American Judaism, Israel, and Emotions in the Face of Global Violence
Declaration of the State of Israel, 1948. ( via History Today)
Though many discussions of Israel begin with the Holocaust, centuries of Middle Eastern history impact the conflict in ways that must be noted. Before European colonialism, specifically the modern-day Palestine region was a physical and social center for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all of which began among Middle Eastern people and places. Religious conflict has been present since religion itself, but increased in the past 700 years with the emergence of global trade and cross-region power grabs. Europeans emerged as global colonial powers in the past few centuries, and the result has been an extension of European power upon every continent. In the emergence of contemporary capitalism, non-European land and people have been minimized to commodities to be traded amongst elite European classes– the Middle-East was especially crucial to Industrializing Europe for its resources, namely natural gas and phosphate.
Flashing forward to World War II, the Holocaust absolutely decimated the Jewish population, and the communal trauma and healing that would continue for decades was beginning. Met with the stern faces of the European and American superpowers that had not provided sufficient War aid until much too late and were not providing solutions to European anti-semitism, European Jews had, in many ways, nowhere to go. And this is where, for me, European Colonialism and Jewish trauma come together. Instead of fostering areas of Europe as dedicated Jewish spaces for community rebuilding, or making initiative to reintegrate Jews into European society, Britain and the new UN partitioned the historically diverse Palestinian region into two separate Jewish/Muslim ethno-states, sending in European Jews and then leaving them to fight for the land.
This is where I myself as well as other Jewish voices for peace and Colonial liberation draw the line between Jewish heritage and subjugation. It is true that Jews did not have a safe place in any European government following World War II, however, European and American superpowers neither of which have historically been political protectors of Jewish life have taken complete and utter advantage of Jewish trauma, to send us to fight for, at this point, American security in the Middle East.
I will note that I have certainly considered the Zionist perspective to a great extent. I myself have close family in Israel, and even my Los Angeles Jewish family Judaism does of course have a connection with the land where it was born in the Palestine region; however I cannot, in good faith, philosophically or politically justify a sovereign ethnostate based on spiritual connection. It is against the principles of global interaction and equality.
Much of the mainstream media I have consumed recently pits Jews as the enemy of Arab Muslims. This one or the other narrative is harmful, and has made me feel at times alone in my belief that Palestine is not an Arab vs. Jewish issue. But I have learned that I am not alone in my belief. Jewish Voice for Peace, a collection of Rabbis and Jews who oppose the anti-life and anti-humanity forces of violence, have been a strong voice for Palestinian liberation in the United States. In their own words, they are fighting against the erasure of a “Jewish history where our traditions and our communities were not bound up with support for an apartheid government.”
Historical erasure of the history in which Arabs and Europeans; Jews, Muslims, and Christians; men and women; etc, have the ability to live and interact with each other, is intentional to paint an ‘unavoidable’ partition between Arab and Jewish states. As written in her New York Times op-ed, Palestinian Hala Alyan, notes, “Palestinian slaughter is too often presented ahistorically, untethered to reality: It is not attributed to real steel and missiles, to occupation, to policy. To earn compassion for their dead, Palestinians must first prove their innocence.”
This is the more subtle way that Western forces take advantage of Jewish struggle– through the narrative that this is, inherently, a religious issue. We know, from analogous instances of Colonialism that in time have become more socially acceptable to oppose, that the partition itself is what makes violence inevitable, and that people have the ability to come together. Apartheid South Africa is a common analogy, but many others also apply.
Alyan, who wrote in quite impactful prose, holds power in her raw descriptions of the global struggle Palestineans are facing at the moment. In fact, it reminded me of some of the works we have read from many other authors who have seen their home countries and cities and families destroyed by violent conflict, as well as articles about immigration narratives. Lina Attar’s writing documents the destruction of Syrian communities and the emotional torture that presents for members of that community, especially children. It points out the inefficiency of her own civil war– how this conflict with little philosophical backing has been a constant back and forth of sides gaining and losing land inch by inch; that the focus on these subjective border lines has caused death and destruction that helps nobody. Reyna Grande’s piece about monarch butterflies and the idea that we focus on political issues to such an extent that we emotionally dismiss the life being lost, that we disregard land and sustainable practice out of violent reactionism, as well as Hector Tobar’s piece on the contradictions and complexity in the portrayal of migrants and marginalized people are both more than applicable in emotionally navigating this situation.
Arn Chorn-Pond's experiences also shed light on the same type of conflicts. He holds great empathy for all those involved, even and especially members of the Khmer Rouge. He constantly drew connections between the horrors of the Cambodian genocide, China’s political problems, and Vietnam. He placed an emphasis on utilizing writing, speaking, and creating art as the greatest tool against continuous violence.
I encourage my fellow Global Scholars to spend time thinking, feeling, and reflecting. In Chorn-Pond's words, we must remain awake and conscious even when these conflicts are so overwhelming and it is so tempting to pick up a phone and turn off our brains. As noted by him as well as Iraq War veteran Mike Prysner of Veterans For Peace, hatred and violence for fellow human beings serve profit and continue our unconscious prayers at the altar of violence.
