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Jewish Journal

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April 11, 2022

Corporate America’s Mary Poppins Problem

Commentary, Opinion /

Corporate America is having a serious Mary Poppins problem. I am quite serious. Employees are having the run of the house. Meanwhile, the chieftains who are actually in charge, cower from their corner offices, tolerating insolence everywhere, mismanaging a payroll filled with latchkey laborers.

Threatening and performing walkouts. Signing petitions en masse. Trampling on traditions. Mocking esprit de corps.

Are there any adults minding the store?

Corporations are definitely in need of a strong-willed nanny who knows how to handle an umbrella, can restore discipline to the workforce and won’t lose sight of the bottom line—one tuppence at a time.

Ironically, Mary Poppins’ creator, Disney, is the latest example of children overrunning the classroom. Much of the turmoil involves Florida’s new Parental Rights in Education Law. (The word “gay” goes unmentioned in both its title and text. Progressives abhor Trumpian dog whistles, unless it’s one of their own, like “Don’t Say Gay.”) The measure is fairly innocuous and neutral. It merely prohibits the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation to school children before 4th grade.

If kindergarteners happen to ask their gay teacher about his wife, it is not illegal for him to respond: “His name is Bruce.”

No matter. A tiny minority of Disney’s easily tricked-out woke workforce believe that this law somehow “endangers” LGBTQ employees companywide. In defiance of Disney’s initial apolitical view of the legislation, employees threatened a walkout. Now the company is a stalwart critic, and is making changes to its theme park to prove it.

Instead of the Kingdom becoming more Magical, it is re-educating its guests with the propaganda of inclusiveness. Gender neutrality is now a ride all its own. “Ladies and Gentlemen” and “Boys and Girls” are no longer scripted warm welcomes. Disney characters are undergoing their own gender reassignments.

As it turns out, Pluto had a preferred set of pronouns all along.

How will Disney shareholders respond to this social action agenda? Alienating customers in order to placate a loud but miniscule subset of “cast members” is not a good business practice.

But nowadays, seemingly nothing is more important than appeasing social justice warriors.

But nowadays, seemingly nothing is more important than appeasing social justice warriors. Newly graduated from college, they brought with them the same petulant tantrums that were routinely tolerated on campus. The intersectional sickness that has been infecting our colleges has escaped like a virus from China and went directly to Wall Street, Main Street, Madison Avenue and both mainstream and social media.

Think I am kidding? Over the past several years, coinciding with the instability caused by COVID-19, and the upheavals of the Black Lives Matter protests where police cars were torched and public statues reduced to rubble, America was jettisoned back to the Stone Age. Soon we will possess all the freedoms of the shrieking Taliban.

Publishers Hachette and Simon & Schuster banned their own books, cancelling contracts with Woody Allen, and Sen. Josh Hawley and conservative firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos, respectively. The New York Times fired the editor of its Op-Ed Page, James Bennett, and reassigned his entire staff, all due to an essay from Sen. Tom Cotton, who suggested that the military be brought in to quell the vandalism and violence emanating from some Black Lives Matter protests. A wide majority of Americans agreed with that view.

ESPN benched one of its star anchors, Sage Steele, who is biracial, because she mocked Barack Obama for identifying as Black even though he was raised by his white mother and grandmother. The same network fired Rachel Nichols because she privately complained that she was losing airtime to a Black female colleague.

Donald Trump, Project Veritas and scores of writers have been censored and permanently banned from Twitter. Facebook silenced Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s pro-life beliefs, and banned a German historian for posting that “Islam is not part of German history.” Cumulus, which owns radio stations, fired an anchor for making a joke about Vice-President Kamala Harris wearing an outfit that made her look like a UPS delivery person.

Major League Baseball yanked its All-Star Game from Atlanta as punishment for changes to Georgia’s election laws, which, by and large, merely reinstated some of the rules that existed before they were changed in response to COVID-19. Delta Airlines, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, and many other corporations doing business in Georgia openly opposed the legislation, too.

Victoria Secret hired a transgender model and CoverGirl placed a male model on its cover. Sports Illustrated featured a woman sporting a burkini in its annual swimsuit issue. Macy’s eliminated the term “mom jeans” from its advertisements, and Netflix retired “chick-flicks”—both seen as sexist. And, of course, Nike developed an entire ad campaign around Colin Kaepernick’s “taking a knee.” He responded by insisting that Nike recall sneakers featuring the American flag.

Film and television companies are having their hands tied by woke consultants who insist that writing staffs be diversified by hiring according to racial and gender representation. Studio chiefs have succumbed, even though they realize that’s not how art is made. Expect our cultural options to soon be depleted by the dull and derivative.

Studio chiefs have succumbed, even though they realize that’s not how art is made.

In nearly all of these cases, corporate action was spurred by self-righteous employees—and the cancel-culture bloodthirstiness of social media woke mobs—demanding that management take more forceful positions consistent with the progressive politics of these times. “Workers Unite!” no longer means improved wages and better working conditions, but rather bullying and belligerent ultimatums in support of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Ironically, this is all happening as workers at Starbucks and Amazon are unionizing—pursuant to the methods of old-school labor unions. Having a racial, gender and sexual identity agenda doesn’t seem to figure in to these new rallying cries. Let’s see how long that lasts.

In the meantime, we can share a laugh knowing that Disney changed its corporate policies to suit the passions of some guy dressed up as Goofy. And we can despair knowing that not even Mary Poppins is aware of any medicine that will either cure us of this societal ailment, or go down any better with a mere spoonful of sugar.

Thane Rosenbaum is a novelist, essayist, law professor and Distinguished University Professor at Touro University, where he directs the Forum on Life, Culture & Society. He is the legal analyst for CBS News Radio. His most recent book is titled “Saving Free Speech … From Itself.”

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New Carl Bernstein Memoir Depicts a Contagious Career Ambition

Books /

Carl Bernstein is best known for his role in breaking the story that would become President Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal, but he doesn’t even mention Watergate in his newest memoir, “Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom.”

The book chronicles Bernstein’s journalism career only through age 21—for perspective, the Watergate break-in wouldn’t occur for another seven years. But the details from this era in Bernstein’s life are what forged his lifelong talents as one of the most prolific investigative reporters in American history. 

“It’s the most formative part of my life,” Bernstein said. 

Most of the book takes place during Bernstein’s tenure at the Washington Star, an evening newspaper in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He began as a copy boy in 1960—the year President John F. Kennedy was elected—and rose through the ranks as a reporter. 

“As the book indicates, this kid at the age of 16 gets the best seat in the country,” Bernstein said. “And as I say, everything I know about newspapering and being a reporter I learned there.” 

Bernstein’s journalism journey began when he got a job interview with Rudy Kauffman, a production editor from one of the families that had owned the Washington Star since 1852. The day of the interview, as he walked with Kauffman through the building, Bernstein saw his future.

“In my whole life, I had never heard such glorious chaos or seen such purposeful commotion as I now beheld in that newsroom. By the time I had walked from one end to the other, I knew that I wanted to be a newspaperman.” – Carl Bernstein 

“The door through which Rudy Kauffman now led me opened into another universe,” Bernstein wrote in the first chapter. “People were shouting, typewriters clattered and chinged. Beneath my feet, I could feel the rumble of the presses. In my whole life, I had never heard such glorious chaos or seen such purposeful commotion as I now beheld in that newsroom. By the time I had walked from one end to the other, I knew that I wanted to be a newspaperman.”

After several days of phone calls and waiting, Bernstein took a typing test that would get him a foot in the door. His outstanding typist skills earned him a job offer as a copyboy for $29 per week. 

What ensues in “Chasing History” is an inspiring tale of ambition and passion for a life-long journalism career. 

Bernstein takes the reader through the fascinating mechanics of the news business that, by today’s standards, seem unbearingly laborious without a computer or smartphone. There were piles of carbon paper, hours of dictation and hazardous conveyor belts. 

But the aspect that remains as constant as it is today is Bernstein’s enthusiasm for reporting. He received several promotions, all before he turned 20. Even though Bernstein struggled to keep his grades up in his final two years of high school and at the University of Maryland, his real education during this time came from his coworkers at the Washington Star. Bernstein describes them as a “fabulous cast of characters,” particularly the editor, Sidney Epstein.

“I grew up in that newsroom, it was like a family,” Bernstein said of the experience. 

As the Kennedy years evolve into the Johnson years in “Chasing History,” Bernstein walks the reader through the values he learned at the Washington Star: “get it first and get it right,” the “two-source rule” and “find the best obtainable version of the truth.” Although it shut down operations in 1981, Bernstein called the it “a great paper in the sense of journalistic responsibility.”

In “Chasing History,” Bernstein doesn’t bemoan the nature of journalism today with ideations of the past. He worked on the memoir for the past eight years with equal parts reflection, revisiting his thousands of columns (most of which he accessed from scrapbooks) and speaking with as many living coworkers from his days at the Washington Star. 

While “Chasing History” is a journey through some of the biggest news in the nation’s capital over the course of four years, it is much more than that. It is a lesson in finding what fascinates you and pursuing a career filled with it. Even at 78, Bernstein is still hard at work in a field that he loves. 

When asked about what stories he was most conflicted about including in or excluding from the book, he spoke about how he wanted to detail  his time in the the Jewish youth group Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA) in the B’nai Brith Youth Organization, but ultimately left it.

 He told the Journal that he joined AZA as a high schooler because he thought that Jewish youth needed to be involved in the civil rights movement and that AZA could be an effective vector. This was sacrosanct for Bernstein, because his AZA region stretched from Maryland to D.C. to Virginia to North Carolina— where racial segregation was still very much alive. He was even elected Aleph Godol (President) of his entire region.

This moment was omitted from “Chasing History” because he already wrote about it in detail in his 1990 memoir, “Loyalties: A Son’s Memoir.” That book depicts the tribulations faced by his family as targets of McCarthyism in the 1950s.

Bernstein presents a well-written, contagious enthusiasm for storytelling and truth-seeking in “Chasing History.” It’s a Genesis story of one of the Michael Jordans of investigative journalism—the other being Bob Woodward. The memoir is a fascinating prequel to half of the entity eventually known as “Woodward and Bernstein.” This summer, it will mark 50 years since the break-in at the Watergate, and the two reporters are still tight to this day. 

“We’re like siblings,” Bernstein said of his friendship with Woodward. “He’s called here today twice.”

Carl Bernstein will be in Los Angeles discussing “Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom” at Wilshire Boulevard Temple on Wednesday, April 13 at 8:00 pm. For tickets: https://livetalksla.org/events/carl-bernstein-with-josh-singer/

New Carl Bernstein Memoir Depicts a Contagious Career Ambition Read More »

The Blood Libels of Gigi and Bella Hadid

Commentary /

Over the past few months my friend Elizabeth Savetsky, the social media influencer, and I have worked to respond to the blood libels against the Jewish people promoted by Bella and Gigi Hadid to their combined 125 million Instagram followers. I’m grateful to Lizzy for carefully tracking their defamation.

Gigi and Bella Hadid are two of the great antisemitic hypocrites of our time. For years they have leveraged their massive Instagram followings to foment hatred of Israel and falsely accuse Israel of war crimes.

Of course, if they actually lived in Gaza their Instagram feeds would have, God forbid, had them imprisoned or even killed by Hamas long ago for their explicit nature. Hamas does not blush at pictures of Palestinian women in bikinis posted to Instagram. They take more devilish action. Luckily, Bella and Gigi are writing from Western countries that uphold Israel’s standards of human rights and women’s rights, which guarantees them all the protections that they would deny Palestinian women whom they purport to protect.

But March 6, 2022 was a new low for Gigi. She posted on Instagram, “I am pledging to donate my earnings … to aid those suffering from the war in Ukraine, as well as continuing to support those experiencing the same in Palestine.”

Here was the most violent invasion in Europe since the Second World War, where a totalitarian monster, Vladimir Putin, was destroying an entire country, and Gigi Hadid claimed “the same” was happening to the Palestinians. Here is a world famous celebrity who sees in the unspeakable suffering of Ukrainians nothing but an opportunity to attack the Jews.

Antisemites like the Hadid sisters traffic in putting us Jews on the defensive, and on this occasion, I regret I have to take the bait.

Antisemites like the Hadid sisters traffic in putting us Jews on the defensive, and on this occasion, I regret I have to take the bait. Sadly, so many people are so utterly ignorant of Israel’s defensive struggles that we need to articulate why the two situations are not comparable in any way.

Unlike Putin, who invades his neighbors out of a desire to recreate greater Russia and force Ukraine to bend its knee, Israel does not ever attack its neighbors except in an attempt to stop them from sending terrorists to murder their citizens or raining rockets on its cities. And unlike Putin, who terrorizes whole populations by reducing their cities to rubble, Israel risks the lives of its soldiers by undertaking only precise military surgical strikes to reduce civilian casualties as much as humanly possible, as they seek to neutralize genocidal maniacs like Hamas.

But none of these and so many other obvious differences stopped Vogue from sharing Gigi Hadid’s blood libel on their Instagram page to their 37.9 million followers.

At first, Vogue incurred significant pressure from Israel’s supporters who complained that Hadid’s post was disgusting. Vogue felt compelled to remove Gigi’s quote comparing Ukraine to Palestine from their Instagram caption. But less than a day later, under pressure from antisemitic bullies, Vogue restored the reference to Palestine in the caption.

Fast forward  to March 15, and Bella Hadid now appears on the cover of Vogue Magazine wearing, wait for it, a Maison Margiela Artisanal dress designed by none other than John Galliano. Readers of this column may remember the infamous story of how on March 1, 2011 John Galliano was caught on video telling a woman sitting next to him at a bar in Paris, “I love Hitler. People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers, would all be f–king gassed.”

That September, Galliano was convicted in a French court for racist and antisemitic abuse.

None of this stopped Vogue Italia from issuing a disturbing defense of Galliano’s antisemitism on February 28, 2012. Then, on July 9, 2012, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour was caught on camera meeting with the disgraced designer. Why was she sitting with Galliano, someone who had proclaimed his unbridled love for Hitler?

Antisemitism, to coin a pun, is never in Vogue.

Except when it is.

The strange occurrences at Vogue continued on July 19, 2020 when Vogue Arabia replaced Israel with Palestine in an Instagram post that remains visible today. And then on May 23, 2021 Vogue cover model Paloma Elsesser called on her Instagram followers not to post about antisemitism because it “delegitimizes the Palestinian struggle.”

But strangest of all is Vogue’s continued desire to work with, and promote, Bella Hadid.

All these repellant events demand an explanation from Vogue, which Wintour herself ought to offer in order to set the record straight. Words matter. And incitement matters. But strangest of all is Vogue’s continued desire to work with, and promote, Bella Hadid. On May 16, 2021, Bella Hadid attended a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City and posted a picture on her Instagram account, surrounded by fellow protesters, with the caption: “The way my heart feels … To be around this many beautiful, smart, respectful, loving, kind and generous Palestinians all in one place… it feels whole! We are a rare breed!!”

What she did not reveal was that in the same photo was Waseem Awawdeh, 23, a man who was arrested just days later for allegedly beating the kippa-wearing Joey Borgen in Times Square, calling him a “filthy Jew.” At the beating, which took place just four days after Hadid posted the picture of her “respectful, loving” fellow protester, Awawdeh was arrested and charged with gang assault and assault as a hate crime. The shocking video of the assault showed Borgen, on the floor, utterly defenseless, being beaten to a pulp by a violent mob. He incurred numerous injuries and was hospitalized.

It’s nice to see with whom Bella Hadid is proud to keep company.

By now you can probably predict that Bella and Gigi Hadid are not ones to let up on their Jew-hatred. It seems to be an innate impulse.

So, on April 9, 2022, Gigi Hadid, perhaps under pressure from business partners or sponsors, suddenly condemned the murder of three Israelis in Tel Aviv by a Palestinian terrorist. She said that the “Free Palestine” movement was not about murdering Jews. Of course, the sheer and utter hypocrisy of constantly defaming Jews, engaging in blood libels against Israel and false accusations that Jews murder scores of innocent people, and then pretending that one’s words have no consequences, is staggering.

At least Mark Ruffalo, the Hollywood Israel hater, had the decency to apologize for his disgusting and notorious lies about Israel committing genocide and admit that his words were inciting antisemitism. On 24 May, 2022 he tweeted, “ I have reflected & wanted to apologize for posts during the recent Israel/Hamas fighting that suggested Israel is committing ‘genocide.’ It’s not accurate, it’s inflammatory, disrespectful & is being used to justify antisemitism here & abroad. Now is the time to avoid hyperbole.”

On this occasion we’ll have to forgive Ruffalo for referring to his blood libel against Jews as mere “hyperbole.” But lest one believe that Gigi is capable of similar reflection, within hours of her post condemning the murder of innocent Israelis, she posted a screenshot from the account @eye.on.Palestine of a Palestinian man who was “assaulted by settlers” and called for her followers to “check their bias.”

The @eye.on.Palestine account, a sewer of propaganda against Israel, is filled with celebratory comments in favor of the murder of Israelis. So much for Gigi’s conscience.

But whatever the biases of a supermodel who abuses her platform to foment antisemitism, that is no excuse for a mainstream and supposedly responsible publication like Vogue to publish her drivel and promote her lies.

Antisemitism should never be in Vogue.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, whom the Washington Post describes as “the most famous Rabbi in America,” served as Oprah Winfrey’s relationships expert on “Oprah and Friends” and is the international best-selling author of “Kosher Sex,” “Kosher Lust,” and “The Kosher Sutra.” Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @RabbiShmuley.

The Blood Libels of Gigi and Bella Hadid Read More »

Israel Appoints Noa Tishby As First Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and Delegitimization of Israel

Israel, News /

Actress, producer and activist Noa Tishby was appointed today as Israel’s first Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism and Delegitimization of Israel.

Israel Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced the appointment by calling out the numerous condemnations against Israel and praising Tishby’s ability to connect with audiences.

“The State of Israel is under attack by people calling us ‘an apartheid state,’” Lapid said in a video statement, standing alongside Tishby. “Jewish people are under attack by people who are blaming Jews for everything wrong with this world. It’s time to fight back. It’s time to answer using smart young voices like Noa Tishby’s. Noa is the new Special Envoy of the State of Israel to fight antisemitism and delegitimization of the State of Israel. Thank you, Noa, and welcome aboard.”

The 46-year-old entertainer-turned-activist has become one of the go-to voices in the United States for defending Israel and representing Israel’s point of view.

The 46-year-old entertainer-turned-activist has become one of the go-to voices in the United States for defending Israel and representing Israel’s point of view. 

“I am honored to take this position,” Tishby said in the statement. “Anti-Zionism and antisemitism are one and the same. Antisemitism is on the rise and I‘m thrilled to be able to lend my voice to this very worthy fight.”

Tishby became a household name in Israel advocacy in 2021 following the release of her book, “Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth.” The book received positive reviews for its clear explanations and commentaries about some of the most controversial issues regarding Israel.

In the 52 weeks since its publication, Tishby’s book ranks in the top ten best-selling books on Amazon in three categories: #6 in Israel & Palestine History (Books), #8 in Middle Eastern Politics and #8 in Historical Middle East Biographies. 

“We thought antisemitism isn’t a thing anymore. If there is one good thing that has happened throughout the past few months [it’s] that we have woken up,” Tishby told The Journal for a cover story in 2021. 

Her outspoken Israel advocacy also led her to forming a close bond with freshman Congressman Ritchie Torres of New York, a pro-Israel democrat. Rep. Torres’ praise of Tishby’s abilities appeared on the back of her book:

“Noa Tishby’s book is a powerful antidote to the widespread misunderstanding and willful misrepresentation that often obscures the truth about Israel. Much like the book itself, Noa is a fearless truth teller in an age of fashionable lies.” 

In her new role, according to the official statement, Tishby will focus on “raising global awareness of antisemitism and efforts to delegitimize Israel and serve as an advocate to prevent and fight hate directed towards Jews. She will act on behalf of the Israeli Foreign Ministry to spearhead initiatives worldwide before key audiences, generate an international dialogue, and respond to acts of antisemitism.”

The statement added: “Surveys have shown over one billion people worldwide hold antisemitic views.  Recent FBI reports cite that Jews are the target of 58% of all religiously-motivated hate crimes in the U.S. even as Jews make up just 2% of the U.S. population. As a result of rising antisemitism, half of American Jewish college students have hidden their Jewish identity and 65% have said they’ve felt unsafe on campus.” 

Born in Israel and raised near Habima Square in Tel Aviv, Tishby became a prominent actress and singer in Israel and relocated to Los Angeles 26 years ago. Her television show “In Treatment” on HBO was the first Israeli television show adapted for an American audience. 

Israel Appoints Noa Tishby As First Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and Delegitimization of Israel Read More »

If You Grab Too Much, You’ve Grabbed Nothing At All

My Turn /

As two columnists within the Jewish world covering antisemitism, the conflict, and Israel’s internal political climate, we have noticed a new trend worthy of note, a new archetype of sorts – the “Jewish activist”. These individuals, usually young people, have elected to turn their stance against rising antisemitism public. We lend our voices both online and off to discussions on the history of the Jewish people, internal ripples within the Jewish community, and the conflicting ideals within contemporary Israel. Of course, our perspectives span across the political and religious spectrums, meaning disagreements with one another are bound to occur. But one particular breed of Jewish activism, one that has become increasingly popular among young pro-Israel voices, we feel could result in more harm than good. The doctrine goes to great lengths to define itself as progressive and enlightened. Yet, in reality, it is a derivative ideology rooted in right-wing fundamentals of fulfilling religious prophecy. Its desired vision for Israel cannot be separated from further injustice and regional instability. 

Quite a number of thought-leaders in this movement consider themselves outside the mainstream consensus of Israel-Palestine discourse, which makes them all the more attractive thinkers to disillusioned Diaspora Jews. Many of them, who have launched an entire brand of activism centered around Jewish identity, live in the West Bank. However, they would rather be seen by their audiences as Jewish revolutionaries liberating the land of Israel from colonial influence rather than ideologues continuing the settlement project to deprive Palestinians of land. The anti-colonialist terminology is very appealing, especially to young Zionist peace-seekers or progressives in the west. Framing the settling of the West Bank as a rebellion against all those who have previously invaded Eretz Yisrael gives these groups an opportunity to defend Israel by using abstract terminology of peace and justice for the indigenous Jews without getting into the ramifications behind the ideas.  

Those within the orbit are increasingly uncomfortable with the word Zionist. “Post Zionism” has become a useful alternative term. Zionism seems to imply a passé movement of yesteryear, considering its basis is the formation of a Jewish and democratic state. Democracy itself is encouraged to be regarded as a western outpost, a foreign concept alien to a truly Jewish civilization. Similarly, there exist louder calls to reject any notion of a two-state-solution, believing it to be the desire among Israeli elites to become part of the West. A one-state solution is preferable. Frequent canards include “it’s an injustice to divide the land, the land is one”, and “the wall must fall.” These calls echo the voices of other settlers who dream of a Jewish state with not necessarily a Jewish majority, where Palestinians are “taken care of” by Israel in regards to welfare and communal services but deprived of some if not all civic and national rights. It is believed enthusiastically that settling across the territories will lead the Jews on a pathway to fulfilling their “greater purpose” and spur on a “post-capitalist, post-democratic world” called Hebrew universalism. In this worldview, Jews in Israel are simply characters playing their part in a greater, Messianic Jewish destiny.

However, in truth, these ideas are not as unique as they are presented, at least not for anyone familiar with the ideology behind the settlement project. Post the 1967 war, instead of giving the territories away and exchanging land for peace, the state realized it could settle them. According to the great ideologue of the settlement movement, Rav Kook, the Hebrew Bible contains a series of prophecies that the Jewish people will return to their land and by settling the hills of Judea and Samaria, Jews would fulfill these prophecies and provoke a chain of events leading to the messianic redemption.

The fact remains that the State of Israel was not founded on biblical frameworks or religious fervor. If Jewish self-determination means the opportunity for the Jewish people to sit at the table of global affairs, then we must emphasize security, borders, and democratic forms of government like other liberal nations. 

Every Zionist feels emotional when viewing photographs of Israeli soldiers at the kotel after the liberation of the Old City. We understand that for far too long the conversation around solving the conflict has found itself in a state of paralysis. But replacing that paralysis with unpragmatic thought rooted in idealistic fantasy is not the way forward. The biblical connection between the Jewish people and Judea and Samaria is deep and genuine. But the fact remains that the State of Israel was not founded on biblical frameworks or religious fervor. If Jewish self-determination means the opportunity for the Jewish people to sit at the table of global affairs, then we must emphasize security, borders, and democratic forms of government like other liberal nations. These ideals would be violated should a one-state vision prevail.  In the geopolitical landscape, settlement expansion leads to eventual annexation, which leads to the absorption of the annexed population, in this case the Palestinians. There is endless statistical evidence that provides one with the necessary proof that this absorption would lead to the demographic defeat of a Jewish majority. It is imperative that Jewish activists see this approach as undesirable and ultimately reject it. 

It is true, the new wave of Jewish activism has empowered many young people to defend Israel with conviction. And it’s true, the work and creativity of those who oppose the two-state solution are unlike anything circulating in the Jewish community today. New and refreshing ways are being presented to think about the conflict. However, one would be incorrect to presume the desired goal of one-state, behind the smoke screen of words like “liberation” and “deconstruction”, leads to anything amounting to peace or justice. Considering the religious sentiment which ignites the flames underneath their stance of expansion and annexation, it may be wise to end off with Talmudic wisdom: “If you grab too much, you’ve grabbed nothing at all.”

Samuel Hyde is a speaker and writer on Zionism, Israel, and the conflict.
Blake Flayton is New Media Director and columnist at the Jewish Journal.

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