INTRODUCING THE NEW SECTION

Welcome to a new section of the website, not an archive but featuring instead recent work and work to come over the coming months on the intertwined subjects of Israel, Palestine and particularly the fulminating growth of a new variant of  antisemitism – antizionist antisemitism – in the liberal democracies, with special attention to Canada, where I live. All of this work, old and new, is written from a left-wing perspective, but not the one that has come to dominate the anti-Zionist Left across the West.  

I have stood on the Left all my life, and my body of work – every word – has been created to support the values of the Left and progressive movements writ large: so, economic justice, anti-imperialism, antiracism, feminism and gay rights and (though the Left was late to this, I was not) - environmentalism. I invite you to read my work bio. It will provide  proof not only of my views, but of my life’s work in placing them into public and academic arenas, and of the various forms of recognition that my work has received. I draw attention to these specifically in the hope that for progressives, this record will increase openness to what I have to say from a left-wing perspective about the conflict in Israel Palestine and the Middle East and antisemitism at home.

All my adult life I have worked with and supported what is  the real Left and the real centre, for that matter, in Israel Palestine, and its affiliated organizations in North America and Europe. This is the force that is fighting for a modernized two-state solution, not the destruction of either people, and it involves millions of people. This is where I think liberals and leftists will find truly meaningful ways to contribute to peace in the Middle East and, if they live elsewhere, peace and social harmony beyond it. Working to end Israel – the anti-Zionist faux-Left – means working toward endless war in the region, endless pain for Palestinians, and ever growing, ever uglier and antisemitism – and growing anti-Muslim bias too – in the countries beyond.

I think it is an incontrovertible, if absolutely heartbreaking, truth that without the major support extended to the so-called “pro-Palestinian” movement  - in quotation marks, because I think this movement leads Palestinian over a cliff - and its doctrine of ending Israel by Left anti-Zionist forces, these ideas would never have been adopted as valid by masses of people and by important institutions in the liberal democracies – an important proposition I explore in various pieces. In my view the anti-Zionist left has an enormous amount of strife, pain and social regression to answer for and as a life-long leftist I feel a special responsibility to address this. 

The works posted here – open letters, articles, essays and monographs by me, useful resources by others – embody my ongoing left analysis, along with so many others, of these burning issues. Together they certainly add up to a call for a major course correction on the part of the Left – not to stop criticizing the policies of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and the settlers in the West Bank, but to stop seeking the end of Israel as a nation-state and put their shoulder to the wheel to help Palestine build good leaderships and pressure the non-Islamist Arab countries in the region to proactively help the Palestinians stand up a competent government and support it, including militarily, until two competent and peaceful states live alongside each other. Some call this the “23 state solution” – but whatever the name, this is the only way forward to peace. And it is, therefore, the only truly Left approach. This, too, I discuss in various pieces.

As for the growing nightmare of antisemitism in the liberal democracies – its manifestations, its causes, its perpetrators, and its urgently needed remedies, and the role of the Left and other key actors in all of this – these are major pre-occupations for me. These are subjects I take up extensively in the new work posted and forthcoming. I am still in shock that in Canada, where multiculturalism was considered the country’s major achievement, such terrible events and trends have unfolded. These pieces are my contribution toward reversing them and making this country a place that Jews can once again call home.

IMPORTANT ORGANIZATIONS IN THE ISRAEL-PALESTINE TWO-STATE ANTI-OCCUPATION, PRO-PEACE MOVEMENT

SOME COMPONENTS OF THE ANTI-OCCUPATION, 

PRO-PEACE, TWO-STATE SECTOR “ZIONISTS” AND “PALESTINIANISTS” TOGETHER  -  IN ISRAEL-PALESTINE

Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP): A large coalition of over 200 Israeli and Palestinian organizations working on people-to-people peace-building, shared society, and reconciliation. See its members at: https://www.allmep.org/about-us-almep/members/

Peace Now – militantly anti-occupation, pro two states, whose members stand (physically, not just symbolically) with Palestinians in the West Bank against the Jewish settlers. Peace Now’s world renowned program in the West Bank, Settlement Watch is an incredible resource utilized by the UN, diplomats, NGOs, lawyers and many other advocates, for years; a program of physical solidarity, standing shoulder to shoulder with West Bank residents against settler 

expansion.

Standing Together – denounced by BDS as collaborators in apartheid and genocide. Here is what their website says, judge for yourself: “Standing Together is a progressive grassroots movement mobilizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel against the occupation and for peace, equality, and social justice. We know that the majority have far more in common than that which sets us apart and only a tiny minority benefits from the status quo. The future that we want — peace and independence for Israelis and Palestinians, full equality for everyone in this land, and true social, economic, and environmental justice — is possible. To achieve this future, we must stand together as a united front: Jewish and Palestinian, secular and religious, Mizrahi and Ashkenazi, rural and urban, and people of all genders and sexual orientations. As the largest Jewish-Arab grassroots movement in Israel, we are committed to creating an alternative to our existing reality and building the political strength to make this transformation possible.” 

Ibrahim Dalalsha and the Horizon Centre. Dalalsha is a distinguished Palestinian political adviser to many governments and peace initiatives, a scholar and exponent of peace, who believes there is a way forward to a two-state path to peace, and has put forward clear and detailed steps to transition from “the day after” a ceasefire to that objective. He is deeply embedded in Palestinian politics and works with Palestinians and Israelis. “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.”  

Haaretz – the mainstream news platform evolved from the newspaper of the same name, founded on June 18, 1919. Voice of the Left, implacable critic of Likud, the occupation and settlement project, the record keeper of the devastation of Gaza, the megaphone for leading critics of the current war in Gaza and their analyses and proposals, separating the need for defense and security from the project of annexation and domination. 

Holy Land Confederation/A Land for All "A Land for All is a joint Israeli-Palestinian political initiative rooted in the lived reality of this land. It was founded by people who know the conflict not from headlines but from daily life. Together, we have dared to imagine a different future and have crafted a shared political vision grounded in dignity, equality, and belonging for both peoples." More…

Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights  volunteer and professional lawyers and human rights experts since 2005 protecting human rights of Palestinians living under Israeli armed forces’ occupation by documenting, collecting and disseminating reliable and updated information regarding systematic human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), providing individual assistance on structural violations of human rights, pressuring Israel’s authorities to implement international humanitarian law to protect the Palestinians and their rights and raising public awareness of human rights violations in the OPT. 

New Israel Fund – funding people and projects to “stop hate and extremism” in Israel. From their website: “Former Israeli Defense Minister Yaalon is Warning of Ethnic 

Cleansing in North Gaza. Everyone Should Listen. With all of this bad news, it can be hard to imagine a better future. But at NIF, we get up in the morning ready to fight back.” 

Women Wage Peace – Israeli women, all denominations with Palestinian women, against the occupation, advancing a detailed plan for two states and peace. 

Combatants for Peace (CfP): A grassroots movement founded by former Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters (many of whom were former prisoners) who work together using non-violent civil resistance to end the occupation and transform the political system. 

The Parents Circle-Families Forum (PC-FF): A group of Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost immediate relatives in the conflict and work together to promote reconciliation and coexistence, particularly through educational programs for youth.EcoPeace / Friends of the Earth Middle East: An organization that brings together environmental activists from the region to cooperate on shared environmental challenges like water security, highlighting mutual interests that transcend the conflict. 

Live proposals for a two state solution: 

Ehud Olmert and Nasser al-Qudwa - detailed proposal by very senior Israeli and Palestinian statesmen for the stages along the path to a two state solution

4MENA - A network of organisations from Israel, Palestine and across the MENA region devoted to a more inclusive, interconnected and peaceful future for all, including partnerships for NOAL, Israel’s largest Jewish-Arab youth movement.

Interview with Hiba Husseini, peace making after Oslo    

EcoPeace / Friends of the Earth Middle East: An organization that brings together environmental activists from the region to cooperate on shared environmental challenges like water security, highlighting mutual interests that transcend the conflict.