An American Jewish community divided over fundamental issues of Mideast war and peace has come together across political and ideological lines to support Israel as it fends off attacks on two fronts.
For some, the moment of unity conceals growing anxieties over the effectiveness of the continuing Israeli offensives in Gaza and Lebanon. But even some strong critics of Israeli policy acknowledge that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert probably had no choice but to unleash Israel’s potent military.
“For the vast majority in our community, this is a back-to-basics issue,” said David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee. Harris was in Israel on Monday, July 17 as part of a solidarity mission. “Israel withdrew totally from Gaza and from southern Lebanon. Therefore, what goals could Hezbollah and Hamas have in launching these attacks other than pursuing Israel’s complete destruction? That’s the sobering thought that is bringing the Jewish community together.”
For the Jewish left, the current crisis has been shattering.
Americans for Peace Now (APN) and the Israel Policy Forum have not abandoned their view that Israel must actively pursue peace with its neighbors and find ways to get out of most of the West Bank — if not through negotiations, then thru unilateral action.
But they also understand politics in Israel and the realities of a situation in which terror groups that have gained legitimacy in democratic elections have chosen to attack, not talk.
Many moderate doves believe the Israeli offensive, and especially the widespread attacks in Lebanon, are morally justified.
Americans for Peace Now is “very clear that this crisis was triggered because of the egregious acts of Hamas and Hezbollah,” said Mark Rosenblum, the group’s political director.
But there’s also the pragmatic question of what is likely to work, he said; while Israel has the moral high ground in the current crisis, “we have deep questions about the efficacy of what Israel is doing.”
APN officials worry that the twin military thrusts may ultimately solidify popular support for Hamas and Hezbollah and further weaken their more moderate opponents. Some say Israel’s offensives plays into the hands of Iran, the country that pulls the strings of the two terror groups.
But making those arguments is risky in an environment of almost universal outrage at Hezbollah and Hamas and their government sponsors, disappointment that the Gaza pullout did not lead to peace and sympathy for the beleaguered people of Israel.
For now, the more mainstream groups on the left are expressing their support for Israel, but also suggesting the need for strong U.S. intervention to bring about a ceasefire.
They are also quietly arguing that all avenues of negotiations need be pursued. Between the lines, that means one thing: opening channels of communication with Syria, Iran and the terror groups they support.
But they are treading carefully, unwilling to challenge the legitimate outrage felt by an Israel under siege.
The Jewish right faces a different set of problems.
Groups such as the Zionist Organization of America fought an aggressive campaign against last year’s Gaza pullout, arguing that far from bringing peace to Israel, it would merely give Hamas a new platform from which to launch attacks.
Their warnings proved accurate, but their “I told you so” crowing has been limited in the current crisis, for the reason that they have few alternative proposals to advance that the battered Israelis and Jews in this country are likely to accept.
Olmert has made it very clear Israel does not plan to re-occupy Gaza or southern Lebanon; polls in Israel suggest that the public has little appetite for returning to that costly status quo.
The hawkish groups have been strong in their criticism of Iran and Syria for supporting and sometimes inciting Hezbollah and Hamas. But there are big risks in pressing for Israel to get into a war its political and military leaders, as well as its public, do not want.
For now, groups like ZOA will focus on pressing their friends in Congress and on the religious right to create political roadblocks to slow any new U.S. pressure on Israel to scale back its operations or accept a cease-fire that does not force the disarming of Hezbollah and Hamas.
There are few signs of such administration pressure today, but as the death toll mounts and the cost to other U.S. interests becomes more apparent, many believe it is inevitable.
In the long term, groups on the right are preparing fierce opposition to any effort by Olmert to pursue his convergence plan despite recent events.
Some observers say the recent violence has all but killed the plan for sweeping West Bank withdrawals — but others argue that the renewed violence may ultimately just reinforce the view that complete and unilateral separation from the Palestinians is the only viable option.
Numerous polls show that most American Jews remain firmly planted in the political center. They support Israel and its right to defend itself, they distrust the Palestinian Authority, they recognize Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist groups that are interested only in Israel’s destruction, but they also believe Israel must find a way to negotiate an end to the decades-old conflict with the Palestinians.
The groups that represent them — dozens of community relations councils and federations around the country, centrist groups like the American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the Anti-Defamation League — are simply rallying around Israel at a difficult time and trying to avoid second-guessing both the government in Jerusalem and a wary, non-involved administration in Washington.
They are inclined to believe Olmert should be given a chance to use the military to repel the Hamas and Hezbollah threat and undermine their ability to stage new attacks, but they will also likely support U.S. ceasefire efforts, as long as those efforts take into account Israel’s security needs.
Mostly, they will offer moral and financial support to a beleaguered Israel and political support in Washington, and wait anxiously to see what comes next.