“Thirdly, our criticisms should not take place within environments that are fundamentally hostile to the basic premise of Zionism and the basic needs for legitimacy and security of the state of Israel…
“Israel’s demonstrable support for a two-state solution was long the most effective tool in our advocacy arsenal. Yet, if in 2018 we’re still relying on Netanyahu’s Bar Ilan speech of 2009 to provide evidence of that support, then Israel’s government has left us denuded. We have both a right and a duty to ask it for our clothes back…
“It is incontestable that many young Jews today across the diaspora are confronting a dichotomy between their own (Jewish) values and the rhetoric and actions of Israel. The result is alienation and, if this continues or worsens, then we face a fracturing of the Jewish people.”
Senior lecturer at Leo Baeck College, Fellow of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research
“The internet and social media have ‘flattened’ the distinction between majorities and minorities. Now that everyone has a platform, it is almost impossible to marginalise and render certain Jews and their opinions inconsequential. In this context, we are no longer in a situation where a ‘centre ground’, should it even exist, can exercise any sort of hegemony…
“I would ideally like an engagement with British Jews and Israel that includes everything from the Israeli pro-settlement right to the anti-Zionist diaspora left. I do understand though that I am very much a minority in holding that view. Maybe I like the pains of pluralism too much…
“Diaspora Jewish communities, while increasingly divided over Israel, manage to keep the resulting conflict just about manageable through the ‘ambiguity’ of Israel. Until such time that Israel irrevocably fixes its borders, its constitution and its ‘final’ form, multiple different visions of what Israel should be are still (barely) in play…When Israel turns its back on ambiguity (or if, like me, one feels that it may already have done so) then a decision will have to be made by those whose vision has ‘lost’…”
Research fellow and adjunct lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and senior research associate for Bicom
“The reinvigoration of British Jewish life in recent decades has created new venues for British Jews to absorb Israel’s cultural richness…But antisemitism has also been Israelized, with anti-Zionism now a mask for anti-Jewish prejudice…[and] the increasing polarization within Israel over fundamental issues — including the Palestinian question, the balance between Israel’s Jewish and democratic character, and the status of different streams of Judaism — exacerbates divisions within British Jewry…
“British Jews need to find effective ways to promote their values in Israel through deep engagement with Israeli society, whilst official representative bodies (the Board and JLC) need to clarify and depoliticize their important Israel role. They should reflect the pride and commitment the community has for Israel, but be very cautious about taking specific stances on particular Israeli decisions or laws…
“The right to engage critically comes with some provisos. First, a critical engagement with Israeli society is only relevant if it is based on a deep and irrefutable commitment to Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people…
Second, diaspora Jews keen to promote and defend liberal values and concerns need to be careful and sensitive when it comes to finding the most appropriate partners in Israel and the right approaches…Diaspora Jews need to ensure they grasp the real concerns and feelings of the Israeli mainstream. They also need to make sure they are engaging in genuine dialogue with, and seeking to better understand, those parts of Israeli society with which they do not agree, including the national religious, settlers and Charedim…
Third, diaspora Jews need to tread especially carefully on issues relating to Israel’s security…
“Jews who care about liberal values need, as far as possible, to oppose the entrenchment of the occupation as if there is no anti-Zionism and oppose anti-Zionism as if there is no entrenchment of the occupation.”
Senior rabbi to Reform Judaism
“There has not been a seismic change in how British Jews feel about Israel, but there has been a seismic change in how those feelings are displayed in public discourse…
“As the Israeli author Amos Oz famously said, ‘Zionism’ is not a first-name but a surname. At no point did the need for debate and disagreement over the future direction of Israel end. At no point were the actions of the government of Israel placed beyond criticism…
“Some younger members of our community are increasingly wondering whether there is a place for them in this discussion. Routinely, they are belittled, patronised and even verbally abused for expressing their views. Our young people want to be contributors to the discussion.
They have a perspective which is relevant and important. They deserve to be heard and not belittled…”
Previously a speechwriter for former Israeli Ambassador Daniel Taub and Douglas Carswell MP. He represents Kol Nefesh Masorti Synagogue on the Board of Deputies
“Misalignment between Jewish institutions and the Jewish community occurs when the leadership mistakes the views of a vocal minority for those of the silent majority. The available evidence suggests that mainstream Anglo-Jewry supports Israel, her government, and the actions of her military, much as it has for decades. The ‘centre-ground’ is staying put. Our leaders should follow suit…
“Diaspora Jews who want to influence Israeli policy and practice have the means to do so. They can exercise their right of return, become Israeli citizens, and participate in Israeli democracy… Attempts to influence Israeli politics from the outside, however, provoke the opposite response…Israelis are liable to resent political interventions by people who will not bear the cost of the policies they promote. It’s a lot easier to call for an end to occupation when your house is out of range of Hamas rockets. The effect of such advocacy is not to change policy, but merely to damage the relationship between Israel and the rest of the Jewish world.
“Effective engagement with Israel requires empathy. If Israelis are voting for different parties from those some British Jews would support, the response should not be to berate them for their choice but to understand why they made it. Criticism is counterproductive…
“If Jewish groups feel they must take issue with the Israeli government, they should at least do it behind closed doors. If the government is really their intended audience, writing to the Israeli Ambassador privately should serve the same purpose as issuing a press release or saying kaddish in Parliament Square. Assuming, that is, that the purpose of seeking publicity is not precisely to create a tail wind.”
UJIA director of strategy — writing in a personal capacity
“We British Jews are not shareholders — we don’t have a vote at the AGM (Israeli elections), or elect the board (government) . But we do have a stake in Israel, wherever we live, and so we absolutely should have a voice…
“As the ‘millennial’ generation increasingly takes on positions of leadership within British Jewry, we will see both seismic change and remarkable continuity. The Israel conversation has changed. Its starting point is different. What it means to be an ‘optimist’ about Israel is different to what it once was. And as more and more people my age [born 1986] and younger take control of the discourse — accelerated, of course, by social media — change is inevitable…
“Many younger people don’t want to reform or rejuvenate the communal organisations that for 100 years have mediated the relationship between British Jews and Israel and facilitated the internal communal dialogue about Israel. They want to tear us down. Replacement and revolution, not repair or evolution, are their watchwords…
“And yet, in other ways, things aren’t actually changing very much at all. Young British Jews, overwhelmingly, are spending time in Israel. They are going more often and within an ever-widening variety of frameworks… Israeli culture — food, TV, films, celebrities — is increasingly normalised within British and British-Jewish society… So both continuity and change.”
Graduate of Oxford University and a co-founder of the Pinsker Centre, a coalition of students and graduates of all backgrounds who seek to intelligently educate the public about Israel and the Middle East
“In the absence of a strong moral example from the Jewish community’s leadership, intellectually curious young people are left in the middle of this crossfire.
They are told to join one of two groups: either the growing ranks of the hard-left that is entirely devoted to constant criticism of Israeli policy, or alternatively to be a part of traditional Israeli advocacy which is totally averse to any criticism…
“Various Jewish communal institutions increasingly ignore the extremely colourful and vibrant diversity of Israeli civil society and disproportionately focus on exclusively engaging with groups hailing from one side of the political spectrum…
“The increasing normalisation of antisemitic discourse in public life is the greatest threat facing the Jewish community today. Yes, the communal debate about Israeli policy is important — and criticism of Israeli policy can be an important and healthy part of this debate. Yes, the Jewish community has a responsibility to be honest, to tolerate all reasonable differences of opinion and to foster a vibrant communal discourse. But British Jews have a far greater responsibility to speak out publicly against the rising intolerance, threats, and hatred faced by British Jews.”
Founder and director of Yachad, an organisation that exists to build support in the Anglo-Jewish community for a political resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
“Hawkish, right-wing views, though held by a minority, have traditionally dominated the agenda of some communal institutions. The red lines [of who is inside and outside the Jewish communal tent], which have been somewhat arbitrarily defined, are becoming harder to maintain…
“It seems that the element of ‘control’ that once existed over community discourse on Israel is simply no longer present in the debate. It is only a matter of time before this will result in a ‘seismic change’…
“It is because we are willing to criticise the occupation and anti-liberal trends in Israel, as opposed to ignoring them, that we are able to win the argument in favour of Israel.”
Undergraduate student at King’s College London, where she was president of the Israel Society in 2017/18. The views articulated here do not represent the organisations with which she is associated
“Criticisms of Israel by British Jews relating to Israel’s national security or defence policy is not acceptable… those who have not served in the IDF cannot claim to have the insight or tangible experience necessary to comprehend the security challenges the state faces… Engagement with Israel on issues pertaining to Israeli society and/or religious freedoms and treatment of non-Orthodox Jews is a legitimate area for critique, with the best practice for engaging with these policies being spending time in Israel or engaging with other Israeli institutions…
“British Jews have a responsibility to avoid giving the Labour Party any excuse to brush off their culpability in antisemitism, and British Jews who demonise Israel in a public forum often — either purposefully or accidentally — provide the hard left with easy justifications for antisemitic attacks.”
