Isn’t it just awkward when liberalism meets Zionism? I suppose in theory the two are not incompatible, but in practice, when Zionism means the creation of Israel in what was Palestine, Zionism will continue to be at odds with the liberal values of equality and freedom.
Israel’s Zionism Problem
By Yousef I was struck by a piece I read this morning on The Atlantic’s website by Jonathan Tepperman. The piece, which admirably decries Israel’s drive toward a loyalty oath, is a perfect example of the type of bend-over-backwards thinking that is produced by the desire to justify an ethnocentric majoritarian state. Tepperman begins:
OK not so bad, he continues:
Uh oh…here it comes (emphasis mine):
So what is the problem Jonathan?
This is where “liberal Zionism” gets all dressed up in flamboyant garb to prance around in the oxymoronic parade. Still, very few take notice. The problem as Tepperman sees it, is that the Palestinian Arabs exist, and their mere existence in their ancestral homeland poses a threat to ethnocentric majoritarianism. The problem for liberal Zionists is not the state adopted ideology which demands ethnic majority rule, but rather the people who were there before the state. And why?
There is no doubt that Jews suffered tremendous injustice in Europe and elsewhere throughout history, and the notion of a homeland for Jews is a legitimate one. But to argue that this justifies ethnic majority rule while ignoring that the creation of that state directly created another stateless people through depopulation and ethnic cleansing is irresponsible and dangerous. In fact, ignoring these truths which are inconvenient for the liberal Zionist leads to perverse and obscene arguments about managing birthrates among ethnic minorities to maintain majority rule. You know, something like this:
So in essence the argument is if Israel could just eliminate some of the institutionalized racism in its socio-economic policies vis-a-vis the Palestinian citizens of Israel, then it will lower birthrates among this population and secure its meta-goal of institutionalized racism in the long term. Isn’t it just awkward when liberalism meets Zionism? I suppose in theory the two are not incompatible, but in practice, when Zionism means the creation of Israel in what was Palestine, Zionism will continue to be at odds with the liberal values of equality and freedom. |
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