Sunday, January 17, 2021
Elder of Ziyon
Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics
A bold call for the American Left to extend their politics to the issues of Israel-Palestine, from a New York Times bestselling author and experts on U.S. policy in the regionIn this major work of daring criticism and analysis, scholar and political commentator Marc Lamont Hill and Israel-Palestine expert Mitchell Plitnick spotlight how holding fast to one-sided and unwaveringly pro-Israel policies reflects the truth-bending grip of authoritarianism on both Israel and the United States. Except for Palestine deftly argues that progressives and liberals who oppose regressive policies on immigration, racial justice, gender equality, LGBTQ rights, and other issues must extend these core principles to the oppression of Palestinians.
Hill and Plitnick provide a timely and essential intervention by examining multiple dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian conversation, including Israel's growing disdain for democracy, the effects of occupation on Palestine, the siege of Gaza, diminishing American funding for Palestinian relief, and the campaign to stigmatize any critique of Israeli occupation. Except for Palestine is a searing polemic and a cri de coeur for elected officials, activists, and everyday citizens alike to align their beliefs and politics with their values.
Really? There is an "exception" in progressive spaces where people don't criticize Israel?
Where are these places?
Not in the pages of The Nation, or The Guardian, or the New York Times. Not in the reports from Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International. Not on college campuses. Not on social media.
On the contrary - people who are Zionist are the ones who are cast out of "progressive" spaces. Jews are automatically suspect in those spaces and they must pass a purity test to be accepted.
The entire reason Zioness exists is because Zionists were being shunned and excluded from feminist spaces. Prominent feminist Phyllis Chesler has documented this antipathy to Israel among modern feminists in excruciating detail.
Because "progressives" pretend to be always on the side of the underdog, this book is meant to make anti-Zionists appear to be silenced and beaten down to be one of the victims, not one of the oppressors.
Even anti-Israel advocates know that the thesis of the book is ridiculous. Here is a quote from 2018:
“Palestinian rights are being integrated into the broader progressive agenda. It’s becoming almost standard that if you support single-payer health care and climate justice, you’ll support Palestinian rights,” said Rebecca Vilkomerson, the executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace.
The blurbs for the book come from a variety of the usual suspects whose voices in various media disprove the thesis:
Praise for Except for Palestine:“For too long, many have championed the rights and liberties of oppressed peoples here and abroad, but remained silent on Palestinian freedom, or even worse, supported U.S. policies that render Palestinian humanity and suffering invisible. This clear and courageous book is a clarion call for moral integrity and political consistency.”—Cornel West, Harvard University“Hill and Plitnick deliver a thoughtful and incisive analysis of how progressive commitments to racial and social justice are undermined by the ‘Palestinian exception.’ Building the civil rights movement for the twenty-first century in America requires an international intersectionality that necessarily includes advocating for the rights and dignity of Palestinians and Israelis alike. Except for Palestine is timely and vital.”—Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Michigan’s 13th Congressional District“Except for Palestine calls on progressives to apply the same principles to Israel-Palestine that they apply to the U.S. It’s a simple, radical, and deeply important argument, which anyone who cherishes justice should not ignore.”—Peter Beinart, author of The Crisis of Zionism“Hill and Plitnick have produced a timely and powerful indictment of decades of U.S. policy exceptionalizing Israel at the expense of progressive values. Their thorough examination of American progressives’ intellectual and moral hypocrisy when it comes to defending Palestinians’ human rights, civil rights, and right to challenge Israeli occupation is a valuable resource.”—Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace“This book explores some of the most fundamental contradictions confronting liberal spaces in the U.S. and makes a powerful case for the progressive core values of humanity, justice, and dignity to finally include the Palestinian people.”—Ahmad Abuznaid, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights“Except for Palestine cogently explores the reasons for the silence of so many progressives and liberals when it comes to the unceasing violations of the rights of the Palestinian people. Hill and Plitnick dismantle one by one the arguments used to justify this shameful silence, and in doing so provide an eloquent, balanced, and hard-hitting analysis of why ending an egregious exception to accepted norms of justice and equality is so imperative.”—Rashid Khalidi, author of Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East
Apparently, being subject to criticism is the same as being "silenced" to these people.
There are two major problems with this argument. One is that progressives, if they were consistent, would all be Zionist. The other is that progressives, if they were consistent, would be harsh critics of Palestinian nationalism as it exists today.
Progressives believe that peoples should have self-determination. There is indeed an Israel exception - the Jewish people alone among all other peoples are not judged to have that right. Moreover, Israel is the most progressive place in the Middle East, and in many ways it is more progressive than western European nations towards Muslims- look at French restrictions on burkinis, or Swiss restrictions on the call for prayer from mosques.
What would a Palestinian state look like? It would be anything but progressive. Palestinians, under their own rule, are intolerant of gays; they have many laws that penalize women. Polls show that Palestinians opinions on everything are regressive:
In literally every aspect, this book is based on lies - lies about Israel, lies about Palestinians, lies about the US, lies about the progressive movement.
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