Half truths are annoying; they are a way of claiming legitimacy with something by only telling part of the story. While there are facts involved and things that can be verified, they may only be part of the story. Such is the case I found last week when I attended (along with a small group of other Jews) a lecture sponsored by a group called Citizens for Justice in the Middle East (CJME).
CJME is a group whose claim to fame is largely based on the tragic death of Rachel Corrie, a young woman killed by an IDF bulldozer during a protest in the Gaza Strip. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}An Israeli court later ruled her death an accident, but she has become their martyr. CJME is the group that also shows up from time to time waving anti-Israel signs and banners at Israeli/Palestinian protests on the Plaza.
Now there is a new tactic, which led to a lecture I attended last week. The head of a group called If Americans Knew, Alison Weir, was paired with Dr. Anat Maor, a former Israeli Knesset (parliament) member from the Meretz party (a left wing party in the Israeli government), to talk about Israel. Maor gave a brief history of the founding of the state and the desire to live in peace under a two-state solution. Weir started her remarks by establishing her credentials as a journalist (self titled) and then showing some slides of wounded Palestinian children and damaged apartments in the Gaza Strip. She presented all of this to point out who the injured party really was and how awful Israel is despite what she claims is a bias against the Palestinians in the media. She had charts and statistics to back her point, which, without research, I can’t confirm or deny. Maor countered not by attacking her, but by reiterating Israel’s desire for a two-state solution and how most Israelis desire peace. Maor avoided a confrontation in front of an audience that seemed largely Muslim, but I later learned were Palestinians. The audience was largely polite and even applauded some of Maor’s statements. I won’t go into all of the statements since I consider most of them to be half truths, but I will highlight a few.
“There were Jewish anti-Zionists who did not want the formation of a Jewish State.” True; in fact, I know that when I lived in San Francisco, there were many Jews who believed this. However, we never claimed to be monolithic in our thinking. The missing half of this: after the full tragedy of the Holocaust was known, it changed even many hard line Jewish anti-Zionists.
“Most in the State Department opposed a Jewish state.” True; we know Truman went against his secretary of state in recognizing the creation of Israel. Why were they against a Jewish state? The missing half of this: we know that after World War II the U.S. had the grand opportunity to cash in on Arab oil and politically influence this key part of the postwar British and French empire. We did what was morally right; Truman did what was right in recognizing Israel.
“The War of Israeli Independence resulted in Israel ethnically cleansing the land of Arabs.” We know that there were atrocities committed by both sides at this time, it was a war. There were some in Arab villages who were told to leave, but many asked to stay. We also know that the Arab armies told the inhabitants to leave so they could clear out the Jews, and then not only return to their lands, but have the Jewish property as well. As we know, that didn’t happen. We also are aware that there are many thousands of Arabs living as citizens in Israel and enjoying freedoms and a standard of living they could never enjoy under the rule of the neighboring Arab states. Yes, there are still inequalities, but just as in this country, there are those fighting against those inequalities, both Jew and Arab alike. There is also a court system that has ruled many times in favor of its Arab citizens.
We live in dangerous times, not only from physical threats but psychological and pseudo-intellectual attacks as well. Terrorist attacks here and abroad; a growing boycott, divestment and sanction movement (BDS) and anti-Israel sentiment used to mask anti-Semitism.
As I discussed the next day with another member of our community who heard the speeches, the best way to combat these things is to be knowledgeable and be smart. Not only do we as Jews need to know our facts, but we need to educate our non-Jewish friends and neighbors to be better able to combat this kind of misinformation. There are many books and websites you can turn to for information; you can email me () for references or ask your rabbi for advice. Let’s start with the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Todd Stettner is president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City.{/mprestriction}