The Making and Unmaking of a Zionist by Lerman Antony;

Author:Lerman, Antony; [Lerman, Antony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 3386670
Publisher: Pluto Press

Of course, I was not alone in my confusion, anxiety and anger. Many of my friends and acquaintances had similar feelings and it wasn’t long before we sought out each other’s company to share concerns and try to develop a better understanding of what was going on. The venue for our informal discussions, which began early in 2002, was the home of June Jacobs, a Jewish feminist activist dedicated to an open, pluralist vision of Jewish life, in which she played a full and central part. For many years she had been a leading figure in national and international groups working for Middle East peace, human rights and the equality of women. At June’s we could openly express our common, dissimilar and even opposing views in an atmosphere of mutual respect and support. We came to these discussions without labels. We were all critical of Israeli government policies and the full gamut of views on Zionism was expressed. What brought and held us together was our belief in the primacy of human rights values, no matter, for example, whether we were discussing anti-Muslim racism or the impact of Israeli government policies on Jews in the UK.

In June 2002 we began to consider seriously the possibility of turning our group and its informal discussions into an organisation. In a discussion paper I argued that it was harder than ever for those who placed the need for peace, reconciliation, justice and human rights above ethnic attachment and loyalty to create a space in which their views were heard. And yet renewed interest in Jewish culture as well as hope that the Oslo accords were about to bring peace had pushed the Israel-firsters and those who believe ‘Jews are a people who always dwell alone’ into the background. But with the outbreak of the second intifada and the perceived resurgence of antisemitism, defensive Jewish leaders came to the fore once again demanding loyalty, solidarity and improved propaganda for Israel. The abuse directed at those who rejected this made it all the more important to reassert the moral and ethical tradition which both informed the development of human rights values and placed the pursuit of justice at the centre of Jewish values. What brought together the Israel-Palestine issue and the issue of racial justice in British society was our concern that no society could be fair or just where the ‘other’ is demonised and denied his or her humanity and human rights. I concluded: ‘What we can do as Jews is bring serious and sustained analysis and discussion to bear on these issues, make the results of that public and thereby … significantly expand the space for alternative voices.’ This would not prevent us from being maligned by other Jews, but it would make it easier to reach and hold to critical conclusions in the knowledge that we were part of a larger, liberal-minded sector of Jewish opinion. And it might have an impact on the balance of opinion in the wider Jewish community.

It

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