On February 6, my inbox was inundated with messages from people I did not know. I’m so disgusted, they read; You’re going to hear from us again, they read; We’re going to fight this, they read.
As someone who has grown accustomed to sporadic bits of hate mail for my progressive views on Israel, I was prepared for the worst.
However, these emails, largely from residents of the D.C. metro area, were messages of support, messages of defiance. They were messages from those who had just learned that the D.C. Jewish Community Center, already under pressure from right-wing organizations and influences on a number of fronts, had quietly cancelled my high-profile book event, at which I was to speak about the themes of reconciliation and dialogue contained in my memior, What Do You Buy the Children of the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill Your Wife?
The story of how my event came to be cancelled is a story being played out repeatedly in America today, a story representing all that is wrong with American political discourse on Israel. It is also the story of how the D.C. community rallied to my side, rallied to create a new book event on April 30 at the MLK Jr. Memorial Library – not for me, but for the sake of dialogue, for the sake of combating efforts to tamp down discussion on issues we must confront in the Jewish community, issues we must confront as a nation.
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William Daroff is one of America’s most powerful Jewish institutional leaders. As Senior Vice President for Public Policy & Director of the Washington, D.C. office of The Jewish Federations of North America, a multi-billion dollar organization, his words and influence matter.
When it comes to Israel, Daroff’s views lean right-wing, much different than my own. Despite our differences, though, we have both committed our professional lives to the Jewish community. As a Jewish day school teacher myself and a progressive Zionist who champions the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I suspect we share common ground on some issues.
Which is why I was surprised when, on January 28, Daroff wrote that Jewish institutions in America should ban me from speaking, and that my views on Israel placed me outside the Jewish communal tent.
What views are those? My belief that Palestinians have a legitimate right to use economic sanctions against Israel – Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) – as a nonviolent form of opposition. My view that such nonviolent opposition is exactly the type of peaceful resistance Americans have been clamoring for Palestinians to use.
In response to this view, Daroff wrote:
“I just do not support giving communal hecsher to those who are outside the bounds of legitimate discourse … Your refusal to state your categorical opposition to the BDS movement place you outside our communal tent.”
He also suggested that I send my calendar of book events to Noah Pollak at the Emergency Committee for Israel (ECI) so that he could take care of things. For those who don’t know, ECI is a Bill Kristol creation, claims to be the most ‘pro-Israel’ group around, and spends untold amounts of money to smear and combat anyone who might critique Israel.
Two days later, on January 30, I received an email from Carole Zawatsky, CEO of the DCJCC, that my book event had been cancelled. She cited my political views as reason for axing a book event which was supposed to be about the importance of dialogue amongst those who have different frames of reference.
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A week after this decision, communal frustration in the District reached a cacophonous pitch when a local D.C. journalist, Sharon Jacobs, sharply critiqued the DCJCC in a Washington Post op-ed.
As her op-ed spread virally in D.C. and in the American Jewish community, and as my voicemail and inbox filled, I got a message from J Street, offering to create an alternate event. Soon, the MLK Jr. Memorial Library joined them in supporting the creation of a new book event. As did Peace Now. As did Politics & Prose, one of the most important political bookstores in the country.
In a matter of days, the progressive D.C. community had rallied together to create an alternate event that will take place on April 30.
I don’t believe that this effort, which spanned multiple progressive communities in D.C., was made for me personally. Nor do I believe I had anything to do with the communal movement which swiftly gathered momentum to combat those right-wing, ‘pro-Israel’ influences which certainly led to the cancellation of my event.
I believe that American Jews, and particularly American Jews in the District, are growing tired of conservative influences trying to dictate what can, and cannot, be discussed in relation to Israel. They are tired of such influences which do not represent the greater American Jewish community. They are tired of seeing right-wing smear campaigns force theater programs to constrict, speaking gigs by respected academics to be cancelled, musical performances to be axed.
They are tired of institutional leaders who want Americans to put their collective heads in the sand and be blind to, much less discuss, precisely those issues we must confront if we have any chance of helping to solve them: Israel’s settlements, the occupation, the denial of Palestinian human rights, the growing Palestinian and international responses to these geo-political issues.
Those of us who are tired, or some of us, at least, will gather together on April 30 in D.C. Yes, I’ll have the microphone for some of the time, but I won’t be the most important person in the room. The most important people will be those who worked to make this event happen, those who are fighting to make dialogue on Israel in America more open, more honest.
Despite canceling the DCJCC event, I invited Zawatsky to join us on April 30. She declined, citing prior obligations. I invited Daroff to join us, but never heard back. I invited ECI’s Pollak, which he took as sarcasm.
While they likely won’t show up, I have surprisingly heard from representatives who will be in attendance from organizations which disagree with my politics. They won’t be there to picket or protest, but to respectfully engage and see what I have to say.
Progress may be slow, but it’s happening. One cancelled event at a time.
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David Harris-Gershon is author of the memoir What Do You Buy the Children of the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill Your Wife?, just out from Oneworld Publications.
Follow him on Twitter @David_EHG.
Two points of clarification are needed. First, the views leading to the cancellation were not about whether Palestinians have a “legitimate right” to use economic sanctions against Israel. Rather, it involved an essay stating unequivocally that the author formally endorsed and embraced BDS. Second, the DCJCC communicated with the author about this matter, and the communication confirmed that there had been no misunderstanding about the author’s views.
Finally, it should be noted that the DCJCC has had a long-standing policy — posted on its website — opposong BDS.
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I didn’t know you were Carole Zawatsky, DCJCC CEO in disguise, “Lauren.” I’m sure you recount our conversatoin on the phone, then, and remember clearly what we discussed.
It’s a shame you didn’t relate what we discussed. Oh, wait. You’re not Carole, or anyone with the DCJCC?
My bad.
A very typical misdirection from David… I and many others would like to know the answer to a simple question…
Do you or do you not support a Boycott, a Divestment or the use of Sanctions against the State of Israel at this point in time?
Just that. Whether or not BDS is a “legitimate tactic” is not relevant. What is relevant is to how YOU in particular feel about the above question. Why are you ducking that question?
Lauren.
Are you speaking for DCJCC in an official capacity?
By now one would have thought that the “marketplace of ideas” concept would be a common understanding of the liberal community. But it seems that, when it comes to this issue, such an approach is increasingly deemed irrelevant.
This willfully blind approach to dialogue indicates to me that BDS is increasingly seen as dangerous to Israel’s current status and policies. And the reason for this seems to be that BDS is seen, both by its opponents and its supporters, as effective and therefore dangerous.
I believe that such an intolerant approach to the ideas and supporters of BDS, while it might have been successful in some cases in the past, is ultimately doomed to failure. In the long run, people are not going to tolerate the idea that self-appointed censors can decide for them what is and what is not permissible as “legitimate.”
And, I suspect that the same thing will ultimately be true of Israel’s current status and policies. They, too, will increasingly seen as illegitimate.
The “leaders of the community,” and the Israeli leadership as well, will have to come up pretty soon with a “Plan B.”
Mr. Harris-Gershon.
The problem is that it is impossible to distinguish between BDS-as-a-tactic and BDS-as-a -movement. You may try but it doesn’t work. The latter is the real-world manifestation of the former and the latter is the enemy. Clearly. You yourself admit “anti-Semitic streams which unofficially surface” in BDS. You may reject those streams but they are powerful, and in fact I think dominant in BDS-as-a-movement.
I agree with you that boycotts can be a legitimate tactic — the UN is using sanctions with Iran.
It is practically impossible to separate the two. Or putting it this way: so what if boycotts in theory are legitimate but when in practice BDS aims to destroy Israel?
How do we get to win-win for both Palestine and Israel? Right now Palestinians are been squeezed to off the land and off the map. Meanwhile, Israel feels threatened, fearing loss of existence
I sure don’t know, Tim, but several things do NOT help:
— Hamas, Hezbolah, Iran publicly announcing with glee that it wants to destroy Israel, literally — not exactly helpful to relax Jews;
— Netanyahu government not going through on agreement such as prisoner release;
— Historical feeling of Arab superiority over Jews and then consequent damaging sense of inferiority when Jews actually whip their asses;
— Paranoia on part of Jews at being attacked;
— Fact that Arabs never agreed to unconditional surrender in ’49;
— Netanyahu government not seeming to really care about reaching Two State solution:
— People like Sheldon Adelson and Phil Weiss trying too hard at whatever it is they are trying to do;
— Moral narcissism by anti-Israel Jews — you folks know who you are! Maybe some of you even reading!
I sure don’t know how we get to a win-win. Probably more blood the way it is going.
The Israel electorate says that 75% want Two States then it gives power to Netanyahu, Liberman and Bennett etc etc
And then the Palestinians stop talking when it comes to Olmert Plan.
(Go look at an op-ed by Rami Kour at Daily Star in last few days; he says that Palestinians want to base talks on ’47 UN Plan! Wow! If so that is sure a non-starter — and I am liberal!)
Seems like everyone is panicked by the extremes.
I left this comment at the site of William Daroff. There is no exact analogy but it’s food for thought and not even remotely unlikely:
Just a bit further afield, William Daroff.
What is the “correct line” if a Liberman/Bennett group takes control of the Israeli government and publicly explicitly renounces Two States. Is Major Organized Jewry going to prevent, say, Alan Dershowitz from speaking at the DCJCC?
You follow my hypothetical I am sure. Dershowitz is a long-time opponent of settlements and for two states. Does DCJCC follow Israeli policy or what American Jews think is best?
You may very well be faced with this situation.
Part of the problem comes because some of us oppose expansion of the settlement enterprise and support boycotting products from the settlements. It doesn’t matter to the Right whether you support the continued existence of Israel, or whether you continue to buy products from west of the green line. If you support any sort of boycott, the right wingers deem you to be anti-semitic.
What is it that we hope for? My desire is win-win. Neither Israel wiped out. Nor Palestine wiped out. Instead, all peoples and faiths living together in harmonious love. No more deadly rivalry, but radical, generous love
Geez – please, stop all the bickering here. Did people not support BDS when it came to South Africa? How is this any different? Look at the disparities in treatment of th Palestinians – and all Arabs for that matter. I am Jewish by choice, yet I have a hard time understanding the problem here. If we are for social justice – it should be for everyone!!!
muito bom !