In the United States and throughout the Western world, a very important battle is taking place over the righteousness of the Zionist vision. The war in Gaza is highlighting voices among the progressive movement that are very challenging to progressive Zionists like myself. Our most effective partners in this battle against growing anti-Israelism and anti-Zionism are liberal and progressive Jews and non-Jews, who, for years, have been ideologically distanced from Israel due to governments on the Right.
Yet while the concept that “might can’t be right” has taken over part of the American progressive discourse, liberal Jews and progressive Zionists know that Israel must be strong for the sake of its survival even if we often criticize the way the strength is used and the lack of political strategy.
Fortunately, the State of Israel has been, is, and will remain strong, and I am proud of my contribution to its strength as an army officer, as a diplomat, and as an adviser to one of Israel’s founding fathers, Shimon Peres, who led the establishment of the country’s security infrastructure in its early days.
Another element that challenges us Zionist progressives is the worldwide tendency for extreme identity political discourse, according to which whites are privileged and cannot take part in the struggle for the rights of disadvantaged communities.
In a reality where there are those who seek to create a contradiction between progressive thinking and support for Israel, J Street and its partners in the progressive liberal Jewish community are fighting against this kind of thinking.
Defending Israel as part of the progressive set of values
We are defending the existence of a democratic homeland of the Jewish people as part of the progressive set of values, alongside LGBTQ rights, gender issues, equality, and social justice. We are countering those who seek to divide the world into good and bad according to concepts based on orientalist romanticism, which embraces the “weak,” regardless of their conduct, attitudes, and the atrocities that they commit.
We, the progressive Zionists, are in the best position to deal with the attitude that claims that Zionism is a colonialist movement because it is clear to us that the connection of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel cannot be denied, just as the connection of the Palestinian people to Palestine cannot be denied.
Our position, which claims that the Jewish people have a right to their own nation-state, just as the Palestinian people have a right to their own nation-state is much stronger than the positions of the right-wing version of Zionism.
This struggle is difficult, but it is successful. Of the 102 members of Congress who are on the progressive caucus, 95 are supporters of Israel, its right to self-defense and the special relationship between Israel and the US. The tendency to focus on the extreme minority led by some of the squad members is understandable, but they are a small although vocal minority among the progressive representation in Congress.
The fact is that J Street helps all those Democratic members of Congress ensures a progressive identity that supports Israel, and contributes significantly to maintaining support for Israel among the absolute majority of the Democratic Party.
Many of the Israeli government ministers are quick to slander anyone who does not promote views that are compatible with Israeli right-wing policy, but it is precisely those who serve as the most effective promoters of Israel among a large public, who understand, thanks to us, that support for the security of the State of Israel can and must be part of the progressive basket of values.
This is why all those members of Congress support security aid to Israel. They have their conditions, they do not want this aid to reach the hands of violent settlers, who would use it to attack Palestinians in the territories.
They do want to make sure that Israel defines end goals for the war and draws a vision for the day after it, but obviously, these are Israeli interests, according to many Israelis as well. They also demand that Israel avoid as much as possible unnecessary harm to civilians, which is not an anti-Israeli position, but one which is in Israel’s best interest, if Israel wants to achieve its goals in the Gaza Strip and preserve its moral values.
The war and its social and political consequences around the world require a change of course. The continuation of the demand for supporting Israel, which will in fact become a demand to support right-wing policies, will make it difficult to stop the drift towards anti-Israel sentiment around the world. The partners we need most these days are not Donald Trump, Viktor Orbán, or Geert Wilders, but rather the progressive, real friends of Israel.
If the State of Israel becomes synonymous with the extreme Right, it will eventually become a hated and ostracized country among all those who abhor the racism and totalitarianism that is characteristic of the populist politicians of the extreme Right.
If Israel is able to strengthen its partnership with the progressive liberal elements, even if they have criticism of its policies, then Israel will be able to generate a positive progressive discourse that will curb the spread of anti–Zionism among many young men and women around the world.
The writer is J Street Israel’s executive director.