JANIP

It Is Time to Complicate the Narrative of the Israeli-Palestinian

“How do I discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a way that ackowledges the suffering and oppression faced by both people? How do I not demonize either group?” Similar questions are asked each day by diversity educators on college and university campuses across the United States. Unfortunately, few have been able to answer this important question.As a diversity educator working on a college campus, I have often been frustrated at the narrative around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in American higher education. Undergraduate students at institutions of higher education in the United States are often challenged to understand the ways in which certain groups are privileged and some are discriminated against. In this work, there is often not a nuanced understanding of oppression. Targeted groups are the “victims” who are oppressed and have no power; agents are those with power and are the oppressor. Given that this discourse exists on campus, few educators are equipped to help students understand a conflict in which there are competing claims for self-determination and freedom from oppression. (more…)

Add comment March 26th, 2007 Posted by Chris

Anti-Israel Sentiment on the Left

On the left, in academia and in activist circles, it has become common to hear cartoon-like comments about Israel, comments that are simplistic to the point of caricature. Israeli public opinion is taken to be monolithic, with no mention of the peace movement or of broader opposition to the occupation. Israel is described as having been founded in league with imperialist powers (Britain and the US). Zionism is equated with imperialism and racism. The two-state solution is dismissed as Zionist. Palestinians are described in equally monolithic and simplistic terms: they are taken to support a one-state solution (presumably unanimously) and the one-state solution that they are taken to support is presumed to be progressive. Hezbollah is described as a liberation organization, fighting to defend the people of southern Lebanon. It is common to hear people on the left describe their politics as “anti-Israel.” There are many who see hostility to Israel and support for Palestine as central to radical politics. That is, the measure of one’s radicalism is how strongly one supports the Palestinians and the depth of one’s hostility to Israel. (more…)

13 comments March 20th, 2007 Posted by Barbara

The Meaning of Apartheid

What do critics of Israel really mean when they use the word apartheid?
Moises F. Salinas, Ph.D.

Dr. Moises Salinas is a professor of Psychology at Central Connecticut State University. His latest book “Planting hatred, Sowing Pain: The Psychology of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” (Greenwood/Praeger) will appear in May.

Many critics of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian people, as evidenced in the recent Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s new book “Palestine Peace, Not Apartheid,” have taken to criticize Israel as an “apartheid state,” the security barrier/wall Israel has been building over the past three years as an “apartheid wall,” and the policies of the state as “apartheid policies.” Now, while I am personally against not only Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories, but the mere fact that there is an occupation, I was really troubled by the use of the term “apartheid” when referring to the occupation. As a psychologist and as an academic, I can not be content, as many commentators have done, by simply explaining the use of the term as a politically convenient one, that was chosen by the opponents of Israeli rule over the Palestinian people because it is flamboyant and emotionally charged, and therefore made “promotional” sense. So, I had to ask myself, what true meaning is hiding behind the use of the term apartheid? (more…)

1 comment January 31st, 2007 Posted by Moises

Progressive Jews who care about Israel and Palestine need to make our voices heard on campus

Too often, the rhetoric around Israel and Palestine on campus is polemical, rigid and one-sided. The advocates for each side generally do not think about the legitimate national rights of the other community. We throw facts at each other to demonstrate that the other side is wrong and does not have legitimacy. In this heated debate, many progressive Jews who do not see a contradiction in being pro-Israel and pro-Palestine have been silent. We are frustrated by both sides and are often mischaracterized by both. The pro-Palestinian side sees us as apologists for Israel while the pro-Israeli side tells us that we hate ourselves and that we are putting Israel in harm’s way. Though we may talk vaguely about the need for peace, we often do not speak out against the Occupation or the ways in which the Israeli government miss opportunities for peace because we see Israel under attack.

It is time for us to find our voice and stop being silent.

If anything has forced me to find my voice, it is the recent controversy around the Union of Progressive Zionists and the Israel on Campus Coalition. (more…)

Add comment January 30th, 2007 Posted by Chris