Concessions for Peace

The condemnation of President Obama by some Jewish leaders over his stance that Israel should return to pre-1967 borders is petty and misplaced. These leaders should realize that it is Israel's role to protect the Jewish people not the other way around.

Israel was created as a homeland and a place of protection for the persecuted Jews. But, as a result of Israel's aggressive acts of retaliation, Jews continue to be despised. The best way for Israel to protect the Jewish people is not through a military show of mite. That has shown itself to be a failed strategy. Instead, Israel needs to engage in negotiations, give concessions, and reach a compromise. Agreements with Egypt and Jordan show that it's possible.

Jewish leaders have lost sight of the goal. it is not to create an all-powerful imperial Israel. The goal is to create a safe homeland for Jews. The best way to do that is by accumulating friendly neighbors. If giving up some land to achieve the larger goal is necessary, then so be it.

Israel Turning 60

As Israel reaches its 60th anniversary, we really have nothing to celebrate. Anti-Semitism is as present as it ever was. Instead of providing protection for Jews, Israel has lulled us into a false sense of security. People still hate Jews and now they have a new justification: the actions of the state of Israel.

Anyone who criticizes Israel's actions is called anti-Semitic. There are certainly anti-Semites who criticize Israel, but this blanket accusation gives them cover. We must listen to the criticism and then decide who is bigoted and who is simply a critic.

After 60 years, we care more about the state of Israel than for our people. The most important sentiment should be the well-being of the Jewish people, separate from that of Israel. If anything, Israel's military actions and racism has exacerbated anti-Semitism across the world instead of softening it. We need to change our attitudes towards Arabs and Muslims. We need to strengthen relations with those groups and we need to hold a bit more skepticism towards Zionist Christian fundamentalists.

We need to learn from our tortured history. We have known repression. We should have learned better instead of using this turn of history to repress others. Hopefully at some point we will learn the hard lessons of the last 60 years.

One-sided Condemnations

Organizations such as AIPAC and AJC are quick to condemn suicide bombings within Israel, but they fall strangely silent when it comes to condemning the Israeli military's use of deadly force. All violence should be condemned as tragic and fundamentally counterproductive to the objective of peace.

The justification of self-defense can only hold for so long. When the cycle of violence persists, self-defense can no longer be claimed. It becomes hollow. We must move beyond this rationalization if we ever want the cycle to cease.