The politicization of Judaism
By Brandon Davis | The Daily Princetonian | October 6, 2010
If you’ve been listening to Newt Gingrich recently, you might be fearful of Muslims turning the United States of America into the Islamic Republic of America. You might be under the impression that Islamic religion is nothing more than a political front. You might be under the impression that Christianity is also fast becoming a political tool. But in all of the recent ranting about religion and politics, the third Abrahamic faith is flying under the radar. Few people think of Judaism as a political movement the way they might consider Islam or Christianity. When I think of Judaism, I think of latkes, challah, Woody Allen and Passover seders. I think of my mother yelling “oy vey” when I did badly on a quiz or when she burned the Rosh Hashanah brisket. If you’re an American of any religion, this is probably the image you have of Jewish people as well.
But there’s a whole other section of the world that has a very different perception of Jewish people. To them, Judaism is nothing but a political movement. They think of Jewish people — Israelis — who rode in on military jeeps and evicted them from their homes. They think of Jewish people who have blocked them off from the rest of the world, by physical wall or economic blockade. They think of Jewish people who have stolen their land and denied their history.
I agree that it would be wrong to draw conclusions about Israelis or Jews in general because of some Israeli policies and military actions — just as it would be wrong to judge any community by the actions of its worst representatives. But how do we deal with Judaism when almost all American Jewish organizations unconditionally support Israeli policies?
In the secular, post-religion age in which many of us live, Judaism has been preserved by another faith: nationalism. Allegiance to Israel is integral to the American Jewish experience, perhaps even more so than the religious and cultural tradition born out of the Diaspora. And organized Judaism’s political leanings are nearly monolithic.
Questioning this allegiance is the worst taboo within the organized Jewish community. Academics like Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein GS ’88 who criticize Israel are dubbed “self-hating Jews” by the American Jewish mainstream. Jewish pro-Palestinian groups like Jews Say No or Jewish Voices for Peace are on the ultimate fringe. There are a few semi-mainstream Jewish groups that do criticize Israel, but there are none that will even entertain the idea of a non-Jewish Israeli-Palestinian state.
The result is a near-total politicization of Judaism, analogous to Islamism in the Middle East or Sarah Palin’s brand of political Christianity here. While, unlike these ideologies, American Jews do not advocate for our government to be founded on Jewish values, we do advocate specific policies in the Middle East. Like the Sabbath prayers and the stories of the Torah, the history of modern Israel — often stripped of its unsavory bits — is an integral part of Jewish education. The Israeli independence fighters are heroes for American Jews, just like George Washington or Paul Revere. Millions of dollars are spent to teach young Jews to love Israel and to defend Israel from its critics. The proof is overwhelming and undeniable: Maintaining a Jewish nation-state in Palestine has become one of organized Judaism’s core goals.
And just as it is fair to criticize Israeli policies, it is fair to criticize its apologists — groups that claim to represent the entire American Jewish community. American Jews have traditionally been at the forefront of progressive movements. But in recent years, American Jewish institutions have trended toward the ugly side of Zionism, defending — or at least apologizing for — the Israeli hard right in its continuation of the occupation of the West Bank and repression of Palestinian identity. The undeniable injustices of the Israeli government and military warrant criticism; silence in the face of these injustices warrants criticism as well.
It is time for American Jews to stand up against oppression, violence and religious fundamentalism. The tribalism that has persuaded the Jewish people to categorically stand up for Israel for so many years is foolish and outdated. The occupation of the West Bank is wrong. The blockade of Gaza is wrong. The displacement of Palestinian villages is wrong. The continued construction of settlements is wrong. And American Jews have enabled all of it. It’s about time a Jew stood up and said so.
Brandon Davis is a sophomore from Westport, Conn. He can be reached at bsdavis@princeton.edu. – Republished with permission from The Daily Princetonian
Share this:
Related
October 9, 2010 - Posted by aletho | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular
3 Comments »
Leave a comment Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Featured Video
The United States Started the Korean War
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
U.S. Drops Fleas With Bubonic Plague on North Korea
By David Swanson – War Is A Crime – September 5, 2015
This happened some 63 years ago, but as the U.S. government has never stopped lying about it, and it’s generally known only outside the United States, I’m going to treat it as news.
Here in our little U.S. bubble we’ve heard of a couple versions of a film called The Manchurian Candidate. We’ve heard of the general concept of “brainwashing” and may even associate it with something evil that the Chinese supposedly did to U.S. prisoners during the Korean War. And I’d be willing to bet that the majority of people who’ve heard of these things have at least a vague sense that they’re bullshit.
If you didn’t know, I’ll break it to you right now: people cannot actually be programed like the Manchurian candidate, which was a work of fiction. There was never the slightest evidence that China or North Korea had done any such thing. And the CIA spent decades trying to do such a thing, and finally gave up.
I’d also be willing to bet that very few people know what it was that the U.S. government promoted the myth of “brainwashing” to cover up. During the Korean War, the United States bombed virtually all of North Korea and a good bit of the South, killing millions of people. It dropped massive quantities of Napalm. It bombed dams, bridges, villages, houses. This was all-out mass-slaughter. But there was something the U.S. government didn’t want known, something deemed unethical in this genocidal madness.
It is well documented that the United States dropped on China and North Korea insects and feathers carrying anthrax, cholera, encephalitis, and bubonic plague. … continue
Blog Roll
-
Join 2,756 other subscribers
Visits Since December 2009
- 6,751,128 hits
Looking for something?
Archives
Calendar
Categories
Aletho News Civil Liberties Corruption Deception Economics Environmentalism Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism Fake News False Flag Terrorism Full Spectrum Dominance Illegal Occupation Mainstream Media, Warmongering Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity Militarism Progressive Hypocrite Russophobia Science and Pseudo-Science Solidarity and Activism Subjugation - Torture Supremacism, Social Darwinism Timeless or most popular Video War Crimes Wars for IsraelTags
9/11 Afghanistan Africa al-Qaeda Australia BBC Benjamin Netanyahu Brazil Canada CDC Central Intelligence Agency China CIA CNN Colombia Covid-19 COVID-19 Vaccine Da’esh Donald Trump Egypt European Union Facebook FBI FDA France Gaza Germany Google Hamas Hebron Hezbollah Hillary Clinton Human rights India Iran Iraq ISIS Israel Israeli settlement Japan Jerusalem Joe Biden Korea Latin America Lebanon Libya Middle East National Security Agency NATO New York Times North Korea NSA Obama Pakistan Palestine Qatar Russia Sanctions against Iran Saudi Arabia Syria The Guardian Turkey Twitter UAE UK Ukraine United Nations United States USA Venezuela Washington Post West Bank WHO Yemen ZionismRecent Comments
Unome on Global Elections Face Growing… 5 dancing shlomos on NIH-Funded Scientists Develop… peterjohnarnold on US may have secretly approved… peterjohnarnold on War in Ukraine shattering… curmudgeon49 on US may have secretly approved… rediscover911com on Russia’s Growing Media I… rediscover911com on The US is not an honest b… roberthstiver on US says Israeli massacres in R… peterjohnarnold on Russia’s Growing Media I… raggs12 on Remembering Those Who Died for… rediscover911com on Remembering the Holocaust on M… 5 dancing shlomos on Report: Israeli Settlers, IDF…
Aletho News
- Why Israeli Military-Industrial Complex’s Dizzying Gaza War Profits Won’t Last
- Terror in Syria: a US distraction from Gaza
- For a Fistful of Shekels: Israeli Defense Contractors’ Profits Boom as Economy Takes a Beating
- The US is the World Leader with No Pier
- France plans to send military instructors to Ukraine – Reuters
- Top Hungarian Diplomat Criticizes NATO Plans to Let Ukraine Strike Inside Russia
- Over 500,000 people expected to attend largest pro-peace march ever in Hungary
- They Think We Are Stupid, Volume 9
- Global Elections Face Growing Censorship Threat: The Rise of “Prebunking”
- ‘Unambiguous’: Excess Deaths in Cyprus Tied to COVID Vaccine Rollout
If Americans Knew
- Israel is trying to designate UNRWA as a terrorist org – Day 236
- Hostages of Israeli revenge in the Gaza Strip: Testimonies of 100 released Palestinian detainees reveal crimes of torture, cruel treatment
- Israel’s latest offensives unleash ‘hell’ in Gaza, aid groups say
- Israel’s national murder-suicide pact: Internalizing the “Hannibal Directive”
- War on Gaza: Why ICC bid for arrest warrants is a bold and historic move — Richard Falk
- US weapons used in Rafah massacre: CNN report – Day 235
- How Israel twists antisemitism claims to project its own crimes onto Palestinians
- New bill seeks to extend U.S. military benefits to Americans serving in the Israeli army
- Netanyahu tries to explain away Rafah massacre: “we tried” – Day 234
- ‘People burned alive’ in attack on Rafah; ‘IDF regrets any harm to non-combatants’ – Day 233
Richie Allen
- Today’s Show Is Cancelled – Back Tomorrow Thursday May 30th
- Call Richie Today Monday March 11th From 4.30pm
- Connect To The Richie Allen Show WhatsApp Today
- NHS Asks Patients To Choose From 12 Genders, 10 sexual Preferences & 159 Religions
- The Richie Allen Show Moves To A New Time Slot From Monday Nov 20th
- Starmer Will Sack Shadow Ministers Who Vote For Gaza Ceasefire
- AI Tool Can Predict Heart Attacks Years In Advance
- Nepal Bans TikTok To Preserve Social Harmony
- Bloke Appointed Boss Of Womb Health Charity
- WHO – “Gaza’s Biggest Hospital Becoming A Cemetery”
No Tricks Zone
- Megafossil Carbon Dating Indicates Sweden Was 2-3°C Warmer Than Today During The Last Glacial
- Met Office Warns: Extremely Wet Summer…After Warning Droughts Would Become More Frequent
- New Study: China’s Loess Plateau 7-8°C Warmer Than Today For Much Of The Last 4000 Years
- German Green Movement “A Run Amok At The Expense Of People And Nature”
- New Study: Warming Temperatures In China The ‘Main Factor’ Explaining Rising Crop Yields
- Alps’ Glacier History Contradicts German High Court Claim Of CO2 “Linear Relationship”
- Climate Research Paper Finds Tropical Storm Variability Linked Mostly To Oceanic Cycles
- HadCRUT Has Now Fully Removed 0.15°C From The 1940s Warmth ‘Blip’ As Proposed In 2009 E-mails
- Data Reveal That US Heat Wave Index, Japan Drought Coincide With Solar Activity
- New Study Finds An Extremely Low CO2 Climate Sensitivity For The Arctic And Antarctic
More Links
Contact:
atheonews (at) gmail.com
Disclaimer
This site is provided as a research and reference tool. Although we make every reasonable effort to ensure that the information and data provided at this site are useful, accurate, and current, we cannot guarantee that the information and data provided here will be error-free. By using this site, you assume all responsibility for and risk arising from your use of and reliance upon the contents of this site.
This site and the information available through it do not, and are not intended to constitute legal advice. Should you require legal advice, you should consult your own attorney.
Nothing within this site or linked to by this site constitutes investment advice or medical advice.
Materials accessible from or added to this site by third parties, such as comments posted, are strictly the responsibility of the third party who added such materials or made them accessible and we neither endorse nor undertake to control, monitor, edit or assume responsibility for any such third-party material.
The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.
The word “alleged” is deemed to occur before the word “fraud.” Since the rule of law still applies. To peasants, at least.
Fair Use
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more info go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
DMCA Contact
This is information for anyone that wishes to challenge our “fair use” of copyrighted material.
If you are a legal copyright holder or a designated agent for such and you believe that content residing on or accessible through our website infringes a copyright and falls outside the boundaries of “Fair Use”, please send a notice of infringement by contacting atheonews@gmail.com.
We will respond and take necessary action immediately.
If notice is given of an alleged copyright violation we will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the material(s) in question.
All 3rd party material posted on this website is copyright the respective owners / authors. Aletho News makes no claim of copyright on such material.
Religion has always been politics by other means.
\\ll//
LikeLike
Comment by hybridrogue1 | October 9, 2010 |
“And American Jews have enabled all of it. It’s about time a Jew stood up and said so.”
Agreed. Way past time. It is time liberal Jews acknowledged that the Democratic Party sacrificed the American people who waited for them to counter balance the Republican’s zionism to Israel’s supremacy. Media control? Jews brag about it and still call gentiles anti-Semitic if they say it. Money in politics? Reform never came to preserve AIPAC’s dominance and Obama acutally upped the price of the presidency. Elections and consent of the governed? Not with military psy-ops against our own people and two-party votes for damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
American Jews have enjoyed the benefits of tribalism while Israel has infiltrated and destroyed every institution designed to protect the rule of law and freedom. Speak. Please do. It will be interesting to see how the ADL and DHS handle the so-called new anti-Semitism if American Jews start decrying the security state, the lack of prosecutions for war and financial fraud. So far all these things are still safely behind the firewall of imagined Jewish oppression.
LikeLike
Comment by G Street | October 9, 2010 |
My grandmother was Jewish, my grandfather was Catholic, my mother was Catholic and my father was Orthodox. They all divorced, but for reasons not related to religions.
LikeLike
Comment by Eva Zuk | October 26, 2014 |