I'm an ardent Zionist. But Israel's annexation makes no sense.

[Mosby]

This is a tough time to be a cheerleader for the U.S.-Israel relationship. It is not easy to watch as our close partner — with the reckless encouragement of the White House — considers annexing parts of the West Bank, a policy that would imperil both countries’ interests despite the clear availability of better alternatives.

I am proud of my advocacy for the bond between these two nations, which has spanned my whole career as a scholar and think tank director. I argued publicly that the United States should move its embassy to Jerusalem. I opposed the Iran nuclear deal and urged senators to vote against that flawed agreement. I believe bolstering Israel advances U.S. interests, strengthening a pro-American ally in the world’s most turbulent region.

And yet even to an ardent proponent of U.S.-Israel cooperation, this example of it defies all logic. For Washington, it kills whatever slim chance remains for President Trump’s peace plan. For Palestinians, it validates the claim that Israel just wants territorial expansion. For Jerusalem, it abandons a relatively secure and surprisingly durable status quo for no real reason. If the U.S. and Israeli governments can’t convince even me of the logic here, there is no hope they will convince others that annexation is anything but a domestic political maneuver fueled by the growing electoral power of Israel’s ideologically motivated settlement movement, devoid of strategic rationale.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/im-an-ardent-zionist-but-israels-annexation-makes-no-sense/2020/06/25/f949e6a4-b59e-11ea-a8da-693df3d7674a_story.html

A must read.

[mjvpi]

1. No justice, no peace.

People who live and were born in Palestine are human being just like you and me. Every time that their lives are reduced to political calculus, you miss the real point. Please refer to recent BLM protests here. "Greater Goods" that ignore this fundamental are fundamentally flawed. IMHO

[Israeli]

2. What would Israeli identity look like without Zionism?

In recent years, events on the ground have disrupted us from continuing to tell ourselves this story. Almost all political parties representing Jewish Israelis reiterate to Palestinians citizens their exclusion from true egalitarian partnership in Israel’s governance. As de jure annexation of large parts of the West Bank — with support from much of the Jewish public — is fast approaching, it is becoming harder and harder to hold on to distinguishing between “Israel” and the “occupation.”

A good starting point can be the infuriating question often posed to us by the right: “What is the difference between Ramat Aviv (the Tel Aviv neighborhood built on the ruins of Sheikh Muwannis) and Kiryat Arba (the West Bank settlement near Hebron)?” It is a question we too should dare ask — not in defiance, but with courage, humility, and sincerity. For what is, in fact, the difference — when looking through the lens of national and historical justifications — between applying Zionism over Yaffa or al-Lydd, and applying the same regime over Bethlehem or Nablus?

This article was originally published in Hebrew on Haaretz. Read it here.

Yuli Novak is an Israeli activist. She was born and raised in Israel and served as the executive director of Breaking the Silence between 2012-2017.

Source : https://www.972mag.com/what-would-israeli-identity-look-like-without-zionism/


" Israel's annexation makes no sense " ........it only makes sense IF you are a Zionist .