At a time of turmoil, a crossroads for a people in search of justice
By Chloe Valdary|March 18, 2015 12:00 AM
“Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow.” —Abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass
On one sunny August afternoon in Boston in 2014, I made my way through the Boston Common public park and watched from a distance as people began to engage in a series of passionate, politically charged chants. The noise was discordant, as voices rose over and above each other, as if two groups of people were talking at the same time. Upon further inspection, it became clear that in fact there were two groups of protesters rallying against each other. The group on the left—wearing checkered kaffiyehs and red-and-green clothing—were chanting something about, “resistance,” and “justice.” Their favorite slogan seemed to be: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”
In contrast, the group on the right was dressed largely in blue-and-white, and the people waved Israeli flags and sang songs in Hebrew. I moved closer as I was curious as to what their main slogan was. Did they also cry out for justice? Did they have grievances they wished to compel oppressors to rectify? Did they have, at the very least, a rhetorical commitment to bringing about the end of the persecution of their people? As I approached the scene, my ears perked up and, finally, I was able to fully discern what the roughly 150 Zionist demonstrators were chanting:
“Israel wants peace.”
A bit disappointed, I continued to watch the spectacle unfolding before me. The angry people to my left caused me to contemplate the meaning of fairness and the ideal of equality that my parents taught me to strive for. The group on my right merely continued to chant something about peace, which was a fine sentiment but would never be more important than justice.
Justice is the most pertinent cause in the world, and any people struggling for justice makes me want to struggle with them.
At any rate, I had to leave. I had errands to run. However, there was no question as to which protesters left me with the greatest impression: It was those who kept chanting a memorable phrase that spoke about freedom. Indeed, I couldn’t seem to get it out of my head and as I walked away, I continued to repeat it over and over again to myself:
“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free.”
***
In the Zionist community, we are fixated on the ideal of “peace,” believing that our focus should be on pursuing what is often cited as liberal humanity’s highest value. In our pamphlets, slogans, and counter-demonstrations against anti-Zionist forces, the notion of peace is prevalent and placed on a pedestal—while all other ideals are often made secondary.
“It takes two sides to make peace.” We hear Israeli diplomats and activists making this statement ad nauseam. I used to make this point incessantly as a counter-argument to anti-Israel groups on campus who would rant about Jewish conspiracy theories and how they believed segregating Jews outside of Judea and Samaria was an inherently noble aim and endeavor.
Yet if we consider the premise that peace is the most important principle one must uphold—and extrapolate that claim to its logical conclusion—we will be forced to tolerate the oppression and disenfranchisement of our own community.
Today, for example, in Europe, anti-Semitism is growing at alarming rates. Jews are being attacked in synagogues and slain in kosher supermarkets and are often harassed when they express their culture or religion by wearing kippot or Star of David necklaces.
Imagine for a moment if a European government segregated the Jewish community, ostensibly so that they wouldn’t be attacked. Imagine further that legislation was passed to place a Jewish community in a ghetto of sorts and that laws were put in place that banned Jews from leaving the area after 10 p.m. during weekdays.
What if a resolution were passed banning all Jewish cultural expression: “Jews can no longer have peyot or wear tzitzit under their clothing”; “Jews cannot openly support the state of Israel;” “Jews cannot walk into areas that are densely populated with Muslim citizens.”
What if these provisions succeeded in effectively stemming the tide of anti-Semitism in Europe and led to a decrease in hate crimes against Jews? What if there was less violence; less tension; less bloodshed?
Such a hypothetical situation could be described as “peaceful.” There’s only one problem: Such a hypothetical situation could also be described as unjust.
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