As the Bush administration continues pushing for what it calls a pre-emptive strike on Iraq with the avowed goal of toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein, anti-war activists are busily organizing protests and other activities. Of deep interest to the Jewish community is how this anti-war movement is growing, and where the agenda of anti-Israel activists may be fitting within this movement.
On Saturday, for example, an anti-war march and rally was held in San Francisco, attracting about 2,000 protesters. The banner headline for this demonstration was “Stop the War on Iraq Before It Starts: Protest the U.S. War Drive.” The headline immediately below, however, was “Free Palestine – National Day of Protest.” The four stated goals of the protest were: “No New War Against Iraq”; “Stop U.S. Aid to Israel — No to Israeli Apartheid”; “Divest from Israel Now”; and “Support Palestinian People’s Right to Return Home.”
The anti-Israel component of Saturday’s rally was led by a Justice in Palestine Coalition, whose “points of unity” can be found on the Web site of the San Francisco chapter of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee. These points are rabidly anti-Israel, and the content so extreme in tone that it describes Zionism as being inherently “racist” and puts the Jewish national liberation movement on the same footing as apartheid and Nazism. It further calls for the de-Judaization of Israel by demanding “the right of all Palestinian refugees to return to their original towns and villages anywhere in historic Palestine.”
While there have been past examples of a merged effort between anti-Israel partisans and the progressive anti-war movement, this event is, perhaps, a harbinger of what we are likely to see on a more regular basis.
Ironically, many pro-Israel Jews would count themselves as among those Americans who stand in opposition to a U.S. attack on Iraq, and would naturally be attracted to a movement that would oppose such a war. This raises some significant questions. For instance, would anti-war, pro-Israel Jews be able to find a “home” in an anti-war movement that also opposed Israel’s right to exist? Could anti-war, pro-Israel Jews have a moderating influence in the anti-war movement by turning the movement away from an anti-Israel agenda and keep it focused on Iraq?
Perhaps. But at present the anti-war movement as now constituted seems to have adopted a position not aimed merely at criticizing certain Israeli policies in the hopes of changing them, but at undermining Israel’s very legitimacy. In other words, this “peace” movement doesn’t seek peace with Israel, but a peace without any Israel.
We should have at least two primary concerns. First, that frequent and growing anti-war protests will, in all likelihood, provide a much greater exposure to the anti-Israel voices within the Bay Area community. Second, that more mainstream groups that have not yet lent their names to anti-Israel protests will lend their names to anti-war activities — which include anti-Israel slogans.
A case in point was a program held recently at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco and organized by the American Friends Service Committee. The program announcement for the event, called a “Convocation for Peace and Justice in the Middle East,” states: “Please come to a Bay Area Convocation of Faith, Justice and Peace Groups to: Oppose War in Iraq; End Israel’s Occupation; Rebuild Afghanistan and its Society.”
Unlike the march and rally that is sponsored by the extremist fringe, one of the sponsors of this event is the San Francisco Archdiocese Social Concerns Commission. The archdiocese has, from time to time, taken stances on the Middle East with which we have disagreed, but it has avoided any extreme rhetoric or attempt to delegitimize Israel. When the Jewish Community Relations Council expressed great concern about the group’s co-sponsorship of an event that has, as one of its goals, ending “Israel’s occupation” without any mention whatsoever of Israel’s right to security and continuing acts of Palestinian terrorism, we were told that the announcement should not have read the way it did and that changes would be made.
Our long-standing good relations with the local archdiocese played a key role in making our point acceptable. Nonetheless, this incident illustrates the need to focus energy and attention on mainstream organizations that may join in a broad anti-war activities, while ignoring or only mildly protesting any anti-Israel sentiments that are incorporated into those activities. The linkage of anti-war and anti-Israel rhetoric poses yet another major challenge for our community.