Rabbi Arthur Waskow: Underdogs and Uber-dogs in Gaza, and what American Progressives can do

[villager]

A snippet from a longer essay:

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And what might make such a break with automatic US policy possible? The Presidency of an unusual person chanting "change" is not enough. There are only two clusters of power in the US with enough passion about the Middle East to matter. One is Big Oil. The other is the ethnic and religious passion of American Christians, Jews, and Muslims. If sizeable parts of these groups could work together for such a policy, it might be possible.

For many Jews and Muslims, that is even harder now than it was two weeks ago. But for others, perhaps the shock of so much blood can make it possible.

At the grass-roots in some American communities, some Jews have joined with some Muslims in local demonstrations calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. The peace-oriented American Jewish organizations might be willing to take their previous positions one step further. They might be able to work with American Arabs, Muslims, Christians, and others to press the new Administration toward a grand peace.

The building blocks for such a coalition now exist . Can they be mortared together?

An aroused Muslim-American community, not yet well organized for political action but speedily getting more so;

A majority of real live American Jews who support such a result but whose politics are unvoiced by the big American Jewish organizations, and the beginnings (Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, J Street, Americans for Peace Now, The Shalom Center ) of an independent base;

Mainstream Protestant groups that are raring to go, and will be effective if they can focus on changing US policy, not on parading their own personal purity as in the divestment campaigns; and if they have Jewish allies so as not to be accused (or accuse themselves) of anti-Semitism;

A vague Roman Catholic support for the same result, which might be stimulated into action;

Black community support, pro-peace but not focused on this issue because there are other urgencies and because they feel the need for Jewish allies to address those urgencies;

And non-religiously or ethnically identified progressives, IF they can get over their habit of treating the word “Zionist” as a curse word and can start clearly condemning terrorist attacks on civilians by the underdogs, AS WELL AS military attacks, occupation, and blockade by the uber-dogs.

Shalom, salaam, peace —
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of The Shalom Center

http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1472