This
is not about Linda Sarsour.
This
is about Jews who are afraid to identify themselves as Zionists. This is about
people worldwide who hear the word “Zionist” and think about tanks vs “freedom
fighters,” “occupiers” vs “oppressed” people.
This
is about women who are put off by the title “feminist.” This is about women who
happily identify themselves as feminists but do not think about women who live
in less privileged countries.
This
is about lies.
The
problem with lies is not the lie itself or even the liar. It is only when
listeners begin acting as if the lie is legitimate, as if it is the truth, that
reality begins to warp.
Linda
Sarsour is not the problem. She can announce that it is impossible to be a
Zionist and a feminist until she is blue in the face. She can say whatever she
wants, that’s her right (because she is lucky enough to live in America).
Frankly, I don’t care what she says.
The
problem is with all the people who listened and nodded. The people who pondered
her words as if they were worthy of consideration and discussion.
The
problem is with everyone who did not openly laugh in her face.
Anyone
can say ridiculous things. I can tell you that whales swim in the clouds. That
doesn’t make it true. It certainly doesn’t mean this is a topic that should be
discussed and pondered. We know what whales are. We know what the sky is. End
of story.
A few
days ago, there was a piece on Israel’s Channel 10 discussing Sarsour’s
statement that Zionism and feminism are incompatible. What I heard shook me to
the core.
Two
women were interviewed, both gender studies professors, one Jewish, the other
an Israeli-Arab, both self-proclaimed feminists.
The
Arab woman agreed completely with Sarsour. No surprise there. What horrified me
was the Jewish woman’s response. She could not bring herself to utter the words
“I am a Zionist.” She started apologizing, saying that today Zionism means
apartheid and oppression and she certainly has nothing to do with that. Then
she said, quietly: “But of course I do believe that Jews have the right to live
free in our homeland, Israel.”
To
this, the commentator replied: “That means you are a Zionist.”
No
one has the power to determine your identity – unless you give them that power.
The definition of Zionism is very clear: the belief that the Jewish people have
the right of self-determination in their ancestral homeland, Israel. The
re-establishment of the State of Israel is proof and an example to the world
that: “If you can dream it, you can make it real.” Zionism is the Jewish
example to the world that anything is possible, that with hard work and faith,
against all odds, you can realize even the wildest dream.
That
is my identity. No amount of lies, BDS, apartheid weeks or Linda Sarsours can
change that. Unless I let them, unless I begin to behave as if their lies are
reality.
The
definition of feminism is also very clear: the belief that men and women should have equal rights and
opportunities. It doesn’t say anything about one gender being better than the
other or about men and women being identical. It’s about having equal value.
Being a feminist does not mean hating men any more than being a Zionist means
abusing Gazans or the Arabs of Judea and Samaria.
Putting on a hat in the shape of female
genitalia does not make that person a feminist. It’s not about demanding free
birth control or even abortions. It’s certainly not about belittling men or
pushing men aside.
Feminism is about freedom. It is about
the value of the individual woman and the freedom to achieve whatever she dreams
about and is willing to work hard enough to achieve.
Just like Zionism.
Saying a feminist cannot be a Zionist is
one of the most ridiculous statements a person can make. What liberation
movement has more to do with the freedom and self-actualization of women than
Zionism? What country provides more opportunity for women to achieve whatever
they want than Israel?
While Hillary Clinton was discussing
glass ceilings for women in America and touting her gender as a justification
for voting for her, Israelis were saying, been there, done that. Long ago. 47
years ago. Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969.
 |
MK Karin Elharar (Yesh Atid)
|
In Israel, women can be anything they
want. They can be secretaries and CEO’s of billion dollar companies. They can
be models and Nobel Prize laureates. Women can be combat pilots, government
officials, judges and athletes. Women can drive a bus or work as a construction
worker. They can be black or white, short, tall, thin, fat, pretty or not so
pretty, of any ethnicity and with widely varying physical capabilities (do you
have any government ministers that are confined to a wheelchair?). Not one of
these labels matters. It’s their capabilities and drive to succeed that
count.
I have never heard an Israeli woman say,
apologetically, “I am just a mom.” In Israel mothers are cherished and deeply
appreciated. Lots of jobs are important but what job is more important than
being someone’s mother?
Israel is an egalitarian State. Men and
women worked side by side to re-establish the State. They fought for liberation
together. There are male Zionist heroes and female heroes of Zion. My mother
was named after a Zionist underground resistance organization, formed and led
by a woman.
Zionist men and women came to Israel,
plowed fields and built homes together. They fought off enemies, side by side.
Together they build a country, together they birthed the Start-Up Nation.
Zionism and feminism go hand in hand.
Saying otherwise is utterly ridiculous.
I don’t care what Linda Sarsour says.
This isn’t about her. This is about everyone who listens to her lies and
doesn’t laugh in her face. This is about people who let her lies define our
reality.
I know who I am. I know what a Zionist is. I know what a
feminist is too. If you don’t, open a dictionary.
Better yet – come to Israel and see for yourself.