Judaism - Israel - Palestine - Part III
Part II - This is Part III
https://www.georgemarx.org/2024/01/judaism-israel-palestine-part-ii.html
I am a white, USian Jew, whose family left Germany,
Russia and Poland before the rise of Hitler in the 20th century.
There are deeply contrasting narratives related to
Israel and Zionism. It is can be challenging,
if not totally impossible, to contend with and be Heard when putting forth the
perspective that the Jews are not “owed” Israel because its Jewish biblical
history.
Personally, by itself, I find this perspective
troubling. For fellow USians, how do we
address Native People in “our country”???
Seriously think about the logic of stating that The
United States should be “The Confederation of Native Tribes”. Those of us who are not accepted as tribal members
(the vast majority of U.S. citizens) are citizens (of course), however because
we are a Tribal based Nation, we, in reality, own less and less of this
country, as Native Citizens reclaim their lands.
Such a concept – would seem absurd and impossible to most,
if not all, of us. We don’t see it as
absurd, however, that Israel is a “Jewish Nation”, and that its Palestinian
citizens lack various significant rights, such as the rights to enlarge their
houses, as well as the rights to live/own in much of Israel. A Palestinian citizen of Israel effectively
can not rent an apartment or house in much of Israel, because the Jewish owner
will not rent or sell to them. This is
100% legal!
Looking at how modern Israel came to be is interesting.
1. The
Jews of Russia and Eastern Europe faced pogroms, other forms of extreme
Anti-Semitism, and more,
2. Do
the Jewish People “deserve” a “homeland”?
3. If
so, was/is Palestine their “logical” home?
4. Should
Israel be a “religious” state welcoming any/all Jews as “automatic” citizens
(if they choose to emigrate)?
5. If
Israel should be a religious state, What about the Palestinian People?
Historically, I look at:
1. Palestine
2. The
United States (as well as Canada perhaps)
3. Most
of Africa, Asia and Latin America
4. Western
and Eastern Europe and Russia.
The key questions I would look at relate to Palestine
and how Israel is in relation to the other three areas noted above.
The land of the U.S. and its territories has been
stolen from its Native Peoples. We have
violated virtually all, if not all, treaties.
We have never apologized for our appropriation, acknowledged it, nor
have we even begun to repair the harm caused.
In much of the remainder of the world (besides Europe
and Russia), the patterns have been similar.
Enslavement, extraction of natural resources and other exploitation
existed and often still exists.
Wealthy and powerful white people are exploiting BIPOC
in the U.S. The powerful are also often
using their less powerful brethren as the “enforcers”. Poor white people were the strongest
supporters of pre-1865 U.S. slavery.
Less powerful white people continue to support racist messages. They are allies of the wealthy who spew messages
of fear. Christianity is often
weaponized.
--
Russia, Europe and Palestine are interesting and often
different. Russia had oppressive
leadership prior to 1917. Anti-Semitism
pitted much of the blame on Jews for the oppression. Eastern Europe also had discrimination and
exploitation of its Jews.
Western European Jews had both similarities and
differences. My paternal grandfather
sold his bank to Deutsche Bank in 1904.
His second oldest son received his PhD from The University of
Koenigsberg in 1903. He was immediately
recruited to NYC by The Jewish Theological Seminary. In 1926 my grandfather Moses Marx was
recruited from Berlin to Cincinnati to become the Chief Cataloger at Hebrew
Union College’s library.
It is also true that other Western European
well-educated Jews were limited by Anti-Semitism. Elite U.S. universities had quotas to limit
their percentages of Jewish students.
Their faculties were mainly the white, male Protestant elite.
After World War I tiny U.S. Government quotas stopped
the influx of non-wealthy immigrants from Europe and elsewhere.
Prior to World War I, the U.S. was often a haven for other
(white) immigrants. The Irish had been
poor, and had better opportunities in the U.S. starting with the great Potato
Famine. Sicilians were the
“throw-aways” for the wealthy of Italy, helping build up white America.
In the U.S. our oppression of the “less fortunate” has
repeated itself over and over and over again.
Slavery, though most significant, was far from the only oppression of
working people.
--
Palestine was the place to “solve the (Anti-Semitism
based) problem” for Europe and Russia – exporting large numbers of the victims.
Unfortunately, the less powerful vast majority of The
Native People were exploited and largely ignored.
1. Why
are we, the Jews, “The Chosen People”?
For me, if so, we are “chosen” - to support liberation
and social justice for those of the rest of the world, not (solely) for us – as
Jews.
2. “Never
Again” – means two (often) mutually exclusive things!
a. For
many Zionists – the issue is limited to the European Holocaust.
b. For
me – and for my allies – “Never Again” – means that we will strongly oppose the
murdering of the innocent people of The World, not The Jewish World.
Similarly – (to
be later on discussed in detail) –
“From The River to the Sea” – for me and for my allies
– means Justice – a Just Peace – for the Palestinian People. This contrasts with the often common vision
of such words calling for our Annihilation as Jews.
The fears of Jews (and others sharing such views) are comparable to the fears of white USians,
that Black People will avenge racism, if Racism is (ever) ended.
Most Palestinian People have little or no desire to
avenge the oppression that they have faced from the Israeli Government and its
Jewish citizenry.
Most Black People have little or no desire to avenge slavery
and racism and to kill or oppress white people.
Where – the oppressed – seek Revenge – it generally only
comes from – having No Other Options. The
Palestinian People have tried and tried and tried and tried to get basic rights
in Israel, as well as in The West Bank and Gaza.
Hamas
and what Hamas has done, both historically, and on October 7, 2023, can be
understood, if not approved of. Hamas
has recently killed, at the most, roughly 1200 people on October 7th
and several hundred, perhaps, since then.
The
deaths of these Israeli Jewish People are often not compared to the deaths of
far, far more Palestinian People by the Israeli Government and its Jewish
citizens. In comparing this, we should
not only look at October 7th through the present. The Palestinian People have consistently
faced this oppression since 1948, as well as prior to then.
More
will follow beginning in Part IV of this writing.
I would suggest that readers of this
writing – watch Peter Beinart (Jewish Currents)’s January 19, 2024 interview of
Rashid Khalidi - This Moment in
Palestinian History on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDypq6cKDM
I
think that most readers will find Khalidi to be fair, as well as kind and
caring. Some may disagree with some of
what he says.
https://www.georgemarx.org/2024/01/judaism-israel-palestine-part-iv.html
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