Eli Rubenstein: Avi Lewis’ wrongheaded defence of anti-Zionism

As a synagogue leader for almost 40 years, I have encountered many different expressions of Jewish identity: religious and secular, spiritual and intellectual, Holocaust-centred  — and, of course, Zionist and anti-Zionist. Some of these descriptions I am comfortable with, except the last one: anti-Zionist.

Sign In or Create an Account

Let me begin with a story. In pre-war Poland, two close Jewish friends took very different paths in response to seemingly unending antisemitism. One became a fervent Zionist, believing the Jewish people needed their own country in their ancestral homeland.

The other became an equally committed Bundist, believing Jews should remain in Poland, unite with Jewish workers and fight antisemitism through universal brotherhood. (The Bund took its name from a Yiddish word meaning “union” or “federation.”)

Columnist Jesse Kline keeps you up to date with what’s happening in Israel and the effects of antisemitism on life here in Canada. Friday mornings.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Channel Israel will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Both men lost their families in the Holocaust and barely survived themselves. After the war, the Zionist moved to Israel, while the Bundist eventually settled in America.

Years later, the Bundist visited his old friend in Jerusalem. As they approached the Western Wall, the elderly Zionist looked around at the city and marvelled that they had survived the concentration camps and now stood together in a free and democratic Jewish state.

“Is this not truly a miracle?” he asked.

His friend nodded. “Yes, this is indeed nothing short of a miracle.” Then he paused. “But you know, it’s all a big mistake.”

I thought of this story after the election of Avi Lewis as leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party. Lewis, who is Jewish and openly anti-Zionist, has spoken of a long Jewish tradition of opposition to Zionism.

Historically, he is correct. The modern Zionist and Bundist movements emerged in Europe around the same period, in response to virulent antisemitism. They represented fundamentally different answers to the same question: how could Jews achieve security and dignity?

Yet one cannot help wonder how many young Bundists would have chosen the same path had they known that two-thirds of European Jewry would ultimately be murdered during the Second World War. By contrast, the young Zionists who emigrated to the Land of Israel before the war likely survived and thrived there.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20. It would be unfair to judge the Bundists of the 1930s by what we know happened later. But I am less willing to extend the same charitable view to contemporary anti-Zionists who believe the very existence of a Jewish state is a betrayal of Jewish values.

Most nations were not born through pristine historical circumstances. Many countries around the world emerged from wars, displacement and conflict. Eventually one party won out, and a country was established. Yet besides Israel, anti-Zionists generally do not demand the dismantling of other states with similarly complicated histories. Their objection is uniquely directed at Israel.

As a liberal Zionist, I believe Israelis and Arabs, Jews, Muslims and Christians should live in Israel in freedom and equality, alongside a free and democratic Palestinian state. Millions of my fellow Zionists share this aspiration.

Yet anti-Zionist rhetoric often treats Zionism as though it necessarily means supporting everything Israel does — good and bad. A recent Jewish Federations of North America survey illustrates this disconnect: about 80 per cent of anti-Zionist American Jews associated Zionism with supporting whatever actions Israel takes, while only about 15 per cent of self-described Zionists agreed.

The anti-Zionist view of Zionism is actually an invented and distorted caricature — one that takes a snapshot of the beliefs of 15 per cent of Zionists and applies it to the other 85 per cent.

This becomes particularly troubling when criticism of Israel turns into indifference toward Jewish suffering. After Oct. 7, 2023, some anti-Zionist voices were unable to condemn Hamas or express compassion for Israeli victims. Instead, they described Hamas’ brutal massacre as a legitimate form of “resistance.”

I recently met Amit Soussana, an Israeli woman who was abducted by Hamas and held hostage for 55 days and sexually assaulted. She spoke movingly about her captivity and her belief that the outside world would care about her. After her release, however, she encountered hostility and denial.

Her message was simple: whatever the political complexities, what happened to her happened, and people should be able to say, “This is not OK.” But after what happened to Amit and hundreds of others who were kidnapped, and after 1,200 were brutally murdered, many anti-Zionists could not say four simple words: “This is not OK.”

By contrast, many liberal Zionists have expressed anguish over the loss of life on both sides since October 7. While condemning Hamas’ initial attack on Israel, some have also criticized the extent and duration of Israel’s subsequent retaliation, even if the two are not morally equivalent.

At the beginning of this essay, I described two Jewish friends: the Zionist and the Bundist. In retrospect, history appears to have vindicated the Zionist’s emphasis on a Jewish homeland. Yet the Bundist dream of freedom, dignity, solidarity and equality was not without value.

I am a non-exclusivist Zionist who believes in liberation, dignity and solidarity for all, and a national identity rooted in one’s homeland. Can we not choose the best of our Bundist and Zionist ideals?

Can we not envision a world that supports both thriving Jewish communities in the diaspora, with equal rights and dignity for all humanity, along with a vibrant State of Israel acting as a spiritual beacon (and a refuge, if necessary) for all Jews, as well as a democratic and peaceful state that treats all its citizens justly and fairly?

Yet some anti-Zionist Jews mourn the founding of the Jewish state and yearn for the revival of the Bund — a movement that lasted less than half a century, before being crushed under the wheels of history and perhaps the grim reality of human nature.

It’s as if they are mimicking the Trumpian “Make America Great Again” mantra, pining for the restoration of a glorious golden era before the founding of the modern State of Israel, when the Bund will once again rival, and in some cases supersede, the Zionist foes they are so ashamed of.

Unlike anti-Zionists, I am proud of the glorious chain of Jewish history and tradition that has existed for more than 3,500 years, one that prominently included a love for the Land of Israel and a yearning for the Jewish people’s return ever since their first exile.

I’m also proud of the many strands and movements in Jewish history, with all their beauty, flaws and foibles. I’m proud of the rabbis, the rebels, the thinkers and some of the heretics, too.

And yes, I am also proud of the pre-war Bundists and their commitment to Jewish dignity, freedom and brotherhood. Their idealism may, in hindsight, have been a big mistake.

Still, it was a noble one.

National Post

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.