Modtget d.
4.06.10 fra "Cecilie Surasky, Jewish Voice for Peace" <info@ jewishvoiceforpeace.org>
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Arne , _________________________________________ Dear Arne , I remember listening to my great aunt Tante Babe's heartbreaking
stories of seeing her young cousin killed during an attack on thousands of
Jews, a pogrom, in her city of Bialystok. That infamous pogrom was in 1906,
the very year the American Jewish Committee was founded to oppose such
attacks. Feeling alone and unprotected, our family needed the American Jewish
Committee. Years later, I
remember my parents supporting the Anti-Defamation League because of their
support for Jewish refuseniks in the USSR. And then there's my grandfather who endured the extermination of most
of his family at the hands of Nazis. He is why I greeted with enthusiasm the
emergence of a human rights group in the 1970s named after Simon Wiesenthal,
the famous Nazi hunter. These Jewish
organizations came into existence at a time when my family - and so many
others - needed them desperately, and their contributions and achievements on behalf of Jews and
non-Jews made me proud. But times have changed, and the missions of these groups have changed.
All too often, advocacy for universal human rights has taken a back seat to
their belief that they must support the Israeli government unconditionally. It is painful for me to say that today these organizations -
organizations with such a proud history of civil and human rights - for many
of us have come to stand for the exact opposite. Sadly, I now find
myself opposed to the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League,
and the Simon Wiesenthal Center for dismissing criticism of Israel as
anti-Semitic, for putting Israeli foreign policy above Armenian genocide
recognition, for vilifying Muslims and Arabs, and for building a "Museum
of Tolerance" on top of a Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem. For many people, these organizations have not been relevant for a long
time. You might be one of them. But we also know they continue to be an
important voice for many Jewish people. And we will always need Jews to
be safe. That's why we must ask them to change just as so many Jews in America
have changed. I'm not asking you to go that far. But
whether you love them or hate them, we have to call on them to change. We don't expect them
to fall in line with everything you and I support, but we expect them to at
least have a line when it comes to basic human rights and dignity. Please join me in asking the leaders of the American Jewish
Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center to
denounce the increasing government-sponsored violence in Israel and
Palestine. As Jews and non-Jewish allies who believe in universal human
rights, we all have a right to demand that they speak out. Just last week, Peter Beinart suggested
in his significant piece in the New York Review of Books that the greatest
danger to the Jewish community today is not from outside, but from inside. Beinart was referring to the increasing disconnect of Jewish leaders
from Jewish people, especially young people, when it comes to Israel and
Palestine. Their ongoing unconditional support of Israel's actions, even when
they violate the basic tenets of Judaism and democratic values, has become
untenable. Israel's violations of human rights and
dignity are increasing each day with: Midnight raids on
activists, including Palestinians, Israeli
citizens, and internationals Media gag orders, which keep the Israeli press from being able to write about these
arrests Crushing non-violent
protests by the Israeli Army, using rubber
bullets, tear gas, and even live ammunition to put down protests Silencing NGO's who report on these outrages, using restrictive legislation in the
Israeli Knesset. Banning internationals who are insufficiently supportive of Israel. And through all of this, Jewish leaders remain silent. Enough is enough. It has been decades since the first Palestinian refugees were barred
from returning to their homes. It's time our community leaders reflected our
values and did as much to combat oppression when it is practiced by Jews as
when it practiced against us.
Cecilie Surasky
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