Peter Beinart is wrong: Palestinian hostility to Israel is frequently anti-Semitic [View all]

[King_David]

Former U.K. Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks' particular brand of Orthodox Judaism is profoundly ethical and compassionate. He is one of the leading spokespeople for peaceful coexistence between people of all faiths. But he is also a proud Jew who is unafraid to point out that while there is plenty of room for legitimate criticism of Israel's government, today’s anti-Zionism — which challenges, on human rights grounds, not merely Israel’s policies, but its very existence as a Jewish state — is frequently merely anti-Semitism in a new guise.

In a recent article, Peter Beinart challenges this correlation of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. He argues that Palestinian anti-Zionism is cut from a different and more reasonable cloth of genuine grievances.


Regretfully, after dedicating the last four years of my life to working for Jewish human rights organizations, I have seen too much unfairness to Israel to doubt that Rabbi Sacks is correct.

Zionism is an outstandingly successful human rights movement. It has restored the dignity of the world's most persecuted people by returning us to our historic homeland, building a sanctuary for our survival and a country where we can flourish in a liberal democracy.


http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.713637?v=C000B5663AC7A368017FD0064D42D308