The first Zionists were Jewish socialists. They were not concerned with reclaiming "the Holy Land." They didn't even consider Palestine to be the only possible location for a Jewish state. Their goal was to create a safe haven, a place where the Jews of the world would no longer have to fear violence and oppression.
And I believe in that goal. But Israel is not that haven.
If the holocaust teaches us anything, it should be that we cannot consider ourselves safe as long as anyone is oppressed. Yet the Israeli government's policy toward Palestinians has been nothing short of oppression.
It has included excessive use of force against protestors, "retaliation" attacks that don't necessarily target only those responsible for violence, and continued expansion of the settlements. The government's behavior has been, shall we say, less than conducive to peace talks.
I am forced to wonder, how can a people that has fought so hard for a homeland now turn our backs on our neighbors when it is within our means to give them the homeland they, too, desire?
Fortunately, I'm not the only Jew who feels that way. In spite of the general media silence on the subject, there has been a growing Jewish movement in support of Palestine. The Arab-Jewish Dialogue here in Albuquerque has held a series of pro-Palestinian protests, as have similar groups throughout the United States, Israel and the world. But perhaps the most surprising and promising movement is the one happening within the ranks of Israel's military itself.
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Israel has an ongoing, universal draft, with exemptions for married women and Yeshiva students. With the siege mentality the country has been under since its inception, most Israelis would be hard pressed to even consider this forced conscription an imposition.
Jews in Israel learn from schools, the media, their friends, and their families that the military is necessary to the nation's survival, that it should be viewed as a source of pride rather than as an obligation.
But in spite of the social pressures, a growing number of Jews are refusing to participate in the military oppression of Palestinians. These "selective objectors" or "refuseniks," as they are called, come from all segments of Israeli society, from radical leftists to religious Zionists.
According to an article in the August 22 edition of the Village Voice ("Draft Resistance Grows in Israel Refuseniks"), since the beginning of this intifada, about 200 people have refused military service on the grounds of conscientious objection to the occupation.
Unlike typical conscientious objectors, many of the refuseniks are not pacifists, and would be willing to serve in Israel's defense. But as far as they're concerned, the occupation is not defense; it's offense.
More importantly, the occupation strikes at the very core of Jewish values. Refusenik David Haham-Herson put it best: "I am a soldier in the Israeli army, imprisoned for refusing to take part in repression, arising from a sense that it is out of the question to be a Jew, the son of a people of refugees, and yet repress a people of refugees."
Back here in the States, Jews don't face the threat of jail time that Israeli Jews can expect for opposition to the occupation. But we are not without our own roadblocks.
Many, if not most Jewish families stress the importance of the State of Israel in Jewish life. It is seen as both a place of religious pilgrimage and a sanctuary in times of need. So any perceived threat to our haven is often met with unreasoned hostility.
Yet, like the refuseniks, more American Jews are coming to the realization that our fears do not justify oppression. More of us have a growing sense of solidarity with our Semitic cousins, our fellow "people of refugees."
And I just can't shake the feeling that when G-d told us to be a blessing to the world, he meant to the Palestinians, too.
