Last spring, I was fortunate to teach a course with a dynamic group of adult learners at the Soloway JCC in Ottawa on the topic of Israeli-Palestinian relations and Diaspora Jewish identity. What I did not realize then was that two of the “main characters” that figured in the Zionist debates which we parsed and debated would be coming to our community this fall.
What follows in this column is a brief reflection on Daniel Gordis’s recent appearance at Jewish Federation of Ottawa’s campaign kickoff event last month, some discussion of Peter Beinart’s upcoming talk in Ottawa and Montreal (co-sponsored by Ameinu) on October 23, and a mention of yet another way community members may wish to have these nuances come to life: via Ameinu’s “multiple narratives” trip to Israel in January.
Those who attended Daniel Gordis’s talk last month were treated to a superb orator who kept the audience captivated with his passion for Israel and the Jewish experience. Senior Vice-President of the Shalem Center in Jerusalem and author of multiple books on Israel, Gordis relayed a breathtaking anecdote about attending the Israeli opera at Masada with a group of olim from the Former Soviet Union. Alongside all that, though, was a message about Israel and its neighbors sorely lacking in nuance. He decried Palestinian “resistance,” demanding instead that the Palestinians seek to emulate Israel. We would all like to snap our fingers and have our adversaries lie down passively. But would we, if we were under military occupation of a foreign government? His utter lack of empathy for the experience of the Other left me cold. You can’t make peace in a vacuum, after all.
Having squared off in public debates at Temple Holy Blossom in Toronto, and at Columbia University in New York, Daniel Gordis and Peter Beinart represent two different strands of Zionism. These two contemporary strands hinge on the question of agency. Does Israel have the ability to do more to advance peace then it is currently doing? Gordis paints a picture of Israel being mostly at the mercy of its many enemies. He draws out a familiar story of besiegement, implicitly advancing the “no partner” for peace thesis. (Concluding his remarks in Ottawa with the image of Masada, the site of ultimate besiegement, was a calculated choice.)
While not denying the real threats Israel faces from a region in turmoil, Beinart, editor of the Open Zion blog at Newsweek/Daily Beast (one of the most dynamic and exciting forums for Zionist debates today) and author of The Crisis of Zionism, presents a view that is more critical of Israeli policies and the American Establishment that supports those policies. At the same time, Beinart’s is a view that advances the possibility of change.
Co-sponsored by Canadian Friends of Peace Now, the New Israel Fund of Canada, as well as Ameinu, Peter Beinart will give a talk in Ottawa at Temple Israel on October 23, on what he sees as a “crisis” in Zionism today. If the Israeli government doesn’t get serious about the peace process soon, Israel’s democratic and Jewish nature will be compromised. What’s more, the next generation of Jews may be lost to Zionism as the “establishment” has forced young Jews to “check their liberalism at the door” when it comes to engaging with Israel. (Beinart will also appear in Montreal on October 24.)
Of course there’s yet another way to engage with these various Zionist nuances, specifically by visiting Israel. To that end, Ameinu is sponsoring a six-day study trip to Israel called “Multiple Narratives - Israel’s Realities”. From January 1-6, participants will join “freedom riders” on a de facto (but no longer legal) gender-segregated bus; meet with members of an urban kibbutz that focuses on education; meet with Stav Shafir, one of the leaders of the country’s “social protests;” meet with settlers at Kfar Etzion along with members of Breaking the Silence (an organization of IDF soldiers committed to exposing the military deeds done in the name of occupation), explore co-existence in Haifa and the warrens of South Tel Aviv, meet with a member of Knesset, and even engage in text study with BINA (Centre for Jewish Identity and Hebrew Culture).
As Ameinu president Ken Bob describes it, “Leveraging our political and social activist contacts in Israel, Ameinu's Journey to Israel will challenge participants to think deeply about the choices facing Israel while introducing them to fascinating personalities who will impact the country's future."
To help and support Israel in a meaningful way one must understand its many narratives. Engaging the next generation will require less us-and-them thinking and more nuance about what is possible. And a Jewish community that is exposed to a range of voices about the political and social situations near to our heart is a stronger, more thoughtful and more effective community.
Peter Beinart will speak in Ottawa at Temple Israel, 1301 Prince of Wales Drive on Tuesday, October 23 at 7:30 pm.
He will appear in Montreal on Wednesday, October 24, at 8 p.m. at Knox Hall, 6225 Godfrey, a short street off Grand Blvd. between Sherbrooke and Monkland.
And for more information on the Ameinu Israel trip, visit www.ameinu.net
**A version of this article appeared in this week's Ottawa Jewish Bulletin**
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