The collapse of liberal Zionism needs to be studied. As one of the main bulwarks against Israel's most horrific tendencies, the inability and refusal of so many in both America and Israel to stop Netanyahu's fantasies has helped this genocide to go unchecked. Few will say it, but it's the reality.
Agree with this. I think the defining failure of my generation (I’m 68) was the failure to push back on the settlement enterprise, the prevailing gestalt being that any criticism played into Arafat’s hands. But the timidity of American Jewry and its organs have led directly to this moment.
Do liberal Zionists actually have that power? Within America, they do have enormous influence, especially through larger institutions. When Biden was president, the orgs that most represent them could have put enormous pressure on the government. They chose not to.
Same goes for media and popular discussion: liberal Zionist mainstream discourse once provided a counterpoint to the rhetoric in America among the worst of Israel's far right. Today, much of their discourse has simply become subsumed into the right. They defend these folks instead of fighting back.
That led moderate complacency in America, with being "pro-Israel" not just about hiding issues like apartheid, but now just about anything Israel does. Genocide, the further occupation of the West Bank, the takeover by Ben Gvir, the destruction of the democracy even for Jews, etc.
There once was a liberal bulwark against these to help people understand the diversity in Israeli and Jewish thought, even if it was inherently and dangerously flawed. Now it is, in effect, gone. And all that remains is its bones, trampled by the new far right reality they've accepted.
I think it got chewed up by leftist pro-Palestine entryism
i appreciate you offering nuance, very rarely found but maybe its around blue sky a bit more. havent been here in awhile
I would call Bibi the most selfish PM in Israel's history. He arguably broke the Israeli political system in 2009 when he pushed the largest party in the Knesset into the minority in order to take power, and has been successfully horse-trading to get to 61 seats ever since. I don't think he
has genocidal fantasies, but I know Smotrich and Ben-Gvir do. To paraphrase "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", Bibi may be the head, but they are the neck, and they point the head wherever they choose. Bibi's self interest and self preservation led him to acquiesce rather than lose his position as PM.
Ever since 10/7 I've understood Bibi's actions as that of furious man who is inflicting as much destruction as possible in the hope that Israelis forget that it was his government that oversaw that calamitous day and the remains Hamas never tries anything like it again. Both of these are pipe dreams
the anti israel people effectively made "price" to them in annoyance/bullying high enough i think most decided to just avoid the subject perhaps. that'd be my theory. something about Netanyahu being in power for so long also a factor.
It's given Zionism itself a very very black eye.
I think this is an important topic of study, and I think a very old (2011) post of mine on the various “camps” of US Jewish politics re: Israel can help shed light on it (particularly on who “liberal Zionists” are)./1
I had a feeling I'd see you in the replies! Really appreciate all these thoughts, thank you for sharing!
For a long time, there were three camps: an anti-Israel left, an avowedly anti-Arab Zionist right, and a big middle that was broadly left-of-center, pro-Israel, supported two-states, etc. Starting in the Obama admin, that middle camp started to fracture in half./2
The middle camp split into what I would call the liberal Zionists and the mainstream/legacy groups. So now there were four camps: anti-Zionists (ex: JVP), liberal Zionists (J Street), legacy center (AIPAC, AJC), and hard right (ZOA)./3
The legacy center, fwiw, could also be called “liberal Zionists” — their members were broadly left-of-center, and they nominally supported things like two-states — but the big question was whether they’d unite with the J Street types or not./4
The J Streeter’s goal was basically to reunite the middle two camps behind actual (as opposed to nominal) support for their stated values (two-states etc.). A broad alliance of basically liberal Jews, standing against a hard-right and hard-left fringe. /5
But the groups on the edges (anti-Israel left, but more importantly Zionist hard right) wanted to collapse the debate into two camps: pro-Israel or anti-Israel, banking on being able to gobble up support and solidarity if the middle was “forced to choose.” /6
Ultimately, this all boiled down to “will the legacy center align w/the liberal Zionists as mainstream vs fringe, or the Zionist hard right as pro-Israel vs anti-?” And the answer was the latter (this long predates 10/7—J Street being rejected from joining the Conference was a keystone moment). /7
Ultimately it’s that decision that’s represented the failure of “liberal Zionism”. The center chose to align w/ the right, the liberals got cut adrift and were marginalized, the anti-Zionist left grew in part bc the liberals were anemic. Two camps, with liberal Zionists barely relevant to either./8
In that light, I’d slightly disagree that the “liberal Zionists” are powerful in the US or buttressed a consensus on Israel that’s now falling, but that’s mostly bc I disaggregate the (relatively impotent) “liberal Zionists” of the J Street mold from the establishment center AIPAC types./9
I don’t think the actual liberal Zionists were uniting with the right against those trying to arrest Israel’s descent into racism, fascism, and ethnic cleansing; I think they got hung out to dry by the center. /10
Or it was always a mirage, and when finally forced to choose they are choosing this
I think what isn't really expressed here at all is that the core reason for the collapse of liberal Zionism is clear: it was based on a false premise. The Two State Solution has not been a serious possibility from the moment the Oslo Accords were signed. The LZ angle was either delusional or a lie.
What the Liberal Zionist perspective offered people was the idea that you could believe that Israel was a good idea and see that as consistent with a belief in Palestinian rights. But from the Palestinian camp, this was never seriously on offer from Israel.
Why aren't the many Muslim nations stepping up? And don't say nukes because Pakistan has them too and certainly many others are somewhere on the nuke track. I hate what's being done and NOT done but when the ultra wealthy armed to the teeth Arab countries...
A combination of American Diplomacy, internal divides, and a general lack of ethnic solidarity in the Muslim world keep them for paying more than lip service to the cause. That said the populations of most of those countries absolutely would like their governments to be doing more.
I agree but that doesn't help even 1 Palestinian.
??? I was answering your question. These are the reasons that muslim leadership has failed to respond properly to the palestinian crisis, as expressed by respected palestinian historians on the subject. It's important context to understand the crisis.
I understand it completely. Blaming Kamala is for LOSERS!
what the fuck are you even talking about. Do you need medical attention?
You still haven't helped even 1 Palestinian with your lame excuses.
Mainly I made the mistake of assuming you were asking a genuine question and not...whatever this is. But hopefully my answers will reach others
I was and no one has refuted my argument. Blame America First shit doesn't stand with me. Extremist religious zealots both Jewish and Muslim are to blame for this horrific situation.
Please go away.
Palestinian experts on the subject also point out that the fundamental roadblock to peace is the fundamental assumption that America is a neutral arbiter, when it is clearly behind israeli interests 100%, and a true settlement can only be achieved when america is understood as hostile to palestine.
Biden and Yahoo go back decades, long before Ben had to scheme and in order to stay out of prison. Kamala had no such ties is what I am saying. You nor anyone else knows how she would have reacted.
...just complain then maybe the collapse of the brotherhood with the Gazans needs to be studied as well.
US alliances are a big factor. Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia all receive military aid or are strategically aligned with the US. The countries that have come come into direct conflict with Israel over Gaza are all poor(except Iran) and not US-aligned.
Pakistan sure is not so what were you saying again? UAE, Qatar and Kuwait are swimming in cash so just no.
It’s not a collapse as such. It’s more that the rightwing is the loudest voice in the room and that Netanyahu’s drive for self-preservation perpetuates their positions. However, these forces are unfortunately helped by leftwing antisemitism & misuse of terms like genocide. Similarly Palestinism.