Mijn joods-Israelische vrienden van Zochrot berichten:'Fighting against forgetting
Zochrot, the radical left-wing organization, is trying to change the views of Jews as well as of the international community. According to its activists, the Arab refugees should return to Israel, the “nakba” should be remembered and commemorated, and a binational state should be established in which Jews are a minority. They also argue that kibbutzniks and residents of Tel Aviv are the most dangerous settlers. Is this a marginal organization of lunatics, or a threat to the Jewish state? People on the right would have us be wary of those they call “traitors.”
When Eitan Bronstein, Zochrot’s director, says the settlers are the greatest problem in the Arab-Jewish conflict, he isn’t referring to the residents of Yitzhar and Tapuach, but rather to people who live in Tel Aviv, Herzliyya and member of kibbutzim and moshavim who built their homes after the war of independence inside the Green Line. For Eitan Bronstein and Zochrot, the organization he heads, words and a well-reasoned ideology aren’t enough. They are active in Israel and elsewhere in the world to gain acceptance of their ideology and implement it quickly and effectively. Last Saturday, for example, they held a celebration in which about 50 activists and guests went to Agur, the moshav located just south of Beit Shemesh, and erected a “commemorative sign” for the Palestinian village of Ajjur, abandoned in the war of independence. Zochrot also published a booklet about the ruined Palestinian village and about its inhabitants who abandoned the village in the midst of the war.
About a month ago they held a conference in Tel Aviv, with hundreds of invitees, during which they called for implementing the right of return and for the repatriation of the thousands of Palestinian refugees to Israel. At the end of last week, Bronstein, the organization’s chairman, spoke at an international meeting in Spain and again laid out his pro-Palestinian views. Sixty years after the Jews succeeded in establishing a state, it turns out that some of them are tired of the idea. Members of Zochrot, a radical left-wing organization, argue that the time has come to end the Zionist project, and they also explain why. According to them, the Arab refugees should be returned to Israel, the “nakba” – the events in which five Arab nations were defeated - should be remembered and commemorated, and a binational state should be established in which Jews would be a minority. They conduct tours to kibbutzim and moshavim inside the Green Line, and note that Tel Aviv University was also built on the ruins of Sheikh Munis, just as the Knesset in Jerusalem, Herzliyya, Ashqelon and Ashdod were built on the ruins of Palestinian localities.
Unlike other left-wing organizations like “Peace Now,” “Gush Shalom” or “B’Tselem,” who support the idea of two states for two people, Zochrot seeks to establish one state between the Jordan and the sea, in which Jews are only one component, a minority within a larger Arab state. In their utopian view, they see Jews and Arabs living in harmony in a democratic state where all have equal rights. The fact that, so far, no such Arab democracy has been established anywhere in the world, doesn’t faze members of the organization who continue to support the idea of the right of return as a step toward creating the state of Palestine.
We could, of course, go “tsk-tsk,” and explain that this is nothing more than a group of fantasists with few members. In fact, that’s not so wrong. The group is small, marginal, and few intellectuals or people involved in social issues pay attention to what it says or support its activities. On the other hand, we should be aware of what a small group such as this can bring about. Its members and activists travel throughout the country, from place to place, to disseminate their message. They also organize Saturday seminars and conferences in Israel and abroad in which they explain the need to commemorate the “nakba,” and that the Zionist entity, as it currently exists, must be abolished. They draw from a number of thinkers who agree with them, and are very industrious in their desire to spread their ideas. They are slowly gaining adherents. This could create a problem in the future for all who believe in the importance of a Jewish majority in the land of Israel.
Kibbutzniks are the real settlers“The Zionist movement, and later the state of Israel, are inextricably linked to the Jewish religion. They argue for the existence of an international, a-historical ‘Jewish people’ whose country is the Israeli entity. The expression ‘Jewish people’ is an unsuccessful attempt to secularize the religious term, ‘people of Israel,’ which itself has been rejuvenated after June, 1967. Therefore, the political structure that wishes to justify its existence to the Jewish masses within the 1948 boundaries requires the idea of the ‘Jewish people.’ And here the role of religion becomes visible in all its strength…(so) the connection between the state of Israel and Judaism must be broken.” [Prof. Yehuda Kupferman, Department of French, Tel Aviv University, on Zochrot’s official web site, http://www.ror1stat/ ]'
When Eitan Bronstein, Zochrot’s director, says the settlers are the greatest problem in the Arab-Jewish conflict, he isn’t referring to the residents of Yitzhar and Tapuach, but rather to people who live in Tel Aviv, Herzliyya and member of kibbutzim and moshavim who built their homes after the war of independence inside the Green Line. For Eitan Bronstein and Zochrot, the organization he heads, words and a well-reasoned ideology aren’t enough. They are active in Israel and elsewhere in the world to gain acceptance of their ideology and implement it quickly and effectively. Last Saturday, for example, they held a celebration in which about 50 activists and guests went to Agur, the moshav located just south of Beit Shemesh, and erected a “commemorative sign” for the Palestinian village of Ajjur, abandoned in the war of independence. Zochrot also published a booklet about the ruined Palestinian village and about its inhabitants who abandoned the village in the midst of the war.
About a month ago they held a conference in Tel Aviv, with hundreds of invitees, during which they called for implementing the right of return and for the repatriation of the thousands of Palestinian refugees to Israel. At the end of last week, Bronstein, the organization’s chairman, spoke at an international meeting in Spain and again laid out his pro-Palestinian views. Sixty years after the Jews succeeded in establishing a state, it turns out that some of them are tired of the idea. Members of Zochrot, a radical left-wing organization, argue that the time has come to end the Zionist project, and they also explain why. According to them, the Arab refugees should be returned to Israel, the “nakba” – the events in which five Arab nations were defeated - should be remembered and commemorated, and a binational state should be established in which Jews would be a minority. They conduct tours to kibbutzim and moshavim inside the Green Line, and note that Tel Aviv University was also built on the ruins of Sheikh Munis, just as the Knesset in Jerusalem, Herzliyya, Ashqelon and Ashdod were built on the ruins of Palestinian localities.
Unlike other left-wing organizations like “Peace Now,” “Gush Shalom” or “B’Tselem,” who support the idea of two states for two people, Zochrot seeks to establish one state between the Jordan and the sea, in which Jews are only one component, a minority within a larger Arab state. In their utopian view, they see Jews and Arabs living in harmony in a democratic state where all have equal rights. The fact that, so far, no such Arab democracy has been established anywhere in the world, doesn’t faze members of the organization who continue to support the idea of the right of return as a step toward creating the state of Palestine.
We could, of course, go “tsk-tsk,” and explain that this is nothing more than a group of fantasists with few members. In fact, that’s not so wrong. The group is small, marginal, and few intellectuals or people involved in social issues pay attention to what it says or support its activities. On the other hand, we should be aware of what a small group such as this can bring about. Its members and activists travel throughout the country, from place to place, to disseminate their message. They also organize Saturday seminars and conferences in Israel and abroad in which they explain the need to commemorate the “nakba,” and that the Zionist entity, as it currently exists, must be abolished. They draw from a number of thinkers who agree with them, and are very industrious in their desire to spread their ideas. They are slowly gaining adherents. This could create a problem in the future for all who believe in the importance of a Jewish majority in the land of Israel.
Kibbutzniks are the real settlers“The Zionist movement, and later the state of Israel, are inextricably linked to the Jewish religion. They argue for the existence of an international, a-historical ‘Jewish people’ whose country is the Israeli entity. The expression ‘Jewish people’ is an unsuccessful attempt to secularize the religious term, ‘people of Israel,’ which itself has been rejuvenated after June, 1967. Therefore, the political structure that wishes to justify its existence to the Jewish masses within the 1948 boundaries requires the idea of the ‘Jewish people.’ And here the role of religion becomes visible in all its strength…(so) the connection between the state of Israel and Judaism must be broken.” [Prof. Yehuda Kupferman, Department of French, Tel Aviv University, on Zochrot’s official web site, http://www.ror1stat/ ]'
Lees verder: http://www.zochrot.org/index.php?id=697
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