A prominent British activist has said Israel has no future if it carries on down its current path.
Hannah Weisfeld, founder and director of Yachad, said: “The conflict is becoming worse and more entrenched, and if we can’t find a way to create a different Zionist future entrenched in tolerance and a belief in the humanity of others, I don’t think there’s a future for Israel.”
She added: “The Jewish people can’t sustain this conflict and what it’s doing to them for much longer. A line is now being drawn down the community between people who see Israel as something that has to be defended at all costs, and others who want to engage in a robust conversation about its future.
“It’s like talking to two different religions at times. The impact that the current conflict is having in our own community. We need to care about it because it’s becoming so divisive.”
Yachad, which campaigns for a two-state solution, was recently voted a member of the Board of Deputies, amid opposition for some sections of the community.
Speaking at a Limmud session on liberal Zionism on Tuesday, Ms Weisfeld predicted that the European Union was close to taking a tougher line with Israel.
She said: “We’re not far away from the EU turning around and saying: ‘We’ve had enough.’ Over the past few years, they’ve found quiet ways of punishing or incentivising Israel to change.
“That will snowball, especially if you have Naftali Bennett with his nation state law plan. I don’t see how Israel will survive in a way that’s acceptable to the diaspora, so if liberal Zionism doesn’t win out, it’ll be very hard for Israel to survive.”
To members of the audience who questioned what effects liberal Zionism had had on Israeli decisions so far, she said: “If you think of the effort Jewish communities put into creating the state of Israel, we’re not even scratching the surface of trying to create a two-state solution.
“Why are we throwing the baby out with the bathwater before we’ve even filled the bath?”
Aziz Abu Sarah, a Palestinian peace activist, disagreed, telling the audience that he doubted if the opinion of European Jewry could have any impact on Israel.
“I don’t know where the future is for liberal Zionism. The more right you go, that seems to be the Zionism that has a future in Israel. I understand in the diaspora people are starting to get concerned, but there’s a disconnect between here and Israel.
“That’s how Bibi [Prime Minister Netanyahu] got a lot of his support. Israel just adopts a mentality that ‘the whole world hates us.’ The Jewish community here tolerated more settlement building. Bennett was in Washington recently and didn’t apologise; he was proud. I’m not sure it’s going to make Israelis change their minds, it’ll just add to that mentality that everyone hates us.
“I think Israel can survive as an undemocratic state. Many Arab states exist in this way. You will have people who will push for that, and it’s not impossible to have it. Israel has always wanted to fit in with the Middle East, so maybe this is the way.”
