The decision by the Israeli authorities to suspend the process of aliyah for two left-wing Jews over their activism in the West Bank marks a new escalation in Israel’s illiberal drift, to the delight of anti-Zionists in the West.
Every week, Israelis and progressive Jews are protecting Palestinians in the West Bank against verbal and physical abuse by violent settlers. For these Jews, their actions are not anti-Zionism but the very expression of their own Zionism, entrenched in the values of Judaism and Tikkun Olam (repairing the world).
The late great Israeli author Amos Oz would say that Zionism was a family name. What he meant was that there are real divergences in all families, and being labeled Zionist does not say anything about one’s political beliefs beyond the very simple idea that the Jewish people have the right to a state in their ancestral homeland.
Zionism can be right-wing or left-wing, secular or religious; therefore, the concept of “ultra-Zionist” or “extreme Zionist” does not mean anything.
In the West, the very idea of Zionism has been demonized by many who deem it colonialism, racism, and the ultimate sin in their binary worldview of “good vs evil.”
The Israeli authorities, unwittingly or not, have just fueled this anti-Zionist narrative that, more than anything, hates liberal Zionists who humanize what they view as this “evil” ideology. They are serving it by de facto excluding some “bad” Jews from the Zionist ethos, and making it the property of the right wing.
By denying these progressive Jews the right to make aliyah, the Israeli authorities are undermining the very essence of the Zionist project: that it is a state for all Jews.
If it becomes a state for only certain Jews – right-leaning or religious – the project changes and becomes ideologically right-wing. Anti-Zionism can therefore claim to be against the right-wing settlers.
Being Zionist and pro-Palestinian at the same time, by advocating for a two-state solution, is a heresy for many Western anti-Zionists, as well as for the Israeli authorities. This is a gift from heaven for anti-Zionists, making their movement “kosher” as it becomes not against the right to a state for the Jewish people but against right-wing Zionists blocking the national aspirations of the Palestinians.
A betrayal of Zionism and those who defend it
Israeli authorities are once again betraying the Jews who are trying to defend Zionism for what it is – and what the current government is destroying every day. As in so many instances, such as with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s death penalty for Arab [terrorists] but not for Jews, the end of administrative detentions for Jews but not for Arabs, and the extreme rhetoric of irresponsible ministers, Israeli authorities are the very useful idiots and objective allies of anti-Zionists in the West.
Liberal Zionists must fight both their increasing isolation from progressive circles and their rejection by the government. This is especially hard for the majority of American Jews whose Zionism is entrenched in human rights and Tikkun Olam, and it once again proves that the Israeli government has no qualms about alienating the largest Jewish community outside of Israel.
Jewish organizations in the Diaspora, even and especially the legacy ones, should be up in arms against the desecration of Zionism characterized in this denial of the Law of Return for left-wing Jews over their West Bank activism.
On October 27, the very nature of the State of Israel and the essence and legitimacy of Zionism, which are under attack by the current Israeli government, will also be on the ballot.
Born and raised in France, the writer is the correspondent of French Jewish radio, Radio J, and of the French paper librejournal.fr in the US, where he has been living for 16 years. He also holds US and Israeli citizenships. His opinions are his only.