Liberals & Israel

As Liberal Jews Feel abandoned by the Left — What’s next? by Adam Milstein, The Jerusalem Post, January 10, 2024

The Liberal Betrayal of the Jews, video series with Prof. Ruth Wisse, Tikva Fund, December 2023:

How Oct. 7 Is Reshaping the Zionist — and Anti-Zionist — Left in the US by Yehuda Kurtzer, Forward, November 30, 2023

The Zionist left is reengaging to broaden the establishment’s big tent — and the anti-Zionist left is staying far outside.

Abandoned by Progressives, American Jews Will Rethink Their Priorities by Michael J. Koplow, The Messenger, October 19, 2023

The unpleasantly dawning realization for many is that we stand alone amidst a sea of erstwhile allies.

The Takeover by Samuel J. Abrams, Tablet, August 30, 2023

The key takeaway from the current research is that progressives constitute a political camp distinct from liberals. [….] Among their most distinctive features is that Jewish progressives are very distant from Israel—even to the point of expressing what some would see as anti-Israel views. […] Being highly critical if not overtly hostile toward Israel is not simply one stance among others for Jewish progressives: It is a defining feature of their political identity.

The Democratic Party’s anti-Zionist wing is growing. Here’s how. by E.J. Hare, The Times of Israel, June 24, 2023

Israel supporters should look carefully at the New York political scene – and they should be alarmed. Very alarmed.

Giving ‘progressive’ antisemites the benefit of the doubt by Jonathan S. Tobin, Jewish News Syndicate, June 23, 2023

Both mainstream Jewish groups and their allies in the Biden administration are determined to avoid taking on left-wing Jew-haters and the ideas that drive them.

Major Jewish groups leave coalition after video slams ‘woke antisemitism’ by Arno Rosenfeld, Forward, June 20, 2023

The Jewish Federations of North America and Jewish Council for Public Affairs departed the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s sprawling coalition after the group released a video decrying progressive politics.

The woke hatred for Israel is no longer just strange — it’s dangerous by Brendan O’Neill, National Post, January 30, 2023

They made more noise over a massacre that exists mostly in their imaginations than they did over a massacre that existed in the real world.

Liberals, Progressives, Wokeness and Israel by Samuel J. Abrams and David Bernstein, The Jewish Journal, December 13, 2022

“Woke Antisemitism: How a Progressive Ideology Harms Jews” by David Bernstein

“Woke Antisemitism: How a Progressive Ideology Harms Jews” by David Bernstein

Confronting Anti-Semitism in Progressive Spaces by Emily Alhadeff, The Cholent, December 2, 2022

Project Shema helps local Jews on the left find the language to effectively talk about anti-Jewish and anti-Israel bias.

Woke Ideology in the US Poses a National Security Challenge for Israel by David Bernstein, The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, October 2022 (See also Audio: “Woke Anti-Semitism” in the US — should Israel also be worried? (39’46”), Israel from the Inside, November 28, 2022)

More Democrats Than Ever Support The Palestinian Cause, And That’s Dividing The Party by Zoha Qamar, FiveThirtyEight, September 22, 2022

Video: A Conversation with Dr. Einat Wilf (56’52”), People of the Book: Jewish Authors, Progressive Issues, Zioness, September 20, 2022

Who’s to blame for young American and Democrat coolness towards Israel? by Jonathan S. Tobin, Jewish News Syndicate, May 27, 2022

Despite the impulse to blame Netanyahu and the usual targets of left-wing scorn, the real answer is the growing popularity of theories like intersectionality that sanction anti-Semitism.

Saving Israel for Democrats by Ronald Radosh, Sapir, Vol. 5, Spring 2022

How the Palestinians stole the suffering, of well – just about everyone by David Collier, November 2, 2021

It might seem absurd to those that do not see what is going on, but the pro-Palestinian movement probably cannot believe its good fortune. They can steal any idea, make any accusation, and global antisemitism will do the rest of the work for them. Because their fight is against the Jews, their empty smears all go viral. What we see in the anti-Israel movement today is the result of decades of co-opting causes, historical revisionism and piggybacking on the very real suffering of others. Basically – if there is a bad thing happening in the world – the pro-Palestinian movement stole the idea to use it against the Jews: Apartheid, the Holocaust, genocide, refugee suffering, ethnic cleansing, victims colonialism, concentration camps, suffering freedom fighters, LGBTQ suffering, racism, suffering of victims of fascism, cultural appropriation, land grabbers, Christian suffering, victims of child killers, evicted people, and the world’s soul.

When “unprecedented times” are not-at-all-unprecedented by Daniel Gordis, Israel from the Inside, October 25, 2021

And how the Sunrise Movement controversy proves that on one issue, at least, Theodor Herzl was dead wrong.

A strategic reset for Jewish community relations and advocacy by David Bernstein, eJewishPhilanthropy, October 18, 2021

Do we dig in our heels with progressives because it used to make sense, or do we pivot and develop new partnerships and strategies that reflect our community’s interests today?

Memo to Progressives: Israel’s Iron Dome Saves Palestinian Lives, Too by August Pfluger and Michael Makovsky, Newsweek, September 26, 2021

When it comes to anti-Israel attacks on Jews, it’s time to name the enemy by Gil Troy, Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, June 23, 2021

Not naming the distinctly left-wing roots of this hatred suggests that those doing the condemning do not want to alienate supposed allies.

The left slides into acceptance of anti-Semitism by Jonathan S. Tobin, Jewish News Syndicate, June 22, 2021

Banning an Israeli food truck at a Philadelphia event shocked some Jewish leftists. But why? Their acceptance of anti-Israel hate has inevitably led to such prejudice.

Jews Are Being Silenced by Leftists by Mallory Mosner, The Judean People’s Front, May 23, 2021

What I learned from being canceled by a “social justice” publication on Medium.

I support Israel because I am progressive by Zach Bodner, The Times of Israel, May 22, 2021

There’s a difference between legitimate criticism and one-sided, biased condemnation of a country trying to protect its citizens

Stop Being Shocked by Bari Weiss, Tablet, October 14, 2020

American liberalism is in danger from a new ideology—one with dangerous implications for Jews

Scraping the Bottom of the Progressive Barrel by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, October 1, 2020

Peter Beinart’s Wedge by Neil Rogachevksy, Mosaic, July 16, 2020

The don of liberal Zionism has come out against a two-state solution. His argument is delusional and messianic. But that’s not the real problem with it.

Sanders, AIPAC, and Israel by Dr. Alex Joffe, Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,460, February 26, 2020

Unpacking Senator Bernie Sanders’s announcement that he will not attend the annual AIPAC Policy Conference because the organization provides a “platform” for “leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights” reveals a gambit to split American Jews not only from AIPAC but from Israel. Accusing Israeli leaders and voters of being “right wing” and “racist” sets the stage for other Democratic candidates and American Jews to chance being labeled as the same.

Video: What is the Role of Progressive Zionists in the Social Issues of Our Time? (33’15”) An interview with Zioness Amanda Berman, The Jewish Center for Public Affairs, JCPA CRCast, October 18, 2019

The Real Reason The Left Hates Israel by Sharon Goldman, Forward, July 30, 2019

When human rights become acceptable collateral damage by Evelyn Gordon, Jewish News Syndicate, July 3, 2019

Palestinians’ rights matter when targeted by Israel, but not when targeted by the Palestinian Authority. And Israeli rights never matter, except when violated by Israel.

Video: Guy Bechor: Progressive Jews Are More Dangerous to Israel Than Iran (9’55”), May 14, 2019

How Dare Chelsea Clinton Defend The Jews? by James Kirchick, Tablet, March 19, 2019

A run-in at NYU reveals the unavoidable truth: The war for the soul of the left will be fought over anti-Semitism.

The Progressive Assault on Israel by Bret Stephens, The New York Times, February 8, 2019

A movement that can detect a racist dog-whistle from miles away is strangely deaf when it comes to some of the barking on its own side of the fence.

Progressives Can’t Ignore Jewish Particularism by Ammiel Hirsch, Jewish Week, October 9, 2018

The growing inclination among liberal Jews to de-emphasize Jewish distinctiveness is the gravest threat to the future of liberal Judaism.

Progressives for Israel by Zachary Thacher, Tablet, October 4, 2018

A Sanders supporter makes the progressive’s case for Israel

Sorry, Liberals: Anti-Zionism Is Anti-Semitic by Petra Marquardt-Bigman, Forward, August 7, 2018

If American Jewish progressives really seek change… by Daniel Gordis, The Jerusalem Post, July 18, 2018

The US Left is the greatest existential threat facing Israel Avi Perry, Arutz Sheva/Israel National News, July 1, 2018

Can you imagine a denial of financial aid, a denial of military support, or even a pro-BDS agenda exercised by a future US Democrat-controlled government?

The Loneliness Of The Liberal Zionist by Jarrod Tanny, The Forward, June 5, 2018

How Jewish Progressives Can Stand Up Against Left Anti-Semitism by Carly Pildis, Tablet, May 8, 2018

We must fight progressive anti-Semitism from the inside, before it destroys the social justice movements we helped to build—and alters the core values and political attachments of American Jewry

Natalie Portman and the Crisis of Liberal Zionism by Eric Levitz, New York Magazine, April 26, 2018

Video: Former Governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm shares her connection to Israel (7’24”), AIPAC, March 4, 2018

Anti-Semitism Is Creeping Into Progressivism by Jonathan A. Greenblatt, Time, June 30, 2017

So Wrong by Nevet Basker, The Times of Israel, June 28, 2017

How a Changing American Liberalism Is Pulling American Jews away From Israel by Evelyn Gordon, Mosaic, May 18, 2017

‘Left’ behind – Israel as a progressive cause by Daniel Elbaum, The Times of Israel, May 17, 2017

Why DOES The Left Hate Israel? (4’06”), Blue Collar Logic, March 30, 2018

Does Feminism Have Room for Zionists? by Emily Shire, The New York Times, March 7, 2017

For my part, I am troubled by the portion of the International Women’s Strike platform that calls for a “decolonization of Palestine” as part of “the beating heart of this new feminist movement.

A Liberal Zionism for the Trump Era by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, March 6, 2017

Never Again/ Silence = Death by Rachel Wahba, The Times of Israel, January 16, 2017

Why Liberalism vs. Zionism Is a False Choice by Elliot Cosgrove, The Jewish Week, January 11, 2017

In word and in deed, liberal Zionists must flatly reject the contention that it is somehow a contradiction to be both liberal and a Zionist.

On settlements and elsewhere, the Jewish left reaps what it sows by Rabbi Jonathan Greenberg, Jewish News Service, November 4, 2016

Black Lives Matter’s Anti-Semitic Bedfellows by Gary C. Gambill, The National Interest, September 13, 2016

Are Jews who refuse to renounce Israel being excluded from “progressive” groups? by Alan M. Dershowitz, Gatestone Institute, August 24, 2016

Progressive Silence Over Islamic Extremism is Homophobic by Paul Miller, Observer, June 14, 2016

When Your Liberal Values Need Not Apply by Leora Eisenberg, The Times of Israel, May 26, 2016

Why Is the Left Silent About Gaza Tunnels? by Jay Michaelson, The Forward, May 13, 2016

When the left fails to condemn Palestinian terrorism, its condemnations of Israeli actions — settlements, checkpoints, wars of attrition — ring hollow.

Why the Left Hates Jews by Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, April 29, 2016

Israel and the Jewish diaspora make progressive pieties look silly.

The Left’s hatred of Jews chills me to the bone by Stephen Pollard, The Telegraph, April 28, 2016

Is liberal Zionism dead on North American college campuses? by Andrew Silow-Carroll, The Times of Israel, April 6, 2016:

In an increasingly polarized pro- and anti-Israel discussion, where is the missing left?

Friend or Foe: How to Tell Who Israel’s Real Enemies Are by Lex, Israellycool.com, March 16, 2016

I Was the Pro-Israel Poster Boy at Brandeis — Here’s Why I Quit by Gabriel Goldstein, The Forward, March 14, 2016

The Regressive Left, Divest This!, March 13, 2016

Liberal Jews Without Liberal Organizations by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, January 21, 2016

The Progressive Case For Israel by Binyamin Arazi, Israelicool.com, January 4, 2016

Why does the left care more about Islamophobia than anti-Semitism? by Brendan O’Neill, The Spectator, September 9, 2015

I’m Young. I’m Liberal. And Yes, I’m Zionist. by J.E. Reich, The Forward, July 20, 2015

Why are liberals bashing Michael Oren? by David Suissa, Jewish Journal, July 7, 2015

A model for resolving clashes between Jewish and liberal values by Evelyn Gordon, The Jerusalem Post, June 22, 2015

Israel’s abortion policy is an all-too-rare example of a compromise that gives both sides something important

A Letter to My Liberal Jewish Friends by Michael Doran, Mosaic, May 28, 2015

I Support Israel…. Because I Am A Liberal by Alexandra Markus, IsraellyCool.com, February 25, 2015

How Much Zionism is Acceptable to the BDS-Lite Movement? by Alexander H. Joffe and Asaf Romirowsky, The American Interest, January 7, 2015

My Jewish Feminist Problem by Phyllis Chesler, Tablet, December 16, 2014: “Why my sisters can’t think straight about Israel”

Zionism, The Moral Struggle by Ryan Bellerose, Israellycool, December 15, 2014

The Left and the Jews by Alan Johnson, Fathom, Autumn 2015

I’m Done Apologizing for Israel by Rabbi Menachem Creditor, Huffington Post, September 21, 2014

Dear Fellow Liberals: I’m Done Apologizing for Israel by Jennifer Moses, Time, September 18, 2014

The peculiar case of liberals criticizing Israel by Mitchell Bard, Jerusalem Post, September 3, 2014

Israeli Liberals’ Advice to Diaspora Jewish Counterparts: Grow Up by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, August 28, 2014

Stop the whining, liberal Zionists! by Andrew Silow-Carroll, The Times of Israel, August 27, 2014

How liberal critics failed Israel by David Suissa, Jewish Journal, August 14, 2014

An Alternative Model for Pro-Israel Liberals by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, March 28, 2014

Why Liberals Must Repudiate the BDS Movement by Howard Wohl, The Tower, March 2014

Like the far-Leftists who failed to recognize the evils of the Soviet Union, many Americans today—including some of its most influential editors—can’t see what’s wrong with anti-Israel activism. And liberalism itself is in now in danger.

Why The Left Should Stop Carping and Love the Jewish State, Again by Joshua Muravchik, The Tower, February 2014

Mystery Solved: Why Are Some Liberals Claiming Israel is At Fault For Their Lack of Support? by Barry Rubin, Rubin Reports, January 13, 2013

Why I am a Zionist by Tom Doran, Jewish Journal, January 9, 2013

Why My Fellow Liberals Should Support Israel in Her Conflict with Hamas by Jonathan Miller, Huffington Post, November 20, 2012

A Dose of Nuance: Peter Beinart’s mis-identity crisis by Daniel Gordis, Jerusalem Post, April 11, 2012

Peter Beinart’s Offense Against Liberalism by Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, Huffington Post, March 30, 2012 (also video)

The Liberal Case for Israel by Jonathan Miller, Huffington Post, November 28, 2011

Engaging With Israel: Challenges and Opportunities for American Jews by Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, March 30, 2011: A discussion with Peter Beinart at CCAR Convention, New Orleans

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN-JJreC4JQ[/youtube]

Bret Stephens: “The Liberal Case for Israel” Shalom TV, February 2, 2010

Progressives Should Support Israel by Steve Sheffey, Huffington Post, March 30, 2011

8 Reasons Leftists Should be Pro-Israel by Alan Krinsky, Huffington Post, July 20, 2010

Israel: A Normal Country by Jose Maria Aznar, David Trimble, John R. Bolton, Alejandro Toledo, Marcello Pera, Andrew Roberts, Fiamma Nirenstein, George Weigel, Robert F. Agostinelli and Carlos Bustelo, Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2010

The Liberal Betrayal of Israel by Daniel Greenfield, Sultan Knish, May 30, 2010

Israel: An Apartheid State? by maozisrael, July 28, 2010

“How Can You Defend Israel?” by David Harris, Huffington Post, December 27, 2010