Some Liberal Jews Break Ranks on Israel

Newhouse News ^ | 8/3/2006 | Jonathan Tilove

[Incorrigible]

Shoshanna Sumka, a member of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom who attended a Washington rally in support of Israel on July 19, offers a dissenting view of what's in Israel's best interests. (Photo by Rob Levy)

Some Liberal Jews Break Ranks on Israel BY Jonathan Tilove

Some members of the American Jewish community disagree with their mainline organizations' united front in support of Israel in the war in Lebanon. From left to right, members of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom -- Bruce Kochis, Jeremy Sher, Cecily Kaplan and Doug Brown -- participated in the Seattle-area Israel Solidarity Rally on July 23, but protested continuing Israeli attacks. (Photo by Rainer Waldman Adkins)

Since the outbreak of war in Lebanon, leaders of the mainline American Jewish organizations have presented a united front in ardent defense of Israel's military campaign.

But then there is Jewish Voice for Peace, which has condemned the Israeli campaign against Lebanon as disproportionate, and been inundated with calls expressing support.

"These are Jews who are profoundly upset by what's going on," says Cecilie Surasky, communications director for the group based in Oakland, Calif. Its national e-mail list has swelled more than 30 percent to 17,000.

And there is also Brit Tzedek v'Shalom -- in English, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace -- a larger, more cautious voice of dissent on the Jewish American left that has called for a cease-fire. With some 34,000 supporters, Brit Tzedek has added three chapters -- in Raleigh, N.C, Eugene, Ore., and San Diego -- in as many weeks, bringing their total to 38.

"In some ways, people think that when there's a war going on things are tough for a group that's working for peace," says Steve Masters, advocacy chair for the organization, founded in 2002 to mobilize American Jews in support of a negotiated two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "But in other ways it actually highlights the dramatic need for a full, comprehensive solution to all of these conflicts."

At a time when most American Jews appear to be rallying behind Israel, there are some liberal Jews who oppose Israel's continuing attacks in Lebanon as counterproductive, at the very least. For them, at this moment of crisis, it is a test not only of their deepest beliefs but also their ability to articulate misgivings without appearing to give aid to Israel's implacable foes.

"I understand that at a time like this, when the bombs are falling, with Israelis in bomb shelters, the gut reaction is support," said Brad Brooks-Rubin, a Washington lawyer who stood by himself holding a sign calling for a cease-fire at a Solidarity With Israel Rally in the capital July 19. "I have a lot of friends in Israel."

However, Brooks-Rubin wrote in an online posting on Semitism.net, "I feel fear at the future of my own American Jewish community, for standing by and watching it all happen with little more than vicarious rage and willing compliance in their eyes and voice." He said he was dumbstruck when the loudest cheers at the rally rose at the mention of President Bush.

According to exit polls, Bush got about a quarter of the Jewish vote in 2004. A poll last fall found that 70 percent of Jews oppose the war in Iraq.

"We vote liberal. We vote Democratic. We are at the forefront of every human rights issue," said Surasky. But on Israel, she said, many Jews seem to be able to tolerate some considerable cognitive dissonance. She mostly blames the leadership of the mainstream Jewish organizations, who she said toe a much harder line on Israel than the Jewish rank and file.

Consider that according to a poll conducted for the Jewish Agency for Israel in 2004, nearly half of American Jews report they are sometimes ashamed of Israel.

There was initial support in much of the world community for Israel's right to retaliate against Hezbollah for its cross-border raid and kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers. But outside the United States, that support has largely evaporated amid terrible images of wholesale destruction in Lebanon, civilian carnage and hundreds of thousands of refugees. While Israelis were under a steady bombardment of Hezbollah rockets, the toll wasn't nearly as great. The Arab world closed ranks behind Hezbollah.

"What Israel has done has crossed a line," said Surasky. "It's electrifying a whole new generation of people in the Jewish peace world."

The back page of the newest issue of The Nation magazine is an ad placed by Jewish Voice for Peace that asks, "What is Israel Doing?"

While noting Hezbollah's responsibility, the ad contends that "Israel's response -- an explosion of violence and collective punishment directed against airports, bridges and populated neighborhoods of Lebanon -- is an even greater disaster."

Brit Tzedek meanwhile is more circumspect.

Spokesman Masters, a Philadelphia lawyer, will not use words like "disproportionate."

"Our basic message is that a cease-fire in the hostilities between Lebanon and Israel is in the best interests of Israel," said Masters.

Hadar Susskind, Washington director for the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which represents many of the nation's largest Jewish organizations, said that while he counts Brit Tzedek members as good Zionists, most American Jews are focused on supporting Israel's efforts to defend itself.

And, as Sam Kellman, a retired psychologist from South Euclid, Ohio, who is helping to found a Brit Tzedek chapter in Cleveland, can attest, any talk now of curtailing Israel's military options can amount to fighting words. Kellman said he supported Israel's initial assault on Hezbollah, but believes the time has come to negotiate.

"I can tell you plenty of people are pretty angry at me," said Kellman, a member of Kol HaLev, a Reconstructionist congregation.

Those who second-guess Israel can stand accused of being soft-headed, self-indulgent or self-hating. Many American Jews may feel they should defer to those in harm's way in Israel. They may feel they lack the knowledge, devotion or confidence to express their concerns. And what if they are wrong and harm comes to Israel?

In some cities, Brit Tzedek chapters have been involved in pro-Israel rallies. But the Western Massachusetts chapter agonized over whether to join a July 24 rally in Springfield.

"Some felt it was important to let people know that Brit Tzedek cares about Israel as much as anybody does," said Carolyn Toll Oppenheim of Northampton, a coordinator of the local chapter. But others worried they wouldn't be welcome. They stayed away.

For Jews drawn to Brit Tzedek in the current crisis, Oppenheim said, the first step is finding a safe place to talk with others who share their love for Israel and their worry that it's on the wrong course. There, she said, they can begin "taking courage from each other."

Aug. 3, 2006

(Jonathan Tilove can be contacted at jonathan.tilove@newhouse.com.)

Not for commercial use.  For educational and discussion purposes only.

[Incorrigible]

Have any of these folks ever protested against the Jihadists?

 

[RegulatorCountry]

You can't "break ranks" when you were never in the rank to begin with.

[La Enchiladita]

Don't make me vomit, okay?

[sionnsar]

Say WA? Evergreen State ping

FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this ping list.

Ping sionnsar if you see a Washington state related thread.

[My2Cents]

Left-wing appeasers primarily; Jewish only incidentally.

[evets]

[My2Cents]

From left to right, members of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom -- Bruce Kochis, Jeremy Sher, Cecily Kaplan and Doug Brown

"Doug Brown"....now there's a good Jewish name.

[Alouette]

[My2Cents]

At least she doesn't have armpit hair.

[Reaganesque]

These people are Liberals first and Jews second. Their politics are far more important to them than their religion and/or people.

[Mike Darancette]

"We vote liberal. We vote Democratic. We are at the forefront of every human rights issue," said Surasky. But on Israel, she said, many Jews seem to be able to tolerate some considerable cognitive dissonance. She mostly blames the leadership of the mainstream Jewish organizations, who she said toe a much harder line on Israel than the Jewish rank and file.

It's easy to vote liberal, vote Democratic and not care about Israel when you live here and are not under the knives and bombs of the anti-ZionistsSemites.

[eleni121]

Quite a few cultural Jews (whatever that means) oppose the state of Israel and its stance on survival.

The ones I know are mainly socialists and commies...with a few dhimmi types thrown in. They all share an xtreme dislike for outspoken Christian conservatives...kind of lke the muslims in that regard.

[texan75010]

Do they really think a Muzzie would give a flying flip who they voted for in the last election? A Jew is a Jew. Off with their heads.

If they REALLY want to support Hezbulla they should go home and burn down their houses, rape their children and then saw their own heads off.

[larryjohnson]

Not surprised that Bush hate blinds liberals to any logical thought they might have hidden under their thick skulls.

[rightwingcrazy]

I suspect most, if not all of them don't have missiles raining down on them at the moment. That treatment seems to have made hawks of most of the doves in Israel.

[My2Cents]

It's a variation on the old saying that a conservative is simply a liberal who has been mugged.

[Stepan12]

Quite a few cultural Jews (whatever that means) oppose the state of Israel and its stance on survival. The ones I know are mainly socialists and commies...with a few dhimmi types thrown in. They all share an xtreme dislike for outspoken Christian conservatives...kind of lke the muslims in that regard.

They're f... traitors (read without the ellipses)! They're like the Judenrat in Nazi occupied Europe -- except the Judenrat we're facing extinction themselves, so these Commies don't even have the excuse that the Judenrat had.

[Continental Soldier]

"Some liberal Jews break ranks on Israel" Why is that story not surprising?

[Mamzelle]

Considering that 76% voted against Bush, who is likely the last pro-Israel president we'll see, I'm surprised the number is not higher.

Exactly how is the US supposed to continue to support Israel when most US Jews do not support Israel?

[originalbuckeye]

Their politics ARE their religion. There, I fixed it.