Oppose settlements, support injustice: progressive Jews and the World Zionist Congress
Advertisement: vote in 2020 US Election for 38th World Zionist Congress
Donna Nevel writes in Mondoweiss:
Every five years, the World Zionist Organization (WZO) convenes the World Zionist Congress (WZC) in Jerusalem. Founded by Theodor Herzl in August 1897 in Basel, Switzerland, the WZO promotes Zionism and Israel, the Zionist enterprise.
For this year’s 38th Congress elections, which begins today, progressive Zionist organizations in the US have joined together for a strong push to encourage people—Jews, that is–to vote for their slate.
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The rationale of the progressive Zionist groups for their participation in the elections is to garner more power and influence to oppose the funding of settlements, support religious pluralism, and put forth a more liberal platform than that promoted by right-wing Zionists. Sound appealing? It may at first, but, in fact, the overall impact of such participation is deeply harmful.
The ideology of the WZO and the WZC is that Israel belongs to the Jews of the world and that, therefore, Jews outside of Israel deserve the right to determine policies, sit on boards, and direct funding and resources that, among other things, control the day to day lives of Palestinians. Israel, together with the WZO and other Zionist institutions, have a long history of privileging Jews at the extreme expense of Palestinians. Beginning with the Nakba, when 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their land and homes during Israel’s creation, Palestinian citizens of Israel have continued to be treated as third-class citizens subjected to racism and anti-democratic policies and actions, as well as ongoing intimidation and harassment. Palestinians in the occupied territories have routinely endured ongoing land theft, home demolitions, military checkpoints, arbitrary arrests, torture, and administrative detentions without trial or charge, and have no say in what happens to them.