Jon Haber, of the Divestthis! blog, and I are beginning a discussion of the western left and its relationship to the Jewish state of Israel that I very much hope that you guys will join in... either here, there, or both.The question that I have proposed is this:
Has the western left, in its general approach to the Arab-Israel conflict in comparison to other conflicts around the world, remained true to its fundamental values of ‘social justice’ and ‘universal human rights’?Jon's response is here and I recommend that you guys give it a read.
What he essentially argues is that there is no clear "yes" or "no" answer to the question because the western left is, itself, an exceedingly large and diverse international category and represents a battleground upon which Jews and anti-Zionists (and others concerned with the Middle East) are conflicting.
He writes:
Now if the western left was an undivided entity that embraced this position, then the answer to your question would be a simple “No” (and we could draw this debate to a close in one exchange). But given that what we are calling the western left includes everyone from the Democratic Party in the US (which still supports Israel 2:1 over her enemies) to the Communist parties of Europe, I think we are seeing a battle for the heart of leftism (if not broader liberalism) in which a group of single-issue partisans (Israel haters) are trying to convince anyone with left-of-center leanings that they must embrace an anti-Israel position or live in betrayal of progressive values.I agree with what Jon writes above, but I have two questions:
...the left is neither friend nor foe, but the ground on which an important battle over Israel (and the entire Middle East) is being fought.
1) Where are things trending?
and
2) If the left represents a battleground, just who is engaging in the fight?
The Trend
The trends seem fairly obvious, although we would need to confirm through comparing polling data over time.
Nonetheless, the progressive-left and the Democratic Party in the United States are considerably more open to anti-Semitic anti-Zionists than are their conservative or Republican counterparts.
All the polling clearly shows that conservatives and Republicans are far-and-away more supportive of the Jewish State of Israel than are progressives and Democrats. That is a simple statement of fact.
If we agree that anti-Zionism - and its little ideological homunculus, the BDS movement - are illiberal movements embedded within the western-left and if the western-left, as a whole, is more open to their influence, this clearly means that the western left is trending in an illiberal direction in direct violation of their own stated principles of social justice and universal human rights.
As I am certain that most would agree, they cannot single out the Jews for admonition, while virtually ignoring horrendous atrocities ongoing throughout the world, and still be taken seriously as fair interlocutors or analysts.
The Players
Most progressives are not anti-Semitic.
Unless we wish to allow our most paranoid fantasies to run away with us, this should certainly be acknowledged.
However, the progressive-left as a whole, as an international movement, has opened its venues to anti-Semitic anti-Zionists who spread hatred not only to Israel, but inevitably toward Jews. I have no doubt that most think that the Palestinian cause is essentially just and that Israel is the aggressor. That is, I have no doubt that in their own minds they believe themselves to be entirely righteous and just in their stance on this issue.
Thus most of the left just sits back and watches as a core member of its constituency - the Jewish people - get kicked around in left-leaning venues. Most are not engaged in any fight around anti-Zionism or the country of Israel, but they did put milk and cookies on the table in front of the anti-Zionist chair and pulled that chair out in a most courteous manner.
The battle, therefore, with the left as a backdrop, is a political fight between supporters of Israel (mainly Jews) and hard-left anti-Semitic anti-Zionists who claim to stand for social justice, even as they promote violence toward Jewish students on campuses throughout Europe, Australia, and North America.
Just think of the waste of Jewish progressive resources. Instead of fighting for economic fair play or a cleaner environment or the rights of other minorities, Jews who care about their besieged brothers and sisters in Israel have to fight it out within our own ideological arenas as the great majority sit back and eat popcorn.
I paint this picture - and mix those metaphors - because the progressive-left Jewish dilemma is starting to come to a head.
It is as if the western-left is forcing its Jewish constituency to choose between our own families and communities or our political alliances on the left.
For me this choice could not be easier.
