Some people regard Israel as evil. Others defend it as if it can do no wrong. As ardent opponents of the occupation who see no contradiction between being pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian, we know that some of what Israel’s critics say is true. And some of what its defenders say is also true.
Our goal is to present a third narrative, to weigh the claims and counter-claims in this ongoing debate in order to help those who want to pursue peace and justice for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Tough Questions
Featured Posts
Trump Doesn’t Give a Damn About Protecting Jews
Trump’s new executive order on antisemitism targets university campuses and the left. It doesn’t address the more virulent antisemitism on the right — by far the bigger danger to Jews.
‘Unsettling Ideology’: A deep dive into Settler Colonialism, Part II
…perfect justice, Kirsch argues, would mean restoring the Land of Israel to the Jews who were driven out of it by the Romans and also to the Palestinian Arabs who have been denied sovereignty by the Jews. “But any attempt to secure the country for just one of these peoples would inflict suffering on millions…”
Arab & Jewish Israelis ‘Standing Together’
Bringing Arabs & Jews together is a rebuke to rejectionists on university campuses & social media. BDS added Standing Together to its boycott list, damning it for “normalizing” interactions with Israeli Jews—a threat to sclerotic orthodoxies of left & right, alike.
Recent Posts
End of an Era? Jews and Elite Universities
The Center for Jewish History addressed 2 questions: Have America’s premier institutions of higher learning become inhospitable to most Jews? And are these institutions being eviscerated in the name of fighting antisemitism?
With Israeli Peace Demonstrators at Gaza Border
It was extremely moving to hear letters written by Gazans which they sent to be read at the end of the march. …
They plead for people to recognize that they want none of this, that just as Israel’s current government does not represent us, hamas does not, did not, represent them… The people suffering did not do Oct. 7.
Settlement expansion, Gaza escalation: disaster for Palestinians and for Israel
[H]ow can this iron fist, zero-sum policy lead to anything but tidal waves of rage, new generations of revenge seekers and increasing pariah status for Israel? …
Hamas can only truly be defanged through a horizon of hope for Israeli-Palestinian coexistence based on a two-state solution….
Grief must not be a zero-sum game for either side
“We will not end this nightmare through vengeance. We will not build a future on each other’s graves.”
Israel and Jews in Crosshairs of NYC Mayoral Race
A charismatic young socialist, who is also a Muslim immigrant with a highly critical track record on Israel, has a significant chance to become the next Mayor of New York. Jewish New Yorkers need not panic.
Two-State Solution’s Dead? What’s the Alternative?
… there are roughly seven million Israeli Jews and seven million Palestinian Arabs living in the borders of the British Mandate. … The most workable way to share is to divide the land … also the only way to achieve, for both sides, the minimum of national rights that both have legitimately pursued.