Day 1
I wanted to be a spy, a gonzo style journalist infiltrating the
system from within, learning about the coming apocalypse, and how all the Jews
would die when the rapture happened. I
wanted to be that person who cracks the system from within and reveals the
awful truths about radical right wing evangelical Christians who support Israel
for its own destruction. I wanted to be
that guy who finds out the so called truth, without revealing my identity. But that’s not who I am. As I have been defining myself to the largest
crowd of staunch Republicans I had ever interacted with, I am a moderate
Israeli Jew who just wants the option of peace to still be on the table so when
I have kids, I won’t have to send them to the army too.
The reality about CUFI and a conference of such magnitude is
that they have learned from the attacks against them. They no longer voice
their doomsday prophecies, they don’t talk about eschatology. They voice a single issue message of professed
loved to Israel. They utilize their vast
Christian infrastructure to promote that love to thousands of churches. The reasons
and interpretations for their so-called love are as diverse as their churches
are. But one thing was sure, they can’t afford to make that mistake of being
wackos; after all they are the largest pro-Israel organization in the US,
counting over 1.1 million members. The only speaker who said that Jews will go
to hell because they don’t accept Christ got kicked out of the convention, and
we all got a formal apology and I got a personal one from the only other Jew
around. That Jew also just happens to be
the Executive Director of Christian Unite for Israel. They base the religious support on a passage
in the bible, from genesis in which god says to Abraham “I will bless those
that bless you, and curse those that curse you.” I don’t think there was one speaker who hadn’t
mentioned that passage at least once. The
biblical justification is present in the conference, but it is almost
harmless. Two months of studying
Chrisitian theology, and my dreams of gonzo reporting went down the drain. I assumed positions for an intellectual
battle, and was quite thrilled because I didn’t stand a chance in a theological
one.
So if they weren’t crazy Christians, I could speak freely
and open my mind to seek out an alliance, after all they were Israel supporters
and so was I. I went to the first break out
session titled “The Arab-Israeli Conflict and the 5 No’s.” It was David Brog, the Jewish executive
Director of CUFI, teaching young impressionable students who knew nothing about
Israel, the history of the Arab refusal in 40 minutes. “Israel has offered Palestinians an
independent state 5 times. Each time they
reject a proposal it ends in disaster for both Israel and Arab.” The narrative he created was clear - suggesting
peace is disastrous for Israel, and the Palestinians are not interested in a peaceful
resolution. The natural conclusion I reached
was that he was rejecting a two state solution, so I decided to confront him
with a question about what a viable solution would be that would allow Israel
to stay both Democratic and Jewish under one state. I stood up politely and asked my question, to
which he roared that he had never even implied that he was against a two state
solution, and said that it was up to Israel to decide. Concealing my agitation and
out roar became unbearable as he gleefully went on to the next question from
the audience. I reluctantly raised my
arm again, obviously revealing my unease.
He gave me the floor once again, pointing out that I obviously had
something to say. “What about the
moderate forces” I asked, “don’t you think there’s room for promoting dialogue
in order to maintain the option of a two state solution by supporting Palestinian
economic growth. I only ask because I am
an Israeli, and I want to live in peace in my country.” It was out; I had revealed to the ED of the
organization both my liberal nature, and my origin in one single question. He looked at me suspiciously as a politician
under an unexpected attack in front of a delicate crowd that needed to be
steered toward the right answer, and it was too early to be imposing the true
complexities of the issue in front of them.
“Are you here on a scholarship?” he asked me, “if so, we shouldn’t have
paid for you.” He continued to answer my
question that there were no moderate forces in the west bank right now and that
it will require a generation or two before it could happen. Frustrated, I resolved to lay low and
approach him after it ended. When I approached
him, he politely told me that he was glad that I was here, but still shouldn’t
have paid for me. I explained my views and
he brushed them off as naïve. I had
taken a stand and people had noticed.
The problem with his narrative was there were no moderate
forces, there was no Palestine, and there was no occupation. But their Israel was also definitely not the
Israel I grew up in. There was no
dialogue about the character of Israel, or historic processes, there was no
diversity or poverty in their Israel, there was no geography or borders in
their Israel. at some point I wasn’t sure if they were talking about the same
place I had lived my whole life, the country I had served for three years and
the country that I call home. Their Israel
was a mystified pseudo-reality that they needed to love because their pastor
told them so. Their Israel was a myth
that has been disseminated by neo-cons who believe there cannot be peace and
work within the “Clash of Civilizations” paradigm. Their Israel was a fable
that linked Abraham, Moses and Jesus with Ben Gurion, Begin and Rabin directly,
without recognizing a giant leap both in the chronology of history and of faith.
Their Israel was an easy story to sell
in a post “Citizens United” World, in which the American society can be bought quite
easily with the right face, idea and a shit ton of money. Their Israel united all denominations of Christianity
from Pentecostals to LDS (Mormons), it united the so called Judeo-Christian
civilization, it united Republicans and Democrats, and they were united under
the lifted banners of war. They were in
a war against an enemy who didn’t recognize their narrative, so why should they
recognize ours, or theirs, or whoever’s narrative they claimed to hold. They were selling a product that the Israeli explaining/advocacy/propaganda
office, aka Hasbara, was failing at – Israel has a right to exist. Period.
And it’s true, Israel has a right to exist. But the whole period thing, no why, no conditions, no criticism. That’s the part I
couldn’t live with, and the one I couldn’t keep my mouth shut about.
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