Speaking of unspeakables

By GERSON ROBBOY

article created on: 2008-10-15T00:00:00

In this age when stand-up comedians have run out of things to say that can embarrass us, when seemingly nothing is unsayable, there remains a deep, stifling, pervasive silence concerning a political belief.

I am a Jew and I do not believe in religious nationalism. I believe that the state of Israel has been a failure and that Israel and Palestine should be united into a secular, democratic, multi-ethnic state.

I do not intend in this brief essay to make a case for that belief, but to assert that it is my belief, and that I am not alone. The result I desire is for others to feel they can speak about this issue.

Years ago, when I believed in a two-state solution, I was talking with a non-Jewish friend who is married to a Jew and whose children were brought up Jewish. I said something harshly critical of Israel and he said with great feeling, “I’m so glad to hear you say that! I can’t say it because I would be called an anti-Semite.”

Over time, having read a great deal, talked with people and traveled to Israel and the occupied West Bank, I gradually came to understand that Israel is not serious about allowing a viable Palestinian state, nor is the United States. Gradually, with great difficulty, I came to believe that a religious state is inherently segregated and undemocratic.

Israel in particular has held the Palestinians under occupation for more than 40 years. Any such occupation will face resistance, which must be crushed militarily. Israel will not voluntarily agree to a realistic two-state solution, and international intervention will be required to end what is otherwise a permanent crisis.

In conversation, a surprising number of people have said they agreed with me. I will sometimes tell another Jew that I favor a single secular state; it is surprising how often I get, “I’m with you.” I am not alone.

I tried to look up some opinion polls. Depending on whom you ask, and especially on what you ask, you can get results that support almost any point of view. The poll results are all over the map—except for one thing that no one asks American Jews: Do you favor a one-state solution? That question is not asked in polls of American Jews. The institutional Jewish leadership avoids any discussion of this topic, not wanting to expose divisions in the American Jewish community.

Many in the Jewish community will undoubtedly disagree with me. I do not insist on agreement. I insist that to favor a single-state solution is a legitimate and serious position. You can say it is wrong, but it is not a position to be ignored and it can no longer be silenced. It represents a significant segment of the Jewish community.

Gerson Robboy is a writer in Portland.