Brit Tzedek v'Shalom

Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace

March 27,2003 Just as 9/11 is a watershed date for America, September 29, 2000 is the date that altered Israeli politics. That's the day the Second Intifada began.

Since Day one, Palestinians have conducted appalling acts of terrorism against Israeli citizens in pizzerias and on urban buses. And since Day One a significant number of Israelis have debated and spoken out against the policies of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

In contrast, American-Jewish support for Israel has been automatically interpreted to mean uncritical endorsement for the Israeli government.

Houstonian Joanne Witt considers herself pro-Israel. But she says that she felt increasingly uncomfortable "supporting all the actions in Israel".

In May 2002, Witt attended the founding conference of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, The Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace, a new grassroots Jewish peace organization. For the first time, says Witt, she felt herself in "a safe place" to explore and develop her feelings about Israel.

Since then, Witt has organized a Houston chapter of Brit Tzedek. She wants to reach Jews who, like her, are pro-Israel and anti-occupation.

"We believe that our viewpoint is a mainstream view and that people have not felt safe to express this view," says Witt. "Our meetings and venues will be a safe place to express this viewpoint. We hope to see Jews shift from a position that is pro-Israel/ ask no questions to one where we take a look at the morality of the situation and start to develop our own viewpoints."

The national organization claims 2,300 paid members. Brit Tzedek principles essentially reflect those of the Israeli left from the Labor Party to human rights activists to the Israeli peace movement.

The organization opposes Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories. It argues the settlements are a major obstacle to peace, a tremendous financial burden to Israel and do little, if anything, to enhance Israel's security. The organization calls for an end to the Israeli military occupation of the territories and bringing safely home to Israel the settlers from all settlements except those included as part of a negotiated and mutually agreed upon exchange of territories between Israel and Palestine.

Brit Tzedek also supports the establishment of a viable Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders alongside Israel with both states guaranteed the ability to maintain secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force. Jerusalem is seen as the capital of both states.

Witt considers her politics to be "left of center" but she stresses "I'm not an old lefty".

"I haven't done much politically since I was in high school," she says. "This current intifada has lasted so long it has raised my political consciousness."

The Intifada, with its continual circle of terrorism and retaliation, has been a total disaster for Israelis and Palestinians, she says.

"There must be a way to resolve the conflict," says Witt. "Each act was tearing at my heart. I felt that I needed to take a stand on this and I started to explore the issue before I attended the founding conference."

Witt says she actually went to the conference thinking Brit Tzedek's founding principles were a bit radical for her. Instead of bombarding conference participants with slogans, rhetoric and solutions, the conference began by stressing the need for Jews to listen to each other.

"We went through a number of sessions where we learned how to actively listen, to hear what people are saying," says Witt. "So I felt I could express an idea and would get feedback."

Prior to attending the conference, says Witt, she felt "isolated" in the Jewish community.

"We're not listening to each," she says. "When we hear something we disagree with, we shut down. I used to do this."

Then, as Witt began speaking to friends and family, questioning Israeli political and military policy, she noticed shutdown from most of the Jews she spoke to.

"How could I question what Israel was doing? They were protecting the safety of the Jewish people. I used to feel it was unJewish for me to criticize Israel, that it was against my Zionist background," she says.

Witt began to feel increasingly isolated from the Jewish community. This isolation is often increased by the strident anti-Israel voices that emanate from the American left and human rights movement.

When a Jew who is against the settlements looks for natural allies in the non-Jewish community, he or she is often rebuked for being pro-Israeli. When he or she looks for allies in the Jewish community, they are rebuked for being anti-Israel.

"Part of being isolated is that I don't feel that it is safe to talk about opposing views," says Witt. "My ideal is an active, open dialogue about Israel in our own community."

Marcia Freedman is the Brit Tzedek Board President. A former member of the Israeli Knesset from 1973-77 on the Citizens' Rights Movement list (CRM), Freedman lives half the year in Israel and half the year in the US. A veteran of the Israeli peace movement, she is used to the rough and tumble debate that characterizes Israel as a free society with a free press. It's a country where public discourse of the issues is encouraged, not discouraged.

Freedman believes such open discussion is often discouraged in the American Jewish community.

"I think there's been a strong statement made that it's not our place to criticize the government of Israel or that it's dangerous to criticize," says Freedman. "People who have a pro-Israel, anti-occupation position have been made to feel uncomfortable. Allowing our pulpits and community forums to bring that view forward has been discouraged."

In Freedman's analysis, this is partly due to the leadership in the American Jewish community, which has tended to be more sympathetic to the views of the Likud Party, particularly since the 1980s.

During the years that Benjamin Netanyahu was in power, there was an attempt to cultivate voices in the US sympathetic to his point of view, she says. Once the Jewish leadership was once solidly liberal and Democratic. Jewish intellectuals on the political right and from an increasingly confident religious right seriously challenged this view. Today, argues Freedman, the current leadership in many Jewish organizations is more hawkish than the rank and file members.

Secondly, there is the militarization of the second Palestinian Intifada.

"In the 1980s and 90s, the young Palestinian boys were just throwing stones. Now there is a rash of suicide bombers," says Freedman.

"This has created an atmosphere where it's easy to say that Israel's very existence is threatened. Sharon has been successful in exporting that message. Defining the current conflict as a situation that Israel is at war with the Palestinians, we are told, as Jews, that we have to line up behind the government of Israel. It would be unpatriotic to criticize the government.

"Now Brit Tzedek comes along and says if one really cares about Israel, there's more than one way to be pro-Israel. In fact, it is necessary to question the policies of the government because they have only succeeded in escalating the violence on both sides.

"As Americans, we would never say that we shouldn't question the policies of our government. By the same token, we are saying, as American Jews, of course we ought to question the policies of the Israeli government. They are going in the wrong direction. The wrong direction is to hang onto the settlements."

Freedman believes that a slim majority of US Jews are still in favor of a two-state solution in the Middle East, even a solution that would require evacuation of Israeli settlements.

"We (American Jews) have a plethora of opinions and nuances of opinion," says Freedman. "And that should be blessed."

Since the breakdown of the Oslo negotiations, it's becoming clearer that extremists on both sides are setting the Middle East agenda.

And both Freedman and Witt concede they have an uphill battle because the current US administration envisions a radical re-ordering of the Middle East.

"The current administration has heard from the dovish side of the Jew community less frequently and less robustly," says Freedman. "So that's the organizational task we're taking on for ourselves."

Locally, Witt hopes her work will someday help create a safe and secure homeland for the Israelis and one for the Palestinians.

In order to publicize the efforts of Israeli dissenters, Brit Tzedek is co-sponsoring the Houston appearance of Ishai Menuchin. A former IDF officer and paratrooper, Menuchin is the founder of Yesh G'vul. He is an active opponent of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He has written two books arguing that being a citizen in a democracy carries with it a commitment to democratic values and a responsibility for one's actions.

Menuchin will speak on selective refusal on Monday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Houston, 5601 S. Braeswood.

Menuchin will also receive the 2003 Oscar Romero Award for Commitment to Truth and Freedom from the Rothko Chapel on March 30 at 5:30 PM.

Witt believes the work she is doing with Brit Tzedek reflects very Jewish values.

"I'm learning. I continue to keep an active dialogue with people. And I develop my opinions based on my Jewish values," she says.

"I'm hoping that there are other people in the community who can relate to my journey. I feel it's our obligation as Jews to question."