The ethnocentric blindness of left Zionism

Mondoweiss - Henry Norr- Haaretz doesn't often run columns by Uri Avnery, but last week they printed a piece of his entitled "Freedom of expression in Israel is a hollow pretension." It starts with a well-deserved tribute to Jonathan Pollak, the courageous Israeli activist who has just begun serving three months in jail, officially for taking part in a protest bicycle ride in Tel Aviv during Operation Cast Lead, but actually for his longtime work as a leader of the Anarchists Against the Wall and an ally and advocate for the Palestinian grassroots resistance movement.

Avnery uses the prosecution of Pollak to make a larger point. "Israel is sliding down a slippery slope," he writes. "A country that imprisons its Jonathan Pollaks will end up with jails filled with 'opponents of the regime.' We have seen that in other places − let’s hope we don’t see it here."

Now, I happen to be an admirer of Avnery, even though I consider his brand of left Zionism morally and practically bankrupt. For decades he has bravely written and demonstrated in opposition to Israeli occupation and aggression, and for his trouble he has to endure intense hostility from most of his fellow Jews. I can only hope that when I reach his current age (87), I'm half as active and outspoken as he remains.

That said, I find the lines just quoted from his column appalling, because they are infected by the same Judeo-centrism that blinds most of Avnery's compatriots to the realities around them. Read more