jews

Organizer Simone Zimmerman speaks to some 250 If Not Now, When activists at a Tisha B’Av action in New York City, where participants read the names of Israelis and Palestinians who died in this summer’s Gaza war. (Photo by Gili Getz)

New Jewish network launches worldwide initiative against occupation

Group seeks to ‘reclaim Jewish identity,’ raise a global Jewish voice to ‘challenge Israel’s destructive policies.’ A new international network of Jewish groups and individuals committed to justice in Palestine released a statement over the weekend calling for an end to the killing and an end the occupation. The network, which first met over the summer…

By Mairav Zonszein October 18, 2015

Islam (Rudy Herman/CC BY 2.0)

Dispelling modern myths of Muslim anti-Semitism

An academic chapter about the history of Muslim relations with Jews provides a refreshing rejoinder to the tired assumption that Muslim society and culture are fundamentally anti-Semitic. In this post, I am hosting a short comment by the author, explaining his argument. (more…)

By Dahlia Scheindlin May 20, 2013

No, criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitism

In fact, it could be the best thing a Jew can do these days. The Jerusalem Post has published an op-ed titled, “Yes, all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic!” As any philosophy student can recognize, it’s one of those arguments that makes the entire debate meaningless – if something is everything then it’s also nothing…

By Noam Sheizaf May 21, 2012

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An essential sense of urgency: On Peter Beinart’s ‘The Crisis of Zionism’

“The Crisis of Zionism,” appears to be a book about politics, history and ideology, but in fact it is a research into identity; the identity of a community and the identity of the author. It is a book about the construction, the de-construction and the effort to reconstruct an identity; it sheds light on forgotten…

By Noam Sheizaf April 19, 2012

Jews pray in the Western Wall November 2010 (MathKnight and Zachi Evenor/wikimedia)

Do Muslims and Jews have equal freedom of religion under Israel’s rule?

After a group of settlers attacked a mosque in one of the villages of Ramallah in the West Bank, the Israeli army put checkpoints at the entrances of the closest settlement and checked the identity of every person going in or out of the settlement. On grounds of fear of escalation the police in Jerusalem…

By Aziz Abu Sarah August 28, 2011

Participants of the US boat on the 2011 Gaza-bound flotilla in Athens, June 2011 (photo: Mya Guarnieri)

What about the Jews on the US boat to Gaza?

For Jews on board the US boat to Gaza, the Audacity of Hope, their decision to sail to Gaza was a concrete action marking their divergence from mainstream American Jewish allegiance of the Israeli policies. Jewish presence in the flotilla represents growing dissatisfaction among American Jews with Israel’s incessant willingness to monopolize modern Jewish identity.…

By Joseph Dana July 6, 2011

A Palestinian call to engage with the ‘Jewish question’

By Marzouq El-Halabi | Translation from Arabic to Hebrew: Nadav Franckovich, from Hebrew to English: Dimi Reider The Palestinian discourse must leave denial behind and engage seriously with the Jewish and Zionist questions. No more talk of the victorious and the defeated, victims and victimisers, but a new narrative shared by both sides of the…

By +972 Magazine June 2, 2011

Is the settlement boycott misdirected? Photo: activestills.org

Is the settlement boycott misdirected?

On the surface, the settlement boycott seems to be a wise ‘middle way’ for Jews that are critical of Israeli policy yet unwilling to join a Palestinian-led nonviolent initiative. However, it’s a step that might prove to be counter-productive The Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanction (BDS) of Israel continues to be one of…

By Joseph Dana April 2, 2011

The Pale of Settlement: Disapora victimhood examined

Israelis like to argue that that atrocities done by Jews cannot be compared to atrocities done to Jews, because the Diaspora Jews were innocent victims, and the victims of Israeli Jews today are not. But is this the case, and just how morally wholesome is the argument? by Shalom Boguslavsky | Translation: Rechavia Berman An…

By +972 Magazine December 14, 2010