Let's table the "Jewish state" issue and cooperate to stop the human crisis in Gaza

Can we agree to disagree about Israel and still do something about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza?

First, let's get rid of the obfuscation. The US and the UN Security Council (in which Israel's strongest ally has a veto) call for restraint and an end to violence "on both sides." Yes, Gaza is shooting (pathetic) rockets into Israel. But is that a band of powerful, scary, irrational "terrorists" on the verge of annihilating the Jewish people? Or is that more like a slapped kid sticking out his tongue?

Not all "violence" is created equal. One Israeli has died since the expiration of the ceasefire, and over 300 Palestinians. The people in Gaza have lost their police and security services as well as many of the supply tunnels used to smuggle essential supplies from Egypt during the siege. All that Israel has lost is a few more popularity points.

Forget those who take satisfaction in the disporportionate body count in favor of the strong against the weak. Forget those who have investments in Israel. My comments here are addressed to the "humanitarians" among us. For American advocates of social justice and health, the Israeli siege of Gaza and now the aerial attacks create an ethical dilemma. Why? Because our country has been siding with Israel financially and morally and politically--and we can't even talk to each other about it!

Can we agree to disagree about the ultimate conflict and still talk about how to stop the killing?

Those among us who claim to care about social justice can't just ignore the situation. Nor can we continue to let Israeli policy and the difficult statements of Israel's neighbors/rivals in the region rip our own social justice movement apart. Concern about what's good for Israel have even complicated the views of American peace activists on the US invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan, and potentially Iran.

In the West Bank, in the UK, and even in New York City, there are demonstrations condemning what's being called an Israeli "massacre" in Gaza. Words like "apartheid" are being thrown around. But here in the country whose tax dollars pay for the aerial bombardments and buy the bulldozers used to destroy Palestinian homes, in the country whose veto in the Security Council protects Israel from international sanctions, most of us are sitting on our hands. Our increasingly bloody hands.

My suggestion is that we agree to disagree on what seems to be the underlying bone of contention--the "Jewish state"--and move on.

How? We need to acknowledge and respect that people have different ideas. Some people perceive an everlasting "Jewish state" as a life or death issue. Others perceive a "Jewish state" as a call for an exception, if not a violation, of the general international consensus in favor of secular democracy. Advocates of the two views sometimes destructively, and inaccurately, accuse each other of "racism" on the one hand, or "antisemitism" on the other. This must stop.

My suggestion is that we figure this "Jewish state" issue out later, after dealing with the humanitarian crisis of the Palestinians, most notably in Gaza, in the same way we would discuss a humanitarian crisis anywhere else in the world. Lots of international, European, and Israeli rights groups are doing just that.

Here in the US, we're stuck on the "Jewish state" issue. Many people have assumed that a "Jewish state" requires a Jewish majority on a defensible piece of territory, and that that is why the Israeli government does what it does. So, for example, sometimes they "have to" violate the human rights and territorial claims of others and even meddle in US foreign policy. Given that perception, it's not hard to understand why there's been a silence on the siege of Gaza, for example--even among Americans who condemn violations of human rights by our own country. The United States, no matter what happens or who criticizes its actions, will probably continue to exist more or less as currently constituted, that is, as a multi-ethnic, secular democracy of sorts. But no one can be confident that Israel will remain a Jewish state decades after regional peace conferences, fair agreements, handshakes, cultural exchanges, redrawing of borders, and return of refugees.

If I'm right that the sticking point is the issue of the "Jewish state," then that helps explain why the police forces and elected governments of the Gaza strip and of Iran have been demonized and portrayed as "legitimate" targets. The leadership of Hamas and of Iran have been accused of threats to commit genocide against Israelis, and by implication, against all Jewish people everywhere--another Holocaust. But those "threats" didn't happen--it's an excuse to cover up the real reason for the demonization, namely, a conflict in political views. (See Juan Cole on the manufactured "quote" of Pres. Ahmadinejad of Iran. http://www.juancole.com/2006/05/hitchens-hacker-and-hitchens.html) The "unforgivable crime" of the leaderships of Hamas and of Iran is that they are saying out loud what millions of people all over the world are thinking. They demand that the Palestinians be given a say in their futures and about where they should live.

Hamas does not prefer the notion of a Jewish state, given that Israel can't afford to allow the right of return to large numbers of non-Jewish Palestinians if it wants to remain a "Jewish state" into the future. The government of Iran has publicly called for a referendum among all the residents of the area comprising Israel and the Palestinian territories about how many states and what kind of government they want. Iran has also challenged Israeli military dominance in the region by supporting Hamas and Hezbollah and by calling for the Middle East to be a nuclear-free zone and for all countries in the region (read Israel) to join the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

Generally, threatening to assassinate or bomb someone because of their political opinions is not acceptable. Hence, "friends" of Israel use demonization and create false threats. The result has been that public opinion, which normally would oppose aerial attacks that kill and wound human beings, is ready to make an exception for the people in Gaza and Iran.

But Americans don't have to be fooled again. We can find a way to get together and do better than this.

Here are some useful links on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and what some people are doing to help:

International Committee of the Red Cross (Palestine)
http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/palestine

Palestinian Red Crescent Society
http://www.palestinercs.org/

Save the Children
http://www.savethechildren.org/countries/middle-east-eurasia/west-bank-and-gaza-strip.html

B'Tselem
http://www.btselem.org/English/About_BTselem/Make_a_Difference.asp

Gush Shalom
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/index_en.html

Jewish Voice for Peace, Gaza Information Center
http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/publish/gaza.shtml

And a painful story ("Screams of pain, tears of grief fill a bloodied hospital")from an Australian news source
http://www.watoday.com.au/world/screams-of-pain-tears-of-grief-fill-a-bloodied-hospital-20081228-7683.html?page=-1