Brit Tzedek v'Shalom

Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace

Chapter Activities

Bloomington, Indiana

Herald-Times Editorial
By Steve Hinnefeld, Herald-Times Staff Writer
October 21, 2003

Speaker opposed to policies of Israeli leader
Marcia Freedman said no one should question her loyalty to the state of Israel.

"I am very committed to Israel," she said. "I do not question the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish, democratic state,"

It's for just that reason, she told a Bloomington audience Monday, that she is "deeply and utterly" opposed to the policies of the current Israeli government, led by Ariel Sharon.


Freedman, a member of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in the 1970s, is president of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Peace and Justice. The group supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is seeking international support for a campaign to evacuate Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories.

She believes many Israelis are sympathetic to that view, but leaders of both Israelis and Palestinians have exploited fear and resentment to hold onto power.

"Power is held on both sides mostly by extremists," she said. "The rejectionists on the Israeli side will not accept a Palestinian state and the rejectionists on the Palestinian side will not accept the existence of the state of Israel."

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