From: "Tobin Nellhaus" <nellhaus-AT-gis.net>
Subject: BHA: Re: <fwd>Edward Said - American Zionism (3)
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 20:04:45 -0500


Edward Said's anger is justified.  However, two of his points need
qualification.  First, the American news media are not quite as monolithic
as Said maintains: in particular, National Public Radio's reporting has
tended to be pro-Palestinian (at times even one-sidedly).  Granted, NPR is
barely in the realm of major broadcasters, but it does have a strong
following, especially among American liberals and progressives.  I hear that
CNN -- which *is* a major news network -- has taken a similar position, but
I can't attest to that myself.

Second, Said's discussions of the "Jewish State" and American Zionism does
not touch on the fact that many American Jews either do not feel that their
opinions are wedded to Israeli policy, or feel disaffected from Israeli
policy, or in some cases are even outright anti-Zionist.  There are also
indications that at this point, "American Zionism" derives its standing more
from U.S. military and economic investments than from the opinions of
American Jews.  For that matter, opinions about relations with Palestinians
is scarcely unified among Jewish Israelis (for example, though the current
crisis has provoked some closing of ranks, the fifth anniversary of Yitzak
Rabin's assassination drew out over ten thousand peace supporters).  Among
those fighting for Palestinian rights, there are American and Israeli Jews.
This is not to say that Said himself is unaware of these divisions, but some
of his readers (even on this list) could very well be and so adopt an
implicit antisemitism by conflating Judaism with Zionism and with the
current actions of the Israeli government.

I have no problem with criticism of Israel, despite (in fact, because of) my
Judaism, but I think it's important to raise a caution about certain
possible over-simplifications.

---
Tobin Nellhaus
nellhaus-AT-mail.com
"Faith requires us to be materialists without flinching": C.S. Peirce





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