[Peace-discuss] Letter to the Editor, by David Green. Basis for his presentation at the Anti-War Teach In

[Karen Aram]

Jews misinformed on Israel-Palestine
Fri, 10/13/2017 - 7:00am | The News-Gazette<http://www.news-gazette.com/users/digitalmedia>

The idea of a Jewish nation, replacing Judaism, inspired the Zionist movement that led to the founding of Israel in 1948. But national liberation for the Jews meant expulsion or subordination for the Palestinians.

Zionism's settler-colonialist character and resulting nation-state has determined the violent, expansionist and discriminatory ethos of the Jewish state, just as settler-colonialism similarly shaped American history.

But instead of the indigenous population being largely exterminated, Jews and Palestinian Arabs now exist in roughly equal numbers within the collective boundaries of Israel and Palestine.

Only 22 percent of what was British Mandatory Palestine (1920-48) forms the Palestinian basis for the "two-state solution" that most Jewish-Americans support, and that our government claims as the goal of the "peace process."

Yet, in their subordination to U.S. and Israeli geopolitical interests, Jewish-American institutions facilitate settlement expansion on the West Bank and the siege of Gaza.

Most Jewish-Americans, although fewer than 20 years ago, wrongly blame the Palestinians for the failure of the "peace process." This absolves them and their institutional representatives of the need for historical understanding and self-critical reflection that would lead to effective political action in relation to U.S. government policies that maintain an untenable status quo.

Any Jewish community, including Champaign County's, could begin to achieve informed political consensus and act in solidarity to effectively challenge this state of affairs, beginning with our elected representatives, academic administrators and media.

This would, however, require openness to productive dialogue among our (Jewish) selves that is still, in effect, culturally and institutionally prohibited.

DAVID GREEN

Champaign
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