In Praise of ‘Censorship’ at Hillel

[shira]

Informed criticism of Israeli policy is fine, obviously; I engage in quite a bit of it myself. Perhaps Hillel’s guidelines could be adjusted to better enable this – others are far more qualified than I to say. But if we’re talking about opening the door to “anti-Zionism,” and at least some of the most vocal students are, we’re talking about something very different.

“Anti-Zionism” is not a theoretical position, and Zionism is not a morality play. Israel is a real country full of real people, most of whom have nowhere else to go. Anti-Zionism in 2013 is the belief that this country should not exist – that it should, in some way, be made not to exist. It means that more than 6 million Jews who have found a refuge and a home here will have that home taken away, that a century of Hebrew culture will end, and that the entire Jewish people will go back to living by the whims of Muslim and Christian majorities. That I am a liberal and take a dim view of many of the policies of my government does not in the least muddy that understanding.

It is important, in other words, to be clear what we’re talking about when we say “anti-Zionist.” As a correspondent here for many years, I have had enough contact with activists involved in anti-Israel campaigns to understand that many or most of them are not concerned with returning Israel to its 1967 borders, but rather answer to this description. These people certainly do not have nuclear bombs, and they use words like “inclusiveness,” “democracy,” and “rights” in ways that scramble the radar of liberals in the West. But their goal is to destroy the state of Israel, and they are generally willing to tell you that if you are listening.

“Censorship” is a word largely devoid of meaning, one trotted out for use because no one wants to support it, just like “openness” is a word used because no one wants to oppose it. The fact is that not only do we tolerate censorship every day, we expect it. We censor racists, for example, and other views considered beyond the pale. The idea that the world’s only Jewish country should be dismantled and its people once again rendered homeless – that’s “anti-Zionism,” however skillfully it cloaks itself – is a morally repugnant idea linked to other morally repugnant ideas better left unmentioned. Let’s leave aside the question of whether this should be discussed anywhere at all. For a Jewish community to decline to make room for this idea is as understandable and healthy as it would be for an African-American community to decline to devote an evening to debating the merits of the Klan. Hillel Houses exist to provide a safe intellectual space for young Jews on campus. Campuses being what they are, spaces like that are rare. They are under pressure, as Israel is, from politically acute and aggressive opponents who are not in the least interested in “openness” and don’t practice it themselves, but who understand that the Jewish weakness for words like that is an opportunity. Hillel should keep that door firmly closed.

http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/157100/in-praise-of-censorship-at-hillel

[Israeli]

1. responce to by Jerry Haber ....

http://www.jeremiahhaber.com/2013/12/when-bashing-anti-zionists-borders-on.html

An article that appeared in Tablet, defending International Hillel’s decision to bar events and groups that do not toe the Zionist line, used arguments that reminded me of classic anti-Semitic tropes, like “They sound high-minded in public, but among themselves they plot to get us,” or “They are indistinguishable from each other, so if one of them commits a crime, they are collectively responsible.”

Ok, maybe I am over-sensitive, another so-called characteristic of Jews. Maybe I shouldn’t be playing the anti-Semitism card. But read this passage, where the author claims to define the true goal of the anti-Zionist:...............

snip..

Now I am willing to bet that the author never in his life ever heard a Palestinian activist who talks about “inclusiveness,” “democracy” and “rights” say that his or her goal is to destroy the state of Israel. “Replace the Zionist regime with a more liberal, democratic regime for all its citizens” is not the same as destroying a state.

snip.

Who are the anti-Zionist groups that Hillel doesn’t allow in the doors who say anything like this? Jewish Voice for Peace, which talks in its mission statement about self-determination for Israelis and Palestinians? The Palestinian civil society organizations that signed the BDS call in 2005, a call that requires the existence of the State of Israel for its goals to make any sense.

Surprise, surprise, there aren’t any – which is why the author doesn’t actually link to any website, or give any evidence, besides his “Trust me, I know.”So he has to say instead that the language of rights is a ruse, that these groups, many of whom are in trouble with both the PA and the Hamas because they stick out their necks for human rights, are secretly plotting the destruction of Israel and taking the homes away from six million Jews In fact, “if you are listening” (i.e., if you can crack their secret code), they are willing to tell you this!

The shrill, hysterical, and ultimately ridiculous, demonization of anti-Zionism – which for decades was the norm among world Jewry, and to this day, is an option among the orthodox and reform – is the flip side of the sanctification of Zionism as a Jewish, indeed, moral value. What follows from that beatification? If you happen to be a Palestinian who doesn’t accept the right of the Jews to a state; in other words, if you don’t accept the right of your conqueror to dispossess you, you are ispo facto immoral. Small wonder that Prime Minister Netanyahu insists not only that Jews be Zionist, but that the Palestinian people become Zionist, by recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.

For years I have considered myself a Zionist, and I still do. But, Ribono shel Olam/Master of the Universe, with Zionists like the author of the Tablet article, it’s a wonder I’m still on that team.

[Israeli]

4. Merry Xmas to you delrem....

.... and to all of you on here that celebrate today .... its just a regular day for most of us in the Holy Land ....well except our 161,000 Christians ...

ref : http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4469209,00.html

Kind of puts this quote from shira in perspective dont you think

" Christians throughout the mideast are a dying breed. Their numbers are dwindling by the year."

Christian Israelis , Muslim Israelis , Aetheist Israelis and non Zionist Israelis ... add it all up .
Makes you wonder who the " dying breed " are

[shira]

5. More denial from you. Christians are a dying breed OUTSIDE of Israel....

I realize you have to deny inconvenient facts like these in order to keep up the ruse about a peaceful, inclusive, and tolerant greater Palestine that you hope will replace Israel some day. So much for your bullshit about being an advocate like Rabin was for 2 states. What a load of bullshit that was....

As to Haber, he's a liar who's not fooling anyone with his horseshit. Only an idiot would not be able to see what anti-zionists want, and what they want is the end of Israel...replaced by a greater Palestine that would be no better than Egypt, Syria, or Jordan. It's obvious why few anti-zionists want to admit this. It's embarassing for them. It's why folks around these parts at DU avoid tough questions, some preferring to only answer with links to other articles rather than honestly discuss what they believe.

[Israeli]

7. yup shira ...

ref : " As to Haber, he's a liar "

same as Shulamit Aloni ... we are all liars

and Machsom Watch ?
ref : http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/09/machsom-watch-women-occupation-west-bank.html

and women in black ?
ref : http://www.coalitionofwomen.org/?tag=women-in-black&lang=en

and The Coalition of Women for Peace
ref : http://www.coalitionofwomen.org/?page_id=340&lang=en

all liars shira .

if you say so American .....I bow to your knowledge of Israeli women and mothers and grand mothers shira .
...and wonder only why you dont have the balls to put your ass where your mouth is ??

[shira]

8. Max Blumenthal stated the anti-zionist manifesto quite recently...

“As for the Jewish Israelis… These are Israelis who are attracted to Europe, who do not feel that they are part of the Arab world. And it’s that attraction to Europe, that manifestation of Herzl’s famous quote, that the Jewish state will be ‘a rampart of civilization against barbarism,’ which has led to the present crisis and the failure of Zionism. Because there is absolutely no way for Jewish people in Israel/Palestine to become indigenized under the present order, and that’s really what has to happen. You have to be willing to be a part of the Arab world, because you’re living in the Arab world. If you don’t, then you have to maintain this system and continue to harden the present system.”

At least he had the balls to admit that Jews should "indigenize" themselves into the Arab world and suffer under inhumane totalitarian fascists just like all other Arabs in Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and S.Arabia. Blumenthal is a scummy POS, but at least he's honest and I respect that a helluva lot more than the posers and cowards from BDS who hide their views.

He's a liar too, like pretty much all post- and anti- zionist posers. Maybe stupid for telling it like it is and letting the mask slip but his shit is out there for all to see. When asked a direct question, he answered. Unlike most of Team Demonization, he said what he believed and didn't wait to be told by his handlers what he was supposed to say and believe.

[Jefferson23]

10. +1.

[Israeli]

15. Yeah ...

" You can tell that I take all this public ritual with a huge chunk of laughter. The rituals go back ages, they go back to the "Holy Roman Empire meets with the pagans" period. "

Holidays = Holy Days .

Your lucky you dont have Pesach ( Passover ) ....having to sit thru hours of reading the Haggadah ...its about as nonsensical as it gets delrem.

[Israeli]

2. An Open Letter from The Swarthmore Hillel Board ...

On November 11, former speaker of the Israeli Knesset Avraham Burg was supposed to give a talk on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the Harvard Hillel house. Instead, Hillel barred him from speaking at the Hillel house, and he ended up giving his talk in an undergraduate dormitory on campus. The reason he was barred? His talk was co-sponsored by the Harvard College Palestinian Solidarity Committee.

Sadly, for organizations bearing the name “Hillel,” situations like these are all too common. Across the country, many Hillels have banned Breaking the Silence, an organization of Israeli soldiers that facilitates talks about the Israeli military and West Bank occupation. Jewish Voice for Peace, which seeks “peace and justice for all peoples of the Middle East,” has never been allowed to affiliate with Hillels. On some campuses, JStreet has had a difficult time working with Hillels, and events co-sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine or Palestine Solidarity Committees have often been banned.

Across the country, Hillels’ suppression of the freedom to speak and believe things that are not narrowly pro-Zionist are the direct result of Hillel International’s Israel Guidelines. Right after stating in their “Political Pluralism” section that they object to excluding “students for their beliefs and expressions,” they declare that they “will not partner with, house, or host” – in other words, they will exclude – groups and speakers that espouse certain beliefs about Israel. These contraband beliefs include denying the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state and supporting boycotting, divesting, or sanctions against Israel. They also ban those who “delegitimize, demonize, or apply a double standard to Israel.” No further explanation is provided to clarify these guidelines, but their ambiguity has done nothing to ease the stifling effect they have on individual Hillels’ freedoms of speech, belief, and association. These guidelines would exclude speakers with views like those of Peter Beinart, Judith Butler, and Noam Chomsky.

(snip)

To that end, Swarthmore Hillel hereby declares itself to be an Open Hillel. All are welcome to walk through our doors and speak with our name and under our roof, be they Zionist, anti-Zionist, post-Zionist, or non-Zionist. We are an institution that seeks to foster spirited debate, constructive dialogue, and a safe space for all, in keeping with the Jewish tradition. We are an Open Hillel.

http://thebeaconmag.com/2013/12/featured-article/swarthmore-hillel-declares-itself-an-open-hillel/

[shira]

6. These guidelines would exclude speakers with views like....Judith Butler????

The same Judith Butler who said:

“understanding Hamas, Hezbollah as social movements that are progressive, that are on the Left, that are part of a global Left, is extremely important.”

Why host "leftists" in full retard mode like Butler?

[Violet_Crumble]

11. It looks like anyone opposed to the Occupation is being labelled anti-Zionist...

Anyone who'd label the following anti-Zionist is really confusing things badly:

• Avraham Burg
  
• Breaking the Silence
  
• Jewish Voice for Peace
  
• JStreet
  
• Students for Justice in Palestine
  
• Palestine Solidarity Committees /ul]
  
  

[azurnoir]

12. well I think anyone opposed to the occuaption

may well be getting a number of labels pinned on them-regardless of accuracy