The irony was that I was marching with people who likely held sharply different views than I do on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
By JONAH NAGHIWhat I have described may be common experiences for many American Jews today who are trying to be both pro-Israel and fight for social justice(photo credit: REUTERS)
On January 25, I attended an “anti-war with Iran” rally at the Massachusetts State House in Boston. During the protest, I came across a diverse range of grassroots organizations and activists who shared my opinion of being against war with Iran.As an Iranian-American, I joined the demonstration because I did not want to see two countries that are important to my identity engage in war. Yet, as a Jew and proud Zionist and supporter of the State of Israel, I also found myself standing next to many other activists who were wearing white keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags.It is natural for Palestinian Americans and pro-Palestinian activists to participate in an event against a US-Iran war. The irony was that I was marching with people who likely held sharply different views than I do on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Before the march, I had a conversation with a participant who was wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh around her neck and told me about how she led Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) when she was a student at Boston University. At that moment, we came together on something we agreed on. But had we encountered each other on a college campus, we would have likely disagreed on many elements of the Middle East conflict.The situation became even more awkward as we marched down the streets of downtown Boston. As we vocalized a series of chants, one slogan that often came up was, “From Iraq to Palestine, occupation is a crime.” It was during those moments when I became silent. I had similar mixed feelings when I attended a rally in 2017 to protest US President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban, where people chanted, “From Palestine to Mexico, walls and borders have got to go!”And now, during Black History Month, I find myself in a similar predicament. I am trying to better understand the history and pain of black people in America and to become an ally, but I also see more African American organizations becoming exclusively partisan with the Palestinians, endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and chanting during their rallies, “From Ferguson to Palestine, hands up, don’t shoot!”What I have described may be common experiences for many American Jews today who are trying to be both pro-Israel and fight for social justice. Indeed, there have been multiple instances over the past few years where Zionists’ participation in progressive causes have been questioned, if not excluded, such as the Women’s March and the Chicago Dyke March in 2017.One of the reasons why progressives may be siding exclusively with the Palestinians and expressing anti-Zionism is because they see the conflict as solely asymmetrical, where one side is oppressing the other. Therefore, only the Palestinians, as the oppressed, can find a voice among progressives, while Zionists, who are the oppressors, cannot.This is a problematic ultimatum, not only becomes it harbors antisemitism, but also because it oversimplifies the conflict.ALTHOUGH IT is certainly true that there is a significant power imbalance between Israelis and Palestinians that needs to be addressed when attempting to resolve the conflict, another core feature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which makes it distinct from the progressive issues described above is the role of nationalism.Unlike African-American communities and Latino migrants and their families fleeing into the US, the Palestinians have a strong sense of nationalism and are competing with their supposed oppressor over the same piece of land. That is why simply ending the occupation or providing the Palestinians equal rights will not necessarily resolve the conflict.Indeed, just as many Israelis hold a zero-sum mentality, so too do many Palestinians. For instance, if Israel ended the occupation tomorrow, without mutual recognition, many in Palestine might still see Israel proper as occupied Palestinian land that needs to be liberated.Alternatively, if Israel fully annexed the Palestinian territories and extended equal rights, Israelis and Palestinians might then find themselves competing over what the character of the one sovereign state “between river and sea” should be. If that would not risk civil war, I don’t know what would.Let me be clear: The scenarios I just described do not mean that the occupation should continue indefinitely. I am not ignorant of the sufferings Palestinians go through on a daily basis while living under occupation. In fact, this past summer, I was hosted by a Palestinian family for three days in Jifna (a small town in the West Bank).There, I not only heard about the hardships they go through while living under Israeli military rule, but also witnessed it myself when I went out for the day and came across checkpoints and Palestinian villages under threat of demolition. These experiences further motivated me to find a just solution to the conflict that will allow the Palestinians to be free from occupation and practice their right to self-determination.However, those experiences did not make me give up on my Zionist values, nor do I believe the occupation just came out of nowhere. There is still a security issue that needs to be addressed and, just as Israelis need to acknowledge the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, the Palestinians need to offer the same recognition for the Jewish people.It is natural that the Palestinians find a place within progressive movements in America given the hardships they have endured, but in order to truly fight for peace and justice, progressives will need to take a step further. Progressive organizations in American must not only advocate for the ending of the occupation and the Palestinians’ right to self-determination; they must also legitimize the Jewish people’s right to self-determination. A true and just solution to a conflict over land requires more than just human and equal rights. It requires mutual recognition of both people’s connection and right to the land as well.The author is a contributing writer for the Israel Policy Exchange and is pursuing an MSW at Boston College.
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