Much of the discussion about Israel as a consequence focused on “diplomacy”, careful talk of “both sides”, and the idea that a “two-state solution” would bring peace to Palestine-Israel. The conflict, she says, was always described to her as “complicated” and never by the naked truth: Israel was an occupying state.
“I would always try to rationalise and explain Israeli occupation by trying to add ‘nuance’ to every conversation. Everything was about ‘nuance’,” the 22-year-old continues, emphasising her point with repeated air quotes, before uncurling her fingers and stopping to laugh at herself. But a growing discomfort with the way in which the conflict was being discussed in her community led Edelhart to seek out Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the two-decade-old Jewish-American organisation that works relentlessly against bigotry, oppression and for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.
Edelhart found the organisation to be pursuing a type of justice she had always associated with her Jewish values. But it was an event held by the JVP during her first year studying history at New York’s Columbia University in 2016 that forced her out of a comfort zone.
After hearing Palestinians speak about their experiences in the occupied territories she remembers thinking to herself: “There is no way I can defend this. There is no moral grounding to stand on here.
‘Nuance is actually a form of violence if it hides the truth’
– Sophie Edelhart
“I soon realised that at some point, one has to take a stance and acknowledge that something is not right, and actually very wrong… that nuance is actually a form of violence if it hides the truth,” says Edelhart, who is now a JVP organiser.
“For too long, I, like other liberal Zionists, have been [hiding] behind the idea that the Israeli occupation is ‘too complicated’ or ‘too difficult to take a stand.’”
For too long, I, like other liberal Zionists, have been [hiding] behind the idea that the Israeli occupation is ‘too complicated’ or ‘too difficult to take a stand.’”
Edelhart’s move from liberal Zionism to anti-Zionist sentiment mirrors what observers describe as a generational shift among Jewish Americans who are increasingly turning their backs on the expectation of unconditional support for Israel.