Reader Post: I Support Israel…. Because I Am A Liberal

Israeli flagI support Israel because I am a liberal.

In college I was a pretty typical hippie. I ate kale salads, bought local and organic where possible, listened to obscure alt/rock indie bands, and supported and participated in initiatives that sought to help the environment, promote aboriginal rights, reduce the influence of multinational corporations on government policy, and increase the minimum wage. I went to protests and gay pride parades, and even participated in a drag show and a feminist working group. I’m staunchly pro-choice and supportive of many social welfare policies and equal rights for gays, lesbians, and transgendered individuals, many of whom I include among my closest friends.

In other words, I lean left. Quite left, in fact. That’s why I support Israel.

Yes, you read that right. I support Israel because I am a liberal.

I’m a feminist, environmentalist, queer ally, activist, and Zionist. Those terms are not mutually exclusive – in fact, they complement each other and are the very antithesis of hypocritical.

I support oppressed peoples around the world. I believe that every human being has the right to live in peace and dignity, however they choose – whether bikini or burqa. By that token, I do not support governments that legally oppress marginalized groups such as immigrants, gays, women, indigenous peoples, transgendered people, and those of a different religion from the ruling class. I also don’t blindly support groups just because they are oppressed, especially if their oppression is the result of their democratically elected leadership. I choose my support carefully, and support the groups whose values most align with mine.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is rife with black and white generalizations and anger on both sides. Some who take Marxist and Post-Colonialist ideology way further than was initially intended see the Palestinian Arabs as little more than poor, oppressed “people of color,” who have no choice but to resist the powerful, rich, “white” Israelis. Many ironically claim their movement is nonviolent, which cannot be further from the truth, as stabbings, suicide bombings, rocket launches, and myriad other methods have succeeded at killing thousands of Israeli civilians as intended. Even at so-called “nonviolent” demonstrations, pro-Israel counter-protestors are frequently subject to violence.

The anti-Israel movement is also marred with the “racism of low expectations,” which excuses violence from peoples they deem “oppressed” while decrying actions far less severe from those they deem “oppressors.” They use death tallies and alliances to determine guilt and innocence. Those officially allied with the “world superpowers” – such as NATO, or more specifically the U.S. – are automatically considered guilty and undeserving of any sympathy, whereas those allied with the “less-powerful” third world, the communist bloc, and the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are cut more slack. Also, the ability to protect their own people with devices such as the Iron Dome, resulting in a lower death toll apparently makes the Israeli side more guilty, and the increased death toll, despite the fact that it’s the result of the use of Human Shields by the Palestinian side, confirms innocence. It appears to me that more Israelis need to die in order for us to be absolved from our alleged guilt, which to me sounds totally ridiculous, and highlights how little sense these metrics make.

I’m done taking sides. I chose to align myself with the humanitarian side, the side that would make a better life for Israelis and Palestinians alike. I choose to align with Israel, as that is the pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian way to go.

Israeli Arabs have full equal rights and live better in Israel than in any Arab countries. My values – supposedly leftist, liberal values – of protecting the environment and social welfare systems, fostering education and scientific progress and ensuring equality for all genders, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and abilities – align with Israel’s and are the opposite of the Palestinian Authority’s.

I support Israel because I am an environmentalist. Israel has always been at the forefront of water-saving technologies, as well as improved recycling, alternative fuel sources, and other green technology as a result of the need to make the most of what little natural resources the country has. Israel injects billions of dollars into these initiatives and startups, andcontributes even more to research and development (R&D) in its universities and think tanks, while the Palestinian Authority hasn’t contributed a cent.

I support Israel because I am a queer ally. Queers in Israel have more rights than queers in any other country in the Middle East, meaning they actually have rights. Queers in Israel are allowed to have civil unions that give them the same legal rights and benefits as straight married couples, and Israel recognizes gay marriages practiced outside. Queers in Israel are also allowed to go all out and be themselves, as is evidenced by the thriving scene, with loads of gay bars, drag shows, and pride parades.

I support Israel because I’m a feminist. Women serve alongside men in the IDF, enroll in university at higher rates than men, and hold some of the highest positions in the land. One of the most revered Israeli Prime Ministers of all time was a woman. Israel surpasses its neighbors by a mile at this metric, by virtue that woman are legally considered equal to men.

I’m not “pinkwashing” or “greenwashing” or whatever kind of “washing” everyone is using these days to silence pro-Israel attitudes among progressives. In fact, I am surprised more people aren’t realizing how nonsensical these terms are, and how little water they actually hold when subject to scrutiny.

I support multiculturalism and minority rights. So does Israel. Despite being called a “Jewish State,” Israel is only about 70% Jewish. The rest includes 1.4 million Muslim Arabs who are legally equal to Jews. They don’t only have equal rights, they have more rights, as non-Jews have a right Jews do not, the right to refuse to do military service. I’m not going to downplay the racism and discrimination they sometimes experience in many facets of Israeli society, but the government condones none of it. Israelis, especially if they are in IDF uniform, get punished severely by Israeli law for committing any kind of hate crime or discriminatory act against an Israeli minority. In contrast, the Palestinian Authority rewards those and the families of those who commit crimes against Israelis, from throwing rocks to suicide bombings, with money, fame, and prestige. Take a walk around any Palestinian Authority city and you’ll find streets, parks, monuments, and museums dedicated to suicide bombers for the sole reason of them sacrificing their lives in their quest to destroy Israel. Given that 40% of Palestinians think suicide bombings can be justified according to a recent Pew poll, these views are not unpopular. Most especially, all the Palestinian territories are strictly judenrein –meaning no Jews are allowed to live there. Somehow though, people call Israel an apartheid state, when the Palestinian Authority isn’t just apartheid, it’s genocidal. Just take a look at the Hamas Charter and see for yourself.

If the anti-Zionists got what they wanted, that is the kind of regressive society that would take over. The fact that any progressives would support it over an open and free Israel totally boggles my mind.

I support Israel because I support indigenous rights. A common myth that many people believe is that Palestinians, not Jews, are indigenous to Israel. For starters, there has only ever been a Jewish state in Israel: Judea. During all other periods of history, it was part of a larger colonial power – first it was a Roman colony, then it was a Muslim caliphate, then it was a part of the Ottoman Empire, then it was handed over to the British after the Ottoman Empire fell in 1917, and finally, the British handed it back to the Jews with the blessing of the UN, and it became a state for the first time in nearly two millennia. Genetic testing seems to confirm that “Palestinians” and their Arab brethren are genetically indistinguishable, and are the descendants of colonialists from the Arabian Peninsula. Jews, however, are originally from the Levant. In other words, Jews are indigenous to the State of Israel. Not only that, but Jews have always been in Israel despite numerous expulsions by their colonial rulers, and Jerusalem, the holiest city in Judaism, always had a Jewish majority.

Finally, I believe that Big Oil should not intervene with social policy, as any environmentally-conscious left-winger should. That’s why I recognize that Big Oil – in other words, oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar – spend billions of dollars on the anti-Israel lobby, as well as funding institutions that foster their anti-Israel and judeophobic worldview and even terrorist groups in both the U.S. and abroad. Right wing corporate lobbying by Big Oil in the U.S. is unacceptable but Islamist lobbying by Big Oil from the Gulf States is okay? To me this kind of selective allowance seems hypocritical and counter to the progressive liberal values I hold dear, especially since the brand of conservatism the Gulf states espouse makes the Tea Party look like a far-left hippie commune.

The “White ain’t Right, Strong is Wrong” mentality has infected my fellow lefties like a virus, and has stifled all critical thinking, probing, and intellectual curiosity. This mentality, along with its Marxist and postcolonialist progenitors, is a mental shortcut that is used to categorize and simplify the world in a way that is palatable to the human mind, but so dangerous that it causes people to completely ignore complexity, nuance and exceptions. These types of shortcuts – the very shortcuts that lead to racism by putting people into categories and assuming guilt or innocence based on superficial parameters – are antithetical to liberal progressive thought as they create unnecessary constraints on free thought and render the mind a prison to certain ideologies.

Although Jews have consistently, without a doubt, been through the ultimate proverbial meat-grinder, with entire civilizations trying to wipe us out at every turn, we should define ourselves by our successes and our triumphs. And, due to the above reasons, I see Israel as the greatest triumph of all.

That’s why, as a progressive and a liberal, I wholeheartedly support Israel.

Alexandra Markus is a freelance writer who lives in New York City and works as a producer for AskAbigail Productions. While attending McGill University, she was a student reporter intern at the Israel on Campus Coalition. She is passionate about debunking anti-Israel falsehoods wherever she may find them. She also remains active in other progressive causes.

23 thoughts on “Reader Post: I Support Israel…. Because I Am A Liberal”

  1. Well, good luck with the whole “traitor to the revolution” thing. I suspect you’re about to find out just how full of love liberal progressives actually are.

    1. Of course, but a classic liberal in the US might be termed a Conservative. What she is saying is that a Leftist should also support Israel.

  2. Best post on here for a while, stating how I feel about being pro Israel while being a left leaning socialist (with a small ‘s’). Israel is a technologically advanced, essentially secular country with universal suffrage…..the only real democracy in the Middle East. It’s a shame that creationist, flat Earth-er types see Israel to be supported as a way of bringing on their messiah……….it’s should be those of us who value true democracy supporting Israel……..

    1. Yes, because if conservatives like anything you like, it’s always for the wrong reasons, and you’ve got to distance yourself from them wherever possible.

    2. You mean people who think the world was created? Ever hear of the big bang? Seems to me the bible won the last round.

      You’ll have to tell me how many Americans believe the Earth is flat.

      1. The bible won? Tee hee…. Western democracies are increasingly abandoning these little cults of death….and good riddance too.

        The universe doesnt require a creator that cares what we eat, who we fuck, what we wear and how many times we have to kneel and beg to this ‘creator’ for just doing their job in the first place. Would a creator who designed the universe with its billions of galaxies, super massive black holes, supernovas, pitiless extermination care about the domestic life of an African ape species who made good and conquered the world?

        Some religious types like to tell me how humble they are…..so humble in fact, they believe the universe was designed specifically with them in mind and that the almighty has a plan…just for them….

        And perhaps you can explain the mechanisms for the biodiversity of life. Remember ‘god did it’ isn’t a valid scientific conclusion…..

    3. I don’t care why conservatives support Israel. I welcome all support. Beggars can’t be choosers, and we Jews need all the friends we can get.

      Even though those “right-wing” Christians do support Israel for the reason you stated, they also do support Israel for the “right reasons” as well. Every Christian conservative has told me this. You can support something for more than just one reason.

      1. I agree upto a point. Israel does need as many allies as it can get……but I support Israel for all the ‘right’ reasons (as stated above) and this support is unconditional and I can declare this support without surreptitiously handing out bibles and spouting end of days prophecies etc.

  3. Great article! Israel should be a liberal’s dream come true….Jews rising from the ashes of WW2, creating a homeland, reviving a language, making the desert bloom, all while fighting against overwhelming odds, and winning. 20% of Israelis are Arab, and about half the Israeli Jews come from Arab and African countries. Israel isn’t White. It’s white, brown, and black. It’s real diversity….you know, the same diversity that liberals claim to hold dear. It’s way more diverse than it’s neighbours. Liberal’s should love Israel.

    It’s the Israel and Jew hatred coming from the left that was the first thing to push me out of the leftist camp and into the conservative one. It made me reexamine all my beliefs, and now I am happy to be a conservative. I feel way safer among conservatives than I do among liberals as a Jew.

    1. Alexandra Markus

      I went through a similar transition as I feel “conservatives” have more liberal values than so-called “liberals”. I’m embarrassed to be associated with today’s left.

      1. Today’s Canadian “liberals” are really Trudeauites. Trudeau, the Elder was hardly a liberal (either small ‘l’ or large ‘L’) even through he became leader of the party. He was a self-confessed communist. And you’re not the only one who is a Conservative because we have liberal values.

  4. The best hypocritical text I have ever read !! … Very well said : I support Apartheid and I was vegetarian when I was in collage … I don’t recognize people’s right for self-determination, but I love gay-rights !!! … Yes , that is the BIG LIE of neo+liberalism .. You have all rights if you are in the system … But you are treated like animals if you are not … If Palestinians wage against Israel that is because their land is occupied … Israel has exceeded the land that UN had recognized as Israeil, while UN itself have not been fair as well … What would we do if someone occupies our hometown and builds a DEMOCRACY, excluding us from there?? This is not democracy , this is just apartheid regime under a guise… Its hypocrisy

  5. Spot on and well articulated! The true liberals supprt Israel. You can’t be a liberal unless you stand for liberal principles. Wearing a kaffiyeh and hypocritically, ignorantly supporting the opposite of the values many of these fraud’s profess to stand for may be poltically correct and ironically make them feel edgy, but it is not principled and it isn’t liberal!

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