The liberal Jewish community in America began to collapse due to the genocide in Gaza, and some challenges emerged before this community, in various colors of the spectrum, and new differences between them, which became more severe due to the horrific Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip.

This was reported by writer Mitchell Plitnick, director of the American office of the B'Tselem organization for human rights in Israel, in an article on the American progressive website Mondoweiss.

Loss of staff and donors

The writer mentioned, for example, that the liberal Jewish group J Street, based in the United States and whose stated goal is to strengthen American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically, has begun to lose staff and support from donors because it prioritizes Israeli militarism over Palestinian rights.

He said that the unfolding of the genocide in Gaza caused tension between Zionism and liberal Jewish values, and he expected this division to continue and grow further.

The writer stated that it is clear that October 7 was a turning point in the American Jewish community.

He noted that many Jewish artists and public figures are making unprecedented statements, such as film director Jonathan Glazer, who condemned the occupation and Israeli violence in Gaza while accepting the Academy Award for Best International Feature, yet he said others went in a different direction.

Israeli crimes put pressure on them

He added that many liberal Jewish writers feel pressure because they cannot turn a blind eye to the war crimes committed by Israel. He gave an example of this to journalist Peter Maass, who publishes on the Washington Post and has a long history of writing about war, and he just published an article in the Washington Post that reflects on the genocide in Gaza from his perspective as a Jewish writer who witnessed many war crimes. .

He said that this has emerged since last November, when Israel's crimes were appearing in their large size and undeniable clarity.

Drift from the progressive character

He explained that a number of liberal Jewish groups, such as GS Street, Americans for Peace Now, and similar organizations, which believe in diplomacy and some limited concessions to the Palestinians, have gradually begun to drift away from progressivism.

He added that as larger Jewish organizations move to the right, former liberal pro-Israel groups are taking a center-right position. This position is characterized by prioritizing Israel's Jewish ethnicity and its military dominance, while also insisting on an ephemeral and unviable two-state solution and urging "diplomacy rather than violence."

He said that it is important to remember that none of these groups supports the Palestinians' right to defend themselves, even in a two-state scenario.

The writer stated that the arguments between what we might call the right-wing camp, led by AIPAC, and the liberal camp, such as the “Jewish Voice for Peace” group, will continue to revolve around whether Israel is an apartheid state (which it is) and a settler-colonial project (which it is). And whether it committed genocide (and is doing so now).

Palestinian rights are the focus

Plitnik continues, saying that it will revolve around whether the Palestinians will have equal rights in everything, including the right of return and the right to guarantee their security, just like the Israelis.

This means, the writer says, that the question for American liberal Jews will ultimately boil down to whether they want to continue to insist on an “ethnocracy” formula that includes a Jewish state, or whether they will help Israel abandon the illusion that it can It will be an ethnic and democratic state at the same time.

The writer pointed out that the path to ethnic rule is the path of continued violence, continued apartheid, the spread of colonialism, and more cases of genocide or attempted genocide, “and 76 years of Israel’s existence and the expulsion of the Palestinians have proven this conclusively.”

Source: American press