Part of Israeli society is not giving up and continues to protest vigorously against its government, which is stubbornly pursuing a war that must end. These days, demonstrators are gathering at intersections and in front of ministers’ homes, at the call of the Hostage Families Forum, to demand that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government agree to a truce in Gaza. It is in this context that we propose to reread our text on the general strike of August 17, but also that, on another front, we believe it is important to support the movement by sharpening our critical edge, to which we devote one of our summer features. It is in adversity and controversy that ideals are affirmed and clarified, and we can only hope that Israel and Zionism will emerge matured from the ordeal they are currently undergoing. From Europe, the best way to support this hope is to attack the forces that are still exacerbating the situation and contributing to its entrenchment in an insoluble confrontation. So let’s roll up our sleeves and engage in polemics with the most stubborn interlocutors. We will start with those who have decided that the alliance between Jews and the far right is perhaps not such a bad idea, and that loyalty to Israel means applauding its most self-destructive tendencies: they would benefit from reading Bruno Karsenti’s “Trump and the war of the Jews”. As for Elisheva Gottfarstein’s delightful “Jewish response to an offended left”, we’ll save that for those who take offense when accused of antisemitism but refuse to look in the mirror. Matthew Bolton’s article on “The meaning of ‘genocide’” and Julien Chanet’s on “Left-wing Zionism on trial” open up debate and reflection on these notions, which are usually locked away by their rigid ideological uses. Finally, for the most courageous, Julia Christ’s incisive reflection in “Anti-Zionism: A realistic option?” will finally allow you to explain to the unwelcome ones under what conditions they could legitimately call themselves anti-Zionists – spoiler alert, they are not glorious.
And as a reminder, our archives are open, and we invite you to browse through the hundreds of texts we have already published over the past four years.
