ISRAEL
Jews
in the United States have a strong historic, spiritual and emotional
bond to Israel, the birthplace of Judaism. The
Pew Research Center Report on Jewish Americans in 2020 found a large majority of U.S. Jews
(82%) say caring about Israel is either “essential” or “important” to
what being Jewish means to them.
Israel is the only democratic
state in the Middle East and is comprised of Jews and non-Jews with a
population of over 9.3 million people (74% Jews (Ashkenazi, Sephardic,
Mizrahi, Ethiopian); 21% Arab including Muslims (and Circassians), Arab
Christians (including Armenians) and Druze; about 467,000 people are
defined as others, including non-Arab Christians, members of other
religions and those registered as having no religious classification in
the population registry).
The vibrant society that makes up
Israel is so different from the narrow view that much of the world
understands. These videos introduce you to the diversity of Israel and
provide a brief overview of the history of Israel (with links to a more
in-depth series).
WATCH: Who are Israelis, Really? (7:38) Unpacked
WATCH: History of Israel Explained (4:24) Unpacked
CRITICISM OF ISRAEL
In
recent years, Israel and its people have been demonized politically, in
the media and on college campuses, especially in the US and Europe, as
Israel has been accused of “colonizing”, “ethnic cleansing” and
apartheid – false narratives. On Day 5 we shared content on the meaning
of Zionism and how it has been co-opted to mean something that it’s not.
As
we discussed previously, criticizing the Israeli government’s policies
isn’t necessarily antisemitic – just as we would criticize any
government’s policies, including our own; but criticism of Israel can be
antisemitic when double standards, deligitimization and demonization
are used in an attempt to cloak antisemitism as something else.
While
there is plenty of room for criticism of Israeli government policy,
there should be no room for the exclusionary, reductionist and
dehumanizing language in political discourse on the topic.
WATCH: Rabbi Sacks on the Connection between Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, Judaism and Israel (5:58)
READ: To My Fellow Progressives: Anti-Zionism is Antisemitism Oren Jacobson, The Detroit Jewish News - November 5, 2021
CASE STUDY: THE BOYCOTT, DIVEST, SANCTIONS MOVEMENT
Since
2000 organized campaigns around the world have promoted the “boycott,
divestment and sanctions” of Israel. Some supporters may believe that
these efforts will encourage Israel to change its policies towards
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. However, the predominant
drive of the BDS campaign and its leadership is not to criticize and
change these policies, but to demonize and delegitimize Israel. The
complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict has presented as the fault of only
Israel. The BDS campaign does not support peace efforts and rejects a
two-state solution and actually penalizes many Palestinians living and
working in Israel and the West Bank.
WATCH or READ: Rabbi Sacks on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign (6:07)
READ: What is BDS? My Jewish Learning
READ: Ben and Jerry’s Boycott Hurts Palestinians The Times of Israel - July 21, 2021
READ: Miss Universe Says Pageant in Israel Shouldn’t be Politicized Amid Boycott Pressure Forbes - November 17, 2021
CONNECT
Community Conversations: The State of Antisemitism in Nebraska
January 11, 2023
7pm | Alan J. Levine Theater at the Staenberg Omaha JCC