3-18-13 Responding To Critics Of "On Questioning The Jewish State" - Joseph Levine The Daily Beast, Open Zion


http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/18/responding-to-critics-of-on-questioning-the-jewish-state.html

[The critics say that] 1.  I focus on Jewish nationalism, and Israel, and do not raise similar complaints about other nations.

2.  I am wrong about the character of Israeli democracy: Israel does not in fact politically oppress its non-Jewish, mainly Palestinian citizens. While there are obvious inequalities between Jewish and Palestinian citizens, this doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with the very structure of Israel’s national institutions.

3.  I ignore the history of the conflict.

4.  I am confused about the relation between self-determination for individuals and for collectives.  [After addressing all 4 in order] I’d like to make a general point about my argument that seems to be completely misunderstood by almost every critic who has responded to it. I did not argue that because it was unjust for there to be a Jewish state (as it is for there to be any ethnic state of the same type) we should immediately dismantle it (while leaving all other unjust states as they are). What I argued was that because such a system is unjust, advocates for Israel’s claims in its dispute with Palestinians have no moral basis to appeal to a right to a Jewish state to support their claims, nor to browbeat with the charge of anti-Semitism those who, in response to this claim to a right, reject it. Just as one doesn’t usually hear in the West justifications of the theocracy and oppression in Saudi Arabia on the grounds that the Saudis have a right to such a system of governance, it seems to me it’s time to stop claiming that the Jewish state is based on a right as well. It’s a limited, but, judging by the hysterical reaction it’s evoked in many quarters, also a powerful point as well.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2-19-2020 ‘We gave up on historic Palestine in exchange for nothing’ Bassem Tamimi, who has led popular protests in Nabi Saleh for more than a decade, says the two-state solution is 'no longer an option.' - Oren Ziv +972

https://www.972mag.com/bassem-tamimi-one-state/   …"Why did [his 16 year old daughter] Ahed slap that soldier?" Tamimi asks rhetorically, in a meeting with journalists from Israel. "Because I didn't. That's the reality: We need new ideas, and we cannot expect different results if we continue on the same path. We need to be focused on a goal and change our methods accordingly, not the other way round.   "We don't want to live in an illusion," Tamimi continues. "The peace process began in Madrid in 1992, but the 'Deal of the Century' finished that process off. But the current situation is better than what they're proposing [in Trump's plan], which offers no right of return and no territorial contiguity — just population transfer, and total control for Israel."… T amimi, a longtime Fatah member, now believes that a one-state solution is the only way. ...
Read more

4-2-2014 House warns Palestinian aid may be cut - Julian Pecquet Al-Monitor

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/palestine-un-aid-cuts-peace-talks-abbas.html# US lawmakers are threatening to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) if President Mahmoud Abbas goes through with his stated intention to sign on to 15 UN treaties.   Congress sought to tie funding for the PA to preservation of the status quo at the UN in this year's omnibus spending bill. While it's not clear Abbas' decision violates the letter of the law, appropriators have made it clear they think its spirit has been trampled on.... Maen Areikat, their ambassador to Washington, said the PA agreed to put its UN applications on hold in exchange for Israel releasing 104 Palestinian prisoners, some of them accused of deadly attacks against Israelis, as called for under Kerry's peace talks framework. When Israel reneged on releasing the last batch of 26 prisoners...
Read more