We may soon become an endangered species. Liberal Zionists are besieged on all sides by powerful forces that actively seek their demise, aided and abetted by everyone else's indifference. And they are fighting for survival at a time when they are leaderless, rudderless and spiritless, wracked by self-doubt and despondent about their chances of survival.
The election of Donald Trump was a tipping point. For the past eight years, liberal Zionists always had Barack Obama to fall back on. When they were dismayed by the right-wing shift in Israel, liberal Zionists could always console themselves with the knowledge that Obama was sitting in the White House. When it came to Israeli democracy and peace with the Palestinians, Obama’s heart was always in the right place, even if his achievements left a lot to be desired. The new U.S. president may yet confound his many skeptics and initiate a vigorous peace process, but until that time comes the world of liberal Zionists has turned dark, and cold. It’s open season and they are the prey.
Although the term liberal is certainly not synonymous with leftist, for the sake of convenience let’s assume that, in this context, it is. Liberal Zionists believe the occupation is unsustainable and immoral. They reject annexation and a one-state solution. They believe that Israel has veered off course and is now in danger of moving in a direction that will force them to confront an impossible choice between the two parts of their identity. They may not all acknowledge or talk about it yet, but many liberal Zionists dread the day, as I do, when they will have to concede that one can either be a liberal or a Zionist, but can no longer be both.
No comments:
Post a Comment