Why I Am A Confused Dove on Israel

In their editorial reviewing the secular year 2006, the Jewish Daily Forward included this disappointing fact:

"It was a year when Israelis rallied themselves to elect, for the first time, a
coalition of parties committed to ending the occupation of the West Bank and
seeking good neighborly relations with an independent Palestine — and when
Palestinians elected a government committed to rejecting coexistence and
destroying the State of Israel."

These are the kinds of facts that prevent me from being the kind of dove with relation to the Israeli/Palestinian situation as I was regarding, for example, 'Nam. When it comes to Israel, I am a hawkish dove, at best. Things so often seem so unilateral, and so rarely reciprocated. From both sides.

I cannot side fully with either the right-wing or left-wing of American Jewish Israel advocacy. Surely I am not alone in this dilemma?

Migdalor Guy (aka Adrian)

All Hail the Dinosaur Slayers

Over at Jewschool, Kung Fu Jew highlights the turn of many Jews, and not just younger ones, away from the traditional agencies and institutions, the "dinosaurs," who are

"focused myopically on the numbers of Jews rather than the quality of their existence, their impact, on this here earth."

to new grassroots organizations like the Jewish Funds for Justice, the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, and the National Council of Jewish Women.

The thrust of Kung Fu Jew's post is to also point out the rapid growth of the progressive Israel advocacy group, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom. While I may not entirely agree with some of the positions of Brit Tzedek, and so cannot endorse them whole-heartedly, they are a good example of the potential of Israel advocacy that is not right-wing and hawkish.

And despite reservations I may have with a few of Brit Tzedek's positions (just as I do with some positions of Rabbis for Human Rights) I hope that not just the 20-somethings out there, but also us 50-somethings, and other generations, will continue to support this new trend in Jewish organizations that put tikkun olam ahead of "the continuity question." We will continue-but what's the point in growing our numbers if we don't stand for making a better world?

Migdalor Guy