"A Wondering Jew"
peter
2 Comments
This article by Tony Karon is a sensitive and insightful piece that captures the kind of Jew that one might aspire to be in the diaspora if one can extricate one's self from the grip of the official dogmas and mythology:
Healing Israel's Birth Scar April 2, 2008 Tony Karon
The opening paragraph:
With the 60th anniversary of Israel’s birth — and of the Palestinian Nakbah (catastrophe) — which are, of course the same event, almost upon us, I was reminded this week that April 9 was also the 60th anniversary of an event that has long epitomized the connection between the creation of an ethnic-majority Jewish state and the man-made catastrophe suffered by the Palestinian Arabs. That would be the massacre at Deir Yassein, a small village near Jerusalem where fighters of the Irgun, led by Menahem Begin, massacred up to 250 Palestinian civilians — in what later emerged as a calculated campaign of “ethnic cleansing,” using violence and the threat of violence to drive Palestinians to flee their homes and land, which were then summarily appropriated by the new state of Israel, which passed legislation forbidding the Palestinian owners from returning to their property.
Reader Comments (2)
Are the 496 names we see on your list today current or have most of them now departed?
Ray,
Sorry it's taken so long to reply, but I overlooked your comment until just now! As to your question about our list, it doesn't quite make sense to describe them as either "current" or "departed" since the signatures were given for the specific statement to which they are listed and that hasn't changed at all. Accordingly, they remain listed as endorsing that statement and, of course, no other statement. Certainly, fewer people, some from the original list and other new names, signed the Palestinian advertisement we circulated. Only their names appeared with this advertisement - despite the confusion created by the 'dirty tricks' campaign propagated by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies. As we explain now elsewhere on our website in the section 'About Us', we are not a society with membership and so it doesn't make sense to ask whether anyone has "departed". Those original signatories may not agree about anything else besides that statement and that's just what one would expect. Our role is to promote active discussion and to widen the debate beyond what has been available in the mainstream press and beyond the views expressed by official Jewish representatives. Even if not a single person had signed the Palestinian statement, it would have meant that anyone had "departed" from us since we don't claim anyone as members. Future statements, articles, public lectures etc. might can more or fewer signatures and perhaps entirely different ones. Until a proper society is formed with a membership, we need not fall into the trap that our critics have wanted along the lines of your question: They have evidently sought to score a point by suggesting that we have lost our original support, but this doesn't mean anything. Many of our most warm, enthusiastic original signatories have simply told us that they are still enthusiastic about our goal of broadening the debate but just didn't like the last statement. Maybe they will like the next one better.
Thanks for your inquiry!
Peter