NEWSLETTERThe Friday Edition
The forgotten history of the Jewish, anti-Zionist left
Source: Jews for Justice for Palestinians
https://jfjfp.com/the-forgotten-history-of-the-jewish-anti-zionist-left/
Interview in In these times, Tue 21 Jul 2020
By Sarah Lazare
An election poster of the General Jewish Labour Bund hung in Kiev in 1917. The heading reads, "Where we live, there is our country!"
In an interview with In These Times Benjamin Balthaser talks about themes he has developed in an academic article “When Anti-Zionism Was Jewish”.
Here he talks about the colonial origins of modern Zionism, and the Jewish left’s quarrel with it at the time, on the grounds that it was a form of right-wing nationalism, fundamentally opposed to working-class internationalism, and a form of imperialism.
There was a decisive shift post-war, and the dominant narrative is that the Holocaust changed Jewish opinion and convinced Jews of Zionism’s necessity.
But there were alternatives, even then, argues Balthasar for whom the Soviet Union’s support for partition in 1947 was a decisive moment in the left’s shift on Zionism.
From today’s vantage point, with Jewish ethno-nationalism in the ascendant, this Jewish anti-Zionist political tradition, provides a rich cultural and political resource for future struggles.
Reproduced with Benjamin Balthaser’s permission
This article was originally published by In These Times on Mon 13 Jul 2020.
LATEST OPEN LETTERS
-
20-03Stand up to Trump
-
18-02Average Americans Response
-
23-12Tens of thousands of dead children.......this must stop
-
05-06A Call to Action: Uniting for a Lasting Peace in the Holy Land
-
28-05Concerned world citizen
-
13-02World Peace
-
05-12My scream to the world
-
16-11To Syria and Bashar al-Assad
-
16-11To Palestine
-
24-10Japan should withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN), WHO's controlling parent body, to protect the basic human rights and lives of its citizens.
VIRTUAL POST OFFICE
PETITIONS
LINKS
DONATION
Latest Blog Articles
-
13-06Our Friday News Analysis | What the World Reads Now!
-
11-06Our Wednesday News Analysis | The Last Days of Gaza
-
10-06The Last Days of Gaza
-
10-06Gaza’s ‘humanitarian’ façade: A deceptive ploy unraveled
-
10-06‘Hamas has Defeated Us’ – Ret. Israeli Maj. Gen. Brik Speaks of ‘Collective Suicide’
-
09-06The Evangelical Pope | Remembering the Past is a Commitment to the Future.
-
05-06Our Friday News Analysis | What the World Reads Now!
-
04-06Our Wednesday News Analysis | Analysis | Performance, Punishment or Policy: What Would Recognizing Palestine Really Mean?
-
03-06Analysis | Performance, Punishment or Policy: What Would Recognizing Palestine Really Mean?
-
03-06Israel's genocide in Gaza is a war on demographics
-
03-06The war where women’s bodies lost their rights
Latest Comments
One of the most important and illuminating articles that I …
Comment by Benjamin Inbaraj-
And what's wrong here?
After all, there is the homeland …
Comment by Isac Boian -
Does this reinforce or deny my argument that Israel is …
Comment by Edward Campbell -
Many 'say' they support the Palestinian cause but do little …
Comment by Philip McFedries -
The UN is strangled by the "war for profit" cabal …
Comment by Philip McFedries -
I can't read the printing on the map.
Comment by Philip McFedries -
Good news!
Comment by Philip McFedries
COMMENTS
This article has 0 comments at this time. We invoke you to participate the discussion and leave your comment below. Share your opinion and let the world know.