Brit Tzedek v'Shalom Alert Calls for Immediate Diplomacy in Middle East
It’s hard being progressive when the “ra-ra, go get ’em” voices are loudest. What with the first Israelirefusenik calling his countrymen to question the effectiveness of prolonged engagement, it shouldn’t be beyond American Jewry to express our qualms with President Bush’s lethargy in reigning in both sides.
From the largest Jewish pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby in America:
Please tell President Bush and Congress that substantive US diplomatic intervention is needed immediately to achieve a ceasefire and the release of Israeli soldiers in the ongoing Mideast crisis…
We welcome the recent statement by the G8 Summit of global leaders that declares their united determination to restore peace to the region, calls for an immediate halt to attacks against Israel, urges Israeli restraint as it exercises its rights to defend itself, and supports exploring the option of an international security/monitoring force.
We call on the US and the international community to work together in pursuing all possible diplomatic means to facilitate a ceasefire and the release of Israeli soldiers.
Click here to take action.
For those in Jew York, attend our “Israel Therapy” chapter-wide meeting to discuss recent events and share your thoughts, hopes, fears and possible actions.
Yes we have the right to question. Yes help in enforcing a ceasefire will be needed BUT let’s not just criticise Israel out of habbit.
Even Meretz (which I am affiliated with) is supporting this action fully, so long as the end goals are kept in mind. The fact is that by withdrawing from Lebanon we have removed any legitimate claim Hezbollah has against Israel. Unless we’re arguing for pacifism – a philosophy which I doubt will work in the M.E. this is the time to back Israel.
Being critical of Israel also means supporting her when she’s right.
If you want to have an impact, get behind Kucinich’s new resolution calling for a cease-fire.
http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/alert/?alertid=8919726&type=CO
Congressman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, will introduce a resolution Wednesday that calls on President Bush to appeal to all sides for a cessation of hostilities in the Israeli-Lebanon conflict and to commit the United States to multi-party negotiations.
For a copy of the resolution see:
http://www.truthdig.com/images/reportuploads/KUCINI_090_xml.pdf
This Resolution already has 20 Co-Sponsors. We ask you today to write your Representative to strongly urge that he/she sign on as a cosponsor to this Resolution. This Resolution is in line with the recent statement on the Israel/Palestine/Lebanon crisis put forth by PDA. You can read our statement here:
http://www.pdamerica.org/articles/news/israeli-occupation.php
After taking action, please forward this action alert to your friends and family. It is time to take a strong stance toward diplomacy and nonviolent action toward resolution.
This is arguing for diplomacy, diplomacy, diplomacy. Israel is losing it’s moral high ground as the numerical difference between Israeli deaths and Lebanese deaths continues to increase.
Tom C.
Well-said and fair, but not quite as easy – or at least as simple – as it sounds. Alas, that is pretty much always the case for those with a Leftist perspective, an essential part of which is recognizing the role of complexity and moral ambiguity in human affairs. For the Right, on the other hand, there are virtually no moral or political conflicts that aren’t blindingly simple matters of black and white.
Here, I agree that it is always wrong to criticize Israel reflexively, or to do so with rote, standardized accusations that, frankly, carry the vague odor of anti-Semitism. On the other hand, I can’t endorse “backing†Israel without any context or qualification. Yes, Israel was clearly provoked in this circumstance and is fully justified in responding in a manner that cripples the capacity of a lethal and committed enemy — Hezbollah – to carry out such attacks in the future. But my own support for Israel is limited to the extent its actions are intended to realize those objectives, and the means for doing so don’t involve the indiscriminate killing of civilians or turning the infrastructure of an entire country to rubble. Moreover, I think the appropriateness of Israel’s actions must be considered not just tactically, but from a strategic perspective. My own view is that an end to the Occupation offers the sole possibility for peace, and that its continuation guarantees the recurrence of such conflicts in perpetuity. Accordingly, the notion of backing Israel, for me, consists of saying, “Yes, Israel is fully justified in acting in a manner so as to eradicate Hezbollah as a continued military threat, but it is also responsible to use its power to effect peace with the Palestinians by ending the Occupation.†As I’ve argued, I am by no means suggesting that the Occupation is the cause of the ongoing state of war with the Palestinian, only that its end is the only available solution to the conflict. Israel actually has the exclusive power to impose a state of peace with the Palestinians, and my own view is that it has the moral duty to do so.
Kung Fu Jew,
Diplomacy brought 12,000 rockets to Israel’s border with the sole purpose of committing war crimes against civilians. That was the fruit of “diplomacy.”
“Israel is losing it’s moral high ground as the numerical difference between Israeli deaths and Lebanese deaths continues to increase.”
Are you saying Israel should make sure it has the same number of deaths as Lebanon? That is not how war works, nor is it how any of the nations condemning Israel would conduct their wars. I’m so sick of those hypocrites.
And before you say Israel should be “better,” letting a war drag on and on because you refuse to decisively defeat the enemy is not “better,” for any of the civilian populations involved. It causes more deaths in the long run.
Yeah, like “diplomatic intervention” has worked so well…. Clinton had Arafat in the White house more than any other world leader, and look at the results. “Diplomacy” with Hizbullah and Iran and Syria will just allow them to continue their depradations another time. They play a waiting game and “diplomacy” buys into that. Let’s finish this thing (while avoiding civilian deaths as much as possible), the world will be better off.
“the means for doing so don’t involve the indiscriminate killing of civilians or turning the infrastructure of an entire country to rubble.”
It’s not indiscrimiate by any means. Israel has been targeting known or suspected Hizbullah strongholds, in which – as will all those terrorist groups – they hid behind civilians, for example, keeping their rockets inside civilan homes. Israel has dropped flyers warning civilians to evacuate every time they bombard.
The transportation infrastructure was bombed to prevent movement of combatants and materiel, especially keeping arms from coming in via Syria or Iran. This is standard war tactics.
You can make a case against these actions, but it is inaccurate to call them “indiscriminate.”
“Alas, that is pretty much always the case for those with a Leftist perspective, an essential part of which is recognizing the role of complexity and moral ambiguity in human affairs. For the Right, on the other hand, there are virtually no moral or political conflicts that aren’t blindingly simple matters of black and white.”
Oddly enough, isn’t this statement itself a prime example of simple black and white thinking?
This certainly is not the view of all Brit Tzedek leadership. Here’s part of an e-mail I received from a members of Brit Tzedek’s Rabbinical Board:
…
“After spending much of yesterday e-mailing friends and colleagues in Israel, …
I was also struck by the total unanimity of their support for Israel’s
actions in Lebanon. Even the most far left-leaning of my Israeli
aquaintances strongly believed that Israel was fully justified its
response to Hezbollah’s agression.
Indeed, the presence of a massively armed Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon has been a reality for Israel for many years. Since Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000 and an international border was demarcated by the UN, northern Israel has been subject to periodic katyusha attacks, border incursions, sniper shootings and kidnappings. Hezbollah’s murder of eight Israeli soldiers and abduction of two others represents but the final straw in a long litany of acts of agresssion.
In addition, since 2000, Hezbollah has amassed a massive buildup of missiles on Israel’s border which – as we now know too well – have the capability to reach major population centers within Israel. To be sure, no nation in the world could be expected to tolerate such a direct threat to its security indefinitely. And to judge from yesterday’s G-8 statement and from prominent member states of the Arab league, many in the international seem to agree.
In the end, the Syrian/Iranian supported jihadhist Hezbollah represents a threat not only to the security of Israel, but to
the entire region.
“If you want to have an impact, get behind Kucinich’s new resolution calling for a cease-fire.”
Yes, Dennis Kucinich has a great track record regarding Israel. He favors a “balanced approach” i.e. treating terrorists the same as a democratic state, is against “the wall” and thinks “occupation” is the reason for Palestinian terrorism. Plus he was CAIRs favorite candidate for president. I see PDAmerica supports Cynthia McKinney as well.
Charles, I also did a search of the word “Israel” at another website you listed, Truthdig. They hardly seem like friends of Israel to me. Especially considering they pedal the line that Israel’s allies–the dreaded “Zionists”–condemn any criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic. Of course this nonsense. Even Abe Foxman has said criticism of Israel is expected, it’s the sort of criticism that is critiqued i.e. notions of “Jewish control” of U.S. foreign policy and the media that are rampant on the far left.
Here’s good ol’ Norm Solomon
“The U.S. media reaction to the essay by professors Mearsheimer and Walt provides just another bit of evidence that they were absolutely correct when they wrote: “Anyone who criticizes Israel’s actions or argues that pro-Israel groups have significant influence over U.S. Middle Eastern policy—an influence AIPAC celebrates—stands a good chance of being labeled an anti-Semite.”
Accordingly, I strongly urged my Representative not to support this resolution. I encourage others to do the same.