Liberalism and Zionism clash head-on in the States
JVL Introduction
An earthquake is hitting American Jewry
Eric Alterman, Distinguished Professor of English, Brooklyn College, City University of New York and “The Liberal Media” columnist for The Nation, wrote an important article immediately following the stunning victory of African American candidate Jamaal Bowman in the fight for the Democratic nomination in the 16th District in New York.
In it he said: “As Israel grows increasingly illiberal—embracing not only annexation but also official racism, theocratic governance, and increasingly anti-democratic restrictions on the freedoms of its Arab minority—the choice for American Jews will grow increasingly stark. Liberal Zionism—a cause to which I have committed myself for my entire adult life—has come to look like a contradiction.”
Philip Weiss and James North discuss the article and its implications below.
Do read it in conjunction with Peter Beinart’s recent analysis of the crisis of liberal Zionism.
This article was originally published by Mondoweiss on Tue 7 Jul 2020. Read the original here.
Engel’s defeat shows contradiction of liberalism and Zionism, Alterman bravely declares
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Eric Alterman is hardly a ‘big man’. Years ago, he attacked Norman Finkelstein dishonestly, arguing that since David Duke of the KKK agreed with something Norman wrote that was critical of Israel, that this endorsement discredited the criticism. Alterman neglected to mention that Duke had praised Alterman for a scathing portrait of Jewish billionaire Sheldon Adelson.
One light in the darkness. Thank you Eric Alterman .