A dangerous nexus is developing

In my attempt to reconcile being a member of the pro-Israel community with being a member of the “left-wing” community, I’ve consulted other Jewish writings on the topic. I often find myself torn, feeling as though the pro-Israel camp is too extreme to one end, while the liberal community is too extreme to another end. Arthur Neslen’s following comments reflect this inner conflict. I do happen to strongly agree with his closing statement: “A dangerous nexus is developing. One way to break it is to allow dissenting voices into the fray.”

“Over the years, a highly conservative communal leadership has encouraged its flock to experience their Jewishness vicariously through an identification with Israel. Embourgeoisement, assimilation and a long-term decline in anti-semitism have eroded the basis of alternative identities once championed by the Jewish left.In the current climate, any attack on Israel’s actions or ideology from within the Jewish community can easily be dismissed as, at best, lacking communal legitimacy. At worst, it is experienced by many British Jews as an attack on Jewishness itself. This gives an easy “in” to anti-semites in some sections of the pro-Palestinian camp, who blame Jewishness for everything from Israel’s expulsion of the Palestinians in 1948 to the Iraq war. A dangerous nexus is developing. One way to break it is to allow dissenting voices into the fray.”