Amerykańska kongresmenka Ilhan Omar została ostatnio poddana wściekłemu atakowi ze strony lobby syjonistyczno - żydowskiego w USA - za krytykę wsparcia USA dla polityki Izraela, która zasadza się na prześladowaniu Palestyńczyków i łamaniu norm prawa międzynarodowego. W obronie dzielnej kongresmenki wystąpiły także liberalne Żydówki z USA - których punkt widzenia jest tak samo akuratny jak i szczególnie interesujący ze względu na jej narodową tożsamość oraz wątki osobiste jakie są wplecione w jej tekst..
Zainteresowanych problemem odsyłam do tekstu żydowskiej politolożki Sarah Gertler - która, między innymi, uważa ,iż krytykowanie Izraela czy też polityki USA względem Izraela nie jest żadnym antysemityzmem. Za takowy natomiast uważa dominujący w amerykańskich mainstreamowych mediach i wypowiedziach polityków pogląd, iż krytykowanie polityki USA względem Izraela jest....tożsame z "atakowaniem Żydów".
"Like most American Jewish youth, I grew up knowing Israel. During holidays, I sang prayers about Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel. In Hebrew school, I learned about the country’s culture, its cities, its past prime ministers. At my Jewish summer camp, we started every day with the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah.My image of Israel was a rosy one. When I finally visited it in college, I was spellbound by the lush landscapes and sparkling cities, certain I would one day move to this golden ancestral home myself.All this emotional buildup made it all the more sickening when, in the years that followed, I learned the realities of the Israeli occupation.The modern state of Israel was established by Zionists — a nationalist movement started by European Jews with the aim of creating a “Jewish state” as a refuge for persecuted Jews.It’s true that Jews have faced centuries of brutal persecution in Europe. But the Zionists’ project shared unmistakably European colonialist roots.
In 1948, Israel’s war of independence led to the Nakba, an invasion driving 700,000 Palestinians from their homes. These Palestinians were never allowed to return, creating a massive refugee population that today numbers over 7 million.While I was able to travel freely up and down Israel, the Palestinians who once lived there are legally barred from returning. While I wandered the marketplaces trying stews and shawarmas, Palestinians in Gaza can’t afford even the gas to cook their food because of the Israeli blockade.
Zionism didn’t create an inclusive Jewish refuge either. In fact, the diverse Mizrahi — or Arab — Jewish population that was already thriving in Palestine was pushed out of Israeli society as Ashkenazi — or European — Jews became the elite class.
What it did create is an imperialist stronghold that continues to break international law by building settlements deeper and deeper into Palestinian territory, giving Jewish Israelis superior legal status to Arab Israelis and Palestinians, and attacking all who protest.
Since Israel’s origin, the U.S. has supplied tens of billions of dollars of military aid and ardent political support. Congress consistently ignores dozens of UN resolutions condemning Israeli abuses, and year after year gives it more resources to violently oppress impoverished Palestinians.
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