Tikkun Daily Blog Archive (https://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/category/politics/peacemaking/healing-israel-palestine/page/24/)
Let’s get John Kerry to set up camp and demand that Netanyahu prove, before the Israeli public and the world, that he’s ready to sit down for final status negotiations with Palestinian leaders. If we get 100,000 signatures, the White House will respond to this issue and Netanyahu’s claim. If you are with me, please sign.
As we saw in Seattle and San Francisco, pinkwashing is a growing movement that shows no signs of abating. How can we challenge it when it arises?
We have to recognize it. Ben Daniel gives us three warning signs. Pinkwashing:
1. Brands Israel as gay-friendly to attract investment, tourists, and media
2. Justifies and normalizes the occupation
3. Tells a story about “gay Palestine” where Israel is seen as the hero
Then, we have to resist it. Somerson tells us:
1. Insist on a power analysis
2. Investigate where funding is coming from
3. Center Queer Palestinian voices
Together we can stop Brand Israel.
Left-wing concerns that she has a quick-draw reflex toward military action are overdrawn and unfair. I remember her presentation at a New York University conference in 2006 … in which she spoke of her break with Michael Ignatieff … because of his pro-Iraq war stance.
Not intending to go to war in Iran (a war Israel has been pushing for years), Obama avoids any suggestion that the occupation must end. Sure, Secretary of State John Kerry has both been dispatched to the region and is talking up the necessity for peace. But few take his effort seriously, largely because he emphasizes economic initiatives (fine with Israel) rather than ending settlements and the occupation. The administration remains very careful not to make Israel and its supporters here angry.
However, the painful truth is this: while Germany as a country and a societal entity has largely (though not entirely) moved beyond the historical atrocities committed by the Nazis, the same unfortunately cannot be said for Israel. Israel’s continued subjugation of the Palestinians – its brutal occupation, illegal settlement enterprise, theft of Palestinian lands, and disinterest in pursuing peace initiatives – has inspired the world to look upon Israel with frustration and disdain.
Between every two people in the world is a unified field. The role of the interfaith activist has been to explore and cultivate that field and, in the process, to appreciate and emphasize the commonality – but not ignore the differences – of our faiths and beliefs. Locating a field of shared love and concern is the key to both interfaith and intrafaith harmony.
Put simply: Israel chooses to leave security to its professionals. And not to a gun-wielding citizenry. Which is why after a lone-gunman shooting, such as the one which happened yesterday, Israel’s response was not an NRA style call to “Arm the victims!” Rather, it was a call to get more guns off the streets. It’s a call America would do well to heed.
I understand that my position as stated here is rife with contradiction. I oppose BDS but I endorse Hawking’s support for it.
But here’s the thing. I would not support Hawking’s protest if my own government was taking action against the occupation. If the Obama administration was using its leverage to get Israel out of the occupied territories or, at least, to stop the illegal settlement enterprise, there might be no need for any kind of boycott. After all, given our massive aid to Israel, our consistent support for Israel at the United Nations and our adopting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies on Iran, we have powerful leverage.
A human rights based approach could assist both Israel and the Palestinians. This is because human rights contain reciprocal responsibilities against irredentism, as well as requires a commitment to state unity. Also, human rights do not exclude a partition of Israel. In fact, they can help to facilitate this but in a manner that comports with other important rights, such as the rule of non-discrimination. Human rights merely require that human groups treat each other with what legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin termed “equal concern and respect.”
To ‘put yourself in their shoes and see the world through their eyes’ is a huge ask. For me it has meant overcoming my own racism and prejudice to allow myself to hear Palestinian voices and accept the validity of their story. It’s become an exercise in un-installing the cultural software in my head.