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Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace
Chapter Activities
New York, NY
AUFBAU - THE TRANSATLANTIC JEWISH PAPERMarch 6, 2003
Working for a Secure Israel
Brit Tzedek V'Shalom Launches "Bring the Settlers Home to Israel" Campaign
By Rachel Zuckerman
Brit Tzedek V'Shalom, a national, chapter-based group advocating a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is about to launch a petition known as "Bring The Settlers Home to Israel." They hope it will lead to a dismantling of the settlements in the disputed territories and effectively change American foreign policy toward Israel, encouraging the United States to take on a larger role in negotiating a peace treaty between Israelis and Palestinians.
The campaign is intended to last one year and Brit Tzedek V'Shalom (known, in English, as the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace) hopes to collect tens of thousands of signatures on the petition which will call upon the Israeli government to assist settlers with resettlement within the pre-1967 borders. It also asks for monetary assistance for the process from the U.S. and European Union. According to a survey by Americans for Peace Now, 80 percent of the settlers living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are there for economic, rather than ideological, reasons. The survey concludes that the majority of settlers are low-income families and not right-wing Orthodox Jews who believe they have a divine right to live in the area known in Biblical times as Judea and Samaria.
"Living in the settlements may have improved their living conditions, but in reality, it has put them and their children in harm's way," says Marcia Freedman, Brit Tzedek President and a former Knesset member, who was influential in the Israeli Women's Rights movement in the 1970s. "The Sharon government has given settlers huge financial incentives to move there. Now these homes are of no value and it would be impossible to sell them. It is also costly to the Israeli government, which has to spend money for soldiers to protect them." Freedman also believes many U.S. Congressmen oppose the settlements, because they regard them as an obstacle to peace. The petition will begin at the grassroots level, but Freedman hopes to garner Congressional support and bring it directly-including signatures and letters from Congressman-to the Bush administration.
"It seems like a huge task, but it is feasible to dismantle the settlements," says Richard Kohl, Board Member of Brit Tzedek's New York City chapter and an economist who worked in the State Department of the first Bush Administration. "Israel absorbed one million Russian immigrants within the Green Line (demarcation of pre-1967 borders) in a two-year period, so they can certainly absorb 150,000 settlers with the economic assistance of the international community."
Opposing the settlements and supporting a two-state solution are central aims in Brit Tzedek's missions, aims that Brit Tzedek's leadership believes are supported by a significant number of American Jews, but are typically not heard, because they are viewed as being anti-Israel.
It was based on this conviction that Brit Tzedek V'Shalom was formed in April, 2002. The founding conference was in Chicago, which is considered the group's home, although Freedman, herself, lives in Berkeley, California, and several leading members live in New York City. With their first anniversary approaching, Brit Tzedek's leadership believes their philosophy fills a vacuum within the Jewish community and that it can provide an alternative outlet for American Jews to express their pro-peace sentiments.
"I've been called a traitor and a self-hating Jew by people who knew me from synagogue-and have had Shabbat dinner with me-because of my belief that peace is in the best interests of Israel," says Kohl, who considers himself to be extremely pro-Israel, like all of the members of Brit Tzedek.
David Kurnick, a Columbia University graduate student and New York City chapter member, concurs: "Often, anything that is seen as criticizing Israel is viewed by Jews as being anti-Semitic. A lot of Americans don't realize that Israel has created economic incentives for the settlers." Kurnick chose Brit Tzedek over other groups that supported a two-state solution, because he felt that the group was clearly pro-Israel, while challenging the policies of the current Sharon government.
The victory of Ariel Sharon's pro-settler Likud party in the recent Israeli elections is an issue close to the heart to the members of the group. The members of Brit Tzedek say they do not support one particular party, but they support whatever candidate or party is pro-peace. All members and leaders of the group interviewed said they didn't like to think of issues in terms of right-wing or left-wing, as they believe that peace is a pragmatic solution that will be in Israel's best interests. Instead, their main distinction is pro-peace or anti-peace.
"I think that in the last five years, the idea that a two-state solution is the only road to peace became less of a radical viewpoint," says Ben Alpers, American History Professor at the University of Oklahoma at Norman, and a member of Brit Tzedek. "However, since the start of the last Intifada, mainstream Jewish organizations have moved to the right of center."
Despite the desire to stray from right-wing and left-wing labels, most members are highly critical of the right-wing government of Ariel Sharon. "Sharon's tit-for-tat response to the violence of the last two years has been hugely unsuccessful," says Meredith Tax, a novelist and member of Brit Tzedek's Executive Committee for the New York City chapter. "Israelis are much worse off than they were before he took power. The economy is collapsing under these people."
"Poll after poll up until now shows that 50-70 percent of Israelis supported a two-state solution," says Freedman. "Yet they did not support the candidate who reflected that goal [Labor candidate Amram Mitzna, who lost to Sharon.] Instead, they voted for the candidate for whom it is anathema."
Freedman, who served one term in the Knesset from 1973-1977, says she has never seen an election like the 2003 Israeli elections. "The Shinui Party [a liberal, free-market party which supports a separation of synagogue and state and is distrustful of the peace process]," she says, "typically get 3-5 seats in the Knesset. This year they got 15. To vote for that party was to escape from the real issues of peace. People feel frightened, confused and helpless."
Most members of Brit Tzedek do not believe that dismantling the settlements and establishing two separate states will put an end to terrorism, but do think that it will cause terrorism to drop off significantly.
"In any society, there will always be indigenous terrorists, such as the militias and KKK in the U.S.," says Tax. "But the worse the situation is for Palestinians, the more they will give their support to terrorists. You can't stop a small network of fanatics, but you can dry up their network of support."
Despite the victory of a government that does not seek peace negotiations, a U.S. government more focused on an impending war in Iraq than on a peace treaty in Israel, and the continued violence there, Brit Tzedek still believes that their petition will make a difference and that there is hope for a peaceful Israel.
"Given the size of the challenge, there has been an almost spontaneous growth in Brit Tzedek's membership from 200 members at the founding conference to 5,000 members a year later," says Freedman. "This shows that people really want to work for peace. Yes, it is a Sisyphean effort at times, but I think we are going to have a positive effect on the Jewish community, become a powerful lobby and ultimately break the silence for people who are afraid to speak out on these issues."