Reform Jews: Palestinianism vs Zionism – Game-On

Day After Hanukkah Letter, Which Will It Be: Palestinianism or Reclaiming Zionism 

“The sight of the Palestinian resistance fighters storming Israeli checkpoints separating Gaza from Israel was astounding . . .”  

Professor Joseph Massad praised Hamas’ October 7 massacre and invasion of sovereign Israel.  In recognition of Massad’s scholarship and moral leadership, Columbia University has invited him to teach a course on Zionism.  “Come one come all Columbia students: From Pharaoh to Hitler to Sinwar, Nasrallah and the Ayatollahs – The Real Experts on Jewish Spirituality.”  Of course Massad is an expert on Jewish peoplehood, our right to self-determination and sovereignty in our ancestral home.  Of course Massad is expert in the national liberation story of the Jewish people.

Bari Weiss recently pointed out on Tablet that Jews endow buildings while Muslims endow curricula (Palestinianism).  Jewish names are on the sides of buildings, while  the libels of Palestinianism lurk near the center of university courses and regularly take center stage for at least one session.  Listen to Professor Shai Davidai about a Columbia architecture course with many sessions entitled, “The Design of . . .” — and then a  specific architecture topic.  One of the sessions is called, “The Design of Genocide”.  “Today students, we’ll examine ‘the design of genocide and use Gaza as our model.”  At Columbia University, Palestinianism is a key topic for aspiring students majoring in architecture.  It’s horrifying, jaw-dropping.  No!?   

On Mosaic, Abigail Schreier reports on efforts of teachers to impart anti-Israel fanaticism to their pupils, in California public and private schools.  And in NYC public schools – anti-Zionism and hatred of Jews is taught directly to teachers. 

“As educators committed to doing our part in the fight for Palestinian liberation, [they explained], let’s remember struggles are interconnected.” Then, participants received a list of acceptable emotions for engaging in the discussion. You can only ask questions that “come from” the right place and you must “understand that anti-Zionism is NOT anti-Semitism. . .  “Teachers must help the twelve-year-old boy who’s an amazing kid, whose parents identify as strongly Zionist, to understand why the ideology is both harmful and offensive to others.” 

Reform rabbis, American Jewry desperately need us to do our part in the fight against Palestinianism.

Palestinianism  & Israel?

I believe that Einat Wilf is right.  For 75 years we have chosen to not go to war against Palestinianism – the ideology.  Since before Israel’s existence, the singular goal of Palestinian sponsors was the prevention of and then destruction of Jewish national existence.  They were Nazis in the ’30s-’40’s, pan-Arabists in the ’50’s, Soviets in the ’60s-’80’s, Islamists (first Sunnis, then/now Shia Iran) in the ’90s-‘2010’s and now, pro-Palestinianists.  These ideas always insinuate themselves into  the most elite institutions of society.  There is one thread, one idea, that connects all of these movements – the singular goal of destroying Jewish national existence.

Hamas is not an ideology .  Hamas is the organization whose mission is to fulfill the ideology called Palestinianism.  Palestinianism is only one thing – it has only one cause – to return Jewish existence to its acceptable and historic place in Islam – the status of ‘dhimmi‘.  Dhimmis in Muslim societies are classes of people who are not killed, by definition, but who are by definition 2d or 3d class members of Muslim society.  Gay people, anyone accused of adultery are killed.  Thank Gd, the Jews are not by definition condemned to death.  But we can never be more than dhimmis.  That is their end-goal for Israel.   That is the best case scenario for Jews, if Iran & Co were to defeat Israel, destroy the Jewish state.  The worst case, of course, is October 7 barbarism, rapes, burnings etc in every city in Israel – from Hebron, 1929 to October 7 on the Gaza border. 

Palestinianism & America?

But what about in America?  The dhimmi status is not a very immediate goal.  It’s something else. Reform Jews, this is very hard to swallow.  But it’s so real.  Outside of Israel, (certainly in America and all over the West),  Palestinianism has one theory of change.  Destroy Zionism.  Set Zionism on fire.  Poison Zionism.  Turn Zionism into a cancer that will decimate the Jewish people – in America.  Remember 50 years ago, when we had to whisper the word “cancer”.  They’ve already achieved that milestone.  In America, we have to whisper the word “Zionism”.  So many Jews are downright scared to talk about Israel or Zionism in private, much less in public. 

Their victory strategy is so smart.  Convict Zionism of the most evil crimes. Radically degrade Jewish life in America.  Every Jew will be charged with the crime of being a Zionist (this has happened in many other places – thank you Einat Wilf for this searing insight) and then America will be ready for it’s next step – to abandon and reject Israel entirely.  The attacks have already begun in the US Congress.  Imagine a Congress controlled by – Palestinianists who claim to be agents of moral light and human rights and who truly seek one goal – to convict and condemn Zionism as the poster child for evil and moral darkness.  We have to be honest – they are doing an incredible job – as we sit by and watch.

Palestinianism vs. Zionism – ‘Game-On’ Whether We Like It Or Not

At the great risk of being trite, when I was in High School 50 years ago, basketball was my primary passion.  I was never deterred by my vertical handicap and I think that what we learn on the basketball court can be applied to most of life’s challenges.  Reform Jews, we absolutely must step onto the court.  Every ounce of energy possible must be devoted to this.       

Winning this game, defeating our enemy-opponent, destroying the existential threat that we face, requires many things.  Let’s start with these two:

• a laser-like diagnosis of our opponent’s most dangerous weapon; and, 
• a strategy to defeat and eliminate our enemy’s star player.  In sports we call that a relentless defense and a powerful offense.  

We know that to survive the most serious threats to our lives, whether in the hospital room, corporate boardroom or in a therapeutic space with life partners, we must be courageous in identifying the threat.  

First, the RPG, the nuclear threat that we must defeat and destroy is the war on Zionism.  Anti-Zionism is the 21st Century’s highly respectable form of antisemitism.  Everyone knows that antisemites, Jew haters cannot appear or sound like Nazis.  Libelous, slanderous attacks on Zionism however – racism, apartheid, colonialism, ethnic cleansing, genocide etc – are totally respectable.  And the attacks are molded, validated in very elite circles.  Nazi, Arab-nationalist, Soviet, Islamist, and now leftist-Marxist ideologies all developed in the elite halls of the academy.   

This all out  ‘anti-Zionism war‘  against Jews and Jewish life is not an accident or random or ‘per chance’.  Listen to the words of a world-class hater of Zionism and of the Jews, Mohammed el Kurds.  He said this from a public stage in London. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q37ZN9Mj3ok

The atrocities that the Israeli regime is committing in Gaza are some of the most horrific brutal tragedies of all our lifetimes.  But this genocide is not without a culprit.  Zionism is the root cause of all that is happening in Palestine. . .  There have been 30,000 martyrs.  This is our moment to transform our world. We must reject Zionism in all of our institutions. . . To be anti-racist is to be anti-Zionist. . . Zionism is apartheid.  It’s genocide.  It’s murder. It’s a racist ideology. . .  We must root it out of the world. . . We must de-Zionize because Zionism is a death cult.  Zionism is indefensible.

El Kurds is explicit about the root cause.  Zionism!  “It must be rooted out of all our institutions and out of the world.”  Reform Jews are we listening?  Anti-Zionism is their 3-point shot.  Anti-Zionism is their ace in the hole.  Anti-Zionism is the RPG, the nuclear weapon against every institution in American society. 

Dr. Wilf points out what is at stake.  The very clear impact of anti-Zionism, in the last 100 years, is that every place in the world that hatred of Jewish sovereignty became the driving message, life became impossible for Jews.  Jews had to leave.  In all of those places, think Europe and the Middle Eastern countries, virtually no Jews  remained.  In Europe 6 million were murdered and another million fled Europe.  In the Middle East, 800,000 Jews fled for their lives, from the homes they had enjoyed for many centuries.  Is this the reality that Jews of America will face, 15 or 25 years from now?  I pray not.

All Reform Jews have a critical role to play in preventing America from becoming Europe or the Middle East after WWII.  Can we imagine a nation-wide כיתת כוננות – an  Emergency Response Team of Reform Jews,  American Jews.  We absolutely must establish a powerful defense and offense against their ideology – Palestinianism.

Calling All Reform Rabbis
Which of us Rabbis will Columbia University appoint to teach many courses on Palestinianism?  Just as Joseph Massad can be expert on Zionism, we can be expert  on Palestinianism – on the national liberation story of Palestinians, on the ancient Palestinian yearning for self-determination.  There are many students who will be grateful for such a course.  Oops, how many of us even use the word ‘Palestinianism’.  How many of us are ready to enter the fray.   Confession – I’m not totally ready either.  But we can start by describing reality as it so plainly is in Palestinian lands.  We can begin by advancing the most basic, discernible truths.  See the Palestinianism Chart embedded here.

Reform leaders, ready or not, ‘Game -on: Its Palestinianism or Reclaiming Zionism’.  That is the choice we face.  Rabbis – there may be a lot for us to learn, but there is a reality in the West Bank and Gaza that is so glaringly obvious that we can surely  describe it, without more research.

Calling All Reform Lawyers

I write not only to Reform rabbis but also to Reform lawyers.  Palestinianism’s  attacks on Zionism are a transparent projection of the corrupt reality of life in the West Bank and Gaza onto Israel.  Calling all lawyers, please be clear that the central strategy of Palestinianism is to put Zionism on trial.  How clever.  Lawyers – we  too know how to do this.  Defense is surely not our only game.  With all of your energy, expertise and brilliance, it is time to put Palestinianism on trial.  (Forgive my shift of metaphor from one personal passion to another – from the basketball court to the law court.)

Calling Reform Event Planners/Corporate Strategists

And here’s an appeal to another segment of our Reform community.  All event  planners, all corporate strategists.  Our essential work is like the work of a “Reveal Party”.  It’s actually two separate “Reveal parties”.   The first Reveal Party is – the revealing of Palestinianism.   (Consult this chart).  The chart makes a very important Reveal. 

(The second Reveal Party – to come in the coming posts – will focus on Zionism.  What are the beautiful, humane, progressive, liberal ideals of Zionism?  Our second Reveal Party will be – Reclaiming Zionism, the word and the wonder.)

North American Reform Jews – rabbis, lawyers, strategists – let us be leaders, role models – of courage and vision for our young people.  Palestinianism is not invincible.  Palestinianism is not too big an enemy.  It’s defeatable.  Surely, it’s not more Goliath than Sinwar, Deif, Nasrallah, Shukr or the Iranian air defense system.  For America’s sake and for the sake of Western civilization, Palestinianism must be revealed and defeated. 

Reform Jewry, Jews in America need us to seize this moment.  This is an absolutely critical hour in our Movement.  Let us stand today as we stood in 1948, 1967, 1973 and as we stood passionately and proudly for Soviet Jewry.  

But let’s know as well that this moment is about something way larger than Jews of America.  There are so many Americans desperately waiting – will the Jewish people stand up for themselves?  Can I stand up for the Jews if they don’t stand up for themselves?  So many Americans are waiting to be inspired, waiting to join this critically important, freedom-loving effort.  Reform leaders, our fellow Jews need us to seize this moment.    America needs us too.   With Hanukkah just completed, now is the time to be a light unto the nations.