JVL Introduction
In this piece, Kenan Malik outlines some key points from a US book “Our Palestine Question” which shows that there has always been opposition within the US Jewish community about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Of course the same is true in the UK and many other countries because there is no homogenous Jewish view on this – or any other – issue. Of course these differences of opinion have been particularly telling in those weeks and months from October 7th . He is worried by the calling out of Jews critical of Israel as not really Jewish, something thrown at many JVL members.
As Malik says: “For many Jews, the existential threat posed by Hamas gives Israel the right to take any measures necessary to eliminate the organisation. For others, whatever the horrors of the Hamas attack, the destruction of Gaza, the deaths of more than 25,000 people and the displacement of almost the entire population is unconscionable and cuts against the grain of Jewish ethical traditions”
This article was originally published by The Observer on Sun 11 Feb 2024.