Is Israel a Jewish or a White Supremacist State?

Debate between Tony Greenstein and Israeli anti-Zionist Ronnie Barkan

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Wednesday January 19^th 7 pm

The debate about the nature of the Israeli state is an important one. In the IHRA misdefinition of anti-Semitism anti-Semitism is held to be

‘Applying double standards by requiring of it [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.’

 Leaving aside the absurd wording ‘democratic nation’ which implies some nations are not democratic, in itself a racist phrase, the IHRA assumes that Israel is a normal democratic state. Of course we all know that Israel may be democratic for Israeli Jews but it is Jewish for Arabs.

The question though is what type of state Israel is. It is now accepted that Israel is a settler-colonial state much like Apartheid South Africa and Algeria. But that doesn’t tell us the specific character of Israel.

Israel describes itself as a Jewish Democratic state which is an oxymoron. A state can either be democratic or Jewish but it cannot be both and in practice Israel promotes the Jewish over the democratic. But Israel as Jewish state isn’t a religious or theocratic state Jewish ethnically.

When Netanyahu’s government introduced the Jewish Nation State Law in 2018 it gave Israeli Jews only national rights. Although in theory Palestinian citizens of Israel had equal rights on an individual basis, in practice this could not but help impinge on those rights.

Article 7 of the Act provides that ‘

‘the state views the development of Jewish settlement as a national value, and will act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation.’

What this means is being played out currently in the Naqab and East Jerusalem where the Jewish National Fund and Jewish settlers are ethically cleansing the indigenous Palestinian population.

Because Israel defines itself as a ‘Jewish’ state it allows Israelis the right to tell Palestinians, even those who are nominal citizens, that they should be grateful they are allowed to live in a Jewish state.

In January 2019 Al Jazeera published an article by Yoav Litvin The Zionist fallacy of ‘Jewish supremacy’ which argued that ‘Framing Zionism as Jewish and not white supremacy is a dangerous proposition.’ This was because saying Israel is a Jewish Supremacist State would therefore mean all Jews are racial supremacists.

Where Yoav went wrong was when he argued that

‘To maintain this abusive, white supremacist dynamic, Zionist propagandists have promoted the anti-Semitic fallacy that Israel is a Jewish state, which represents Judaism and thus all Jews.

Unfortunately it is a fact, not a fallacy, that Israel IS a Jewish state. That is what it calls itself. The question is rather ‘what does it mean to say Israel is a Jewish state’.

Litvin went on to compound his error by saying that

If it is accepted, as it is by Zionists, that Israel indeed represents Judaism and all Jews – an expression of “Jewish supremacy” – then those who are pro-Palestinian must also reject Jews and Judaism.

This is a serious error. Israel does not claim to represent Judaism. Certainly it uses Judaism to legitimise itself, in the process transforming Judaism into an idolatrous religion that worships land and power, but Israel has never claimed to represent Judaism. Rather it argues that Zionism is rooted in Judaism and that the formation of a Jewish state is the culmination of 2,000 years of Jewish history.

In the 1950s thousands of babies of Yemenite Jews were stolen from hospitals and given to White Jews

Israel claims to represent the mythical ‘Jewish people’. Being Jewish in Israel is not a matter of religion but nationality. There are many nationalities in Israel, since there is no Israeli nationality, but there is only one nationality that matters, Jewish nationality. In the Population Registry of Israel you can define yourself as Jewish by nationality and leave religion blank.

Yemenite Jewish children were subject to Nazi-style medical experiments by Israeli doctors in the 1950s and suspected organ thefts

Being Jewish in Israel entitles you to privileges that non-Jews do not possess. For example if you are Jewish your land is not liable to be confiscated because you or one of your family was resident in an ‘enemy’ i.e. Arab state. If you are Jewish you are expected to serve in the army, and consequently receive welfare and social security benefits, e.g. student grants, that non-Jews don’t receive.

Litvin argued that

the framing of Zionism as “white”, not “Jewish” supremacy enables and strengthens the formation of coalitions between all those opposed to Zionist settler colonialism in particular and white supremacy in general and hinders Zionist attempts at sabotage by lobbying cynical accusations of “anti-Semitism”.

It may well be that framing Zionism as ‘white’ and not ‘Jewish’ would make alliances with for example Black Lives Matter easier although I’m not convinced. However it would be deeply dishonest to construct an alliance on such a basis.

That is why I wrote an article for Al Jazeera Why Israel is a Jewish, not a white supremacist state in February 2019 in which I argued that ‘Recognising Israel as a Jewish supremacist state does not mean rejecting Jews or Judaism.’ I argued that

‘What Litvin is doing is substituting wishful thinking for reality and that is never a good basis on which to construct an argument.’

Police violence against Ethiopian Jews

Yes Zionism is also racist towards Black people but that is secondary to its racism towards non-Jews and Palestinians in particular. I wrote:

It is of course true that within the Israeli Jewish population, there is discrimination against the Sephardi/Misrahi Jews and even more against the Falashas (Ethiopian) Jews. But while intra-Jewish racism exists, the major division within the Israeli society is not between black and white, but between Jewish and non-Jewish, and in particular between Israeli Jewish and Palestinian. That is inescapable.

I followed this up in November 2021 with an article ‘Israel is not just racist towards Palestinians but it is also racist towards Black Jews’ in which I reaffirmed what I had previously written. The subtitle was ‘If Israel is primarily a Jewish Supremacist State it is ALSO a White Supremacist State.’ I wrote that

Litvin made the cardinal mistake of saying that if Palestinians reject a Jewish state they reject Judaism.  No they reject Jewish Supremacy.  Irish Republicans have never rejected Protestantism as a religion. On the contrary some of the most famous Republicans were Protestant, such as Wolfe Tone and Sir Roger Casement, executed by the British in 1916 for treason.

Northern Ireland was, in the words of its first Prime Minister James Craig a ‘Protestant State for a Protestant People’. Did that mean that the opposition of Irish Republicans to the Protestant Supremacist nature of that state was anti-Protestant? Of course not. What they objected to was a state of affairs whereby being Protestant entitled you to privileges that Catholics did not have.

Wolfe Tone, a Protestant leader of the United Irishmen

When we say that Israel is a Jewish Supremacist state what this means that Israel systematically discriminates against those of its inhabitants who are not Jewish. Zionism is a matter of race not religion as Max Nordau explained at the first Zionist Congress in 1897.

This is not an academic debate. Israel systematically discriminates against those whose only crime is not being Jewish.  The Israeli rabbinate fulfil the same role as The Office for Race Classification in South Africa. They are the arbiters of who is and is not privileged.

That is why Rabbi Peretz, the head of the Israeli Conversion Authority, ‘rejects Palestinian applicants without review because of their ethnic origin’. This is how the Jewish religion has been perverted in order facilitate the requirements of a racist Jewish state.

Because Jews are more privileged than non-Jews it is essential to close a loophole whereby Palestinians might convert to become part of the privileged. There is no religious or halachic reason to refuse requests to convert by Palestinians. On the contrary in the Bible the Canaanites were often converted at the point of a sword. The Jewish religion has prostituted itself on the altar of Zionism.

B’Tselem, Israel’s main human rights group, which began life in 1989 as a liberal Zionist group, issued a report a year ago describing Israel as ‘A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid’

Why did B’Tselem describe Israel as a ‘Jewish supremacist’ state? Because in the work it does supporting Palestinians it is clear that being Jewish leads to different treatment by the Israeli authorities. Even Israeli anti-Zionists are treated more gently than Palestinians.

In the past decade Israel has tried to deport thousands of African refugees from Eritrea and Sudan - their crime?  Being Black and not Jewish

Of course within the Israeli Jewish community it is also true that White Jews discriminate against the Misrahi/Oriental and Ethiopian Jews. There is no doubt about this. African Jews have been barred from even entering Israel because they are not recognised as Jews.

In the case of the Abayudaya group of African Jews, the Jewish Agency, the arm of the World Zionist Organisation, had recognised them as Jews but the Israeli government nonetheless barred them from entry.

Children from the Hebrew Israelite community

There is also the case of the Black Hebrews who came from the USA in the 1960s. Many of them were originally deported back to the USA. A group were allowed to live near Dimona in Southern Israel but earlier last year the Israeli government unveiled a plan to deport them back to the United States.

Zionism has always had considerable difficulty accepting that non-White people can be Jewish. Arthur Ruppin, the most important figure in the pre-state Yishuv, considered that Arab Jews were racially inferior to European Jews because they were Semitic! Ruppin was an ardent devotee of Eugenics and the racial sciences and he visited Professor Hans Gunther, who the Nazis had imposed as Professor of Racial Sciences at Jenna University to have a friendly chat about their shared topic of interest.

The Hebrew Israelite community welcome sign

But here is the rub. Black Jews may complain bitterly about their treatment by White Jews but that does not make them express solidarity with the Palestinians. What they are fighting for is equality with White Jews in other words an equal role in the oppression of the Palestinians. They serve in the army, they are entitled to ‘Jewish national’ land (93% of all Israeli land) and other privileges that White Jews enjoy. What they don’t want is to be reduced to the status of Palestinians. They are the ‘poor white trash’ of Israel.

Ronnie Barkan, who was one of the founders of Israel’s Boycott from Within, appeared on Resistance TV last year and claimed, on the basis of my blog article that I had changed my position. He was wrong and on Wednesday we will be debating the issue.

Tony Greenstein

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Israel’s Racism Against Its Black Jewish Citizens

Israeli Police Confront a Demonstration by Ethiopian Jews

If the primary fault line in Israel is between Israeli Jews and Palestinians, we should not overlook the racism within the Israeli Jewish population.  Ethiopian Jews and Black Hebrews also experience extreme discrimination and brutality at the hands of the state .  The attack below by the Border Police, who are known for their brutality, on a Black Israeli is typical.  As the article points out, a death squad of Border Police had killed an unarmed and defenceless Palestinian inside Hebron’s hospital the previous day.

Tony Greenstein

Israeli Border Police Brutally Assault BlackHebrew

by Richard Silverstein on November 14, 2015

An Israeli border Police officer brutally assaulted a Black Hebrew Israeli citizen at a security checkpoint in Eilat. The victim, Yair Israel and his wife Anat, were en route to a local hotel where he had planned a relaxing weekend celebrating his wife’s birthday.

Yair Israel’s natural foods business, Otentivee

Israel is a well-known businessman in Dimona, where he runs a natural foods boutique, Otentivee (“Authentic Natural”), whose products are known by vegetarians throughout the country.  He’s been interviewed on a number of Israeli TV shows where he’s showcased his passion for natural and organic products.

The brutal attack would’ve been just another anonymous, unseen incident of Israeli official racism had not, Oded Zamora, an Israeli native who has lived in Maryland for the past 14 years, been in the car following Israel at the checkpoint.

Yair Yisrael being choked during Border Police beating (Oded Zamora)

As he saw the attack unfold, Zamora bravely exited his own vehicle and asked officials why the attack was happening.  When no one responded he took out his cellphone and began videotaping.  He told the attacker that he was filming him. Unfortunately, this did nothing to abate the assault, which increased in ferocity.

The entire incident began with a policeman asking Yair to present his ID.  He did so.  Then the policeman asked for his wife’s ID.  Though he found this unusual, he then presented his wife’s ID.  At this point, a Border Policeman who was sitting inside the security booth came on the scene and began shouting angrily at Yair: “What’s your problem?”  Then the attack escalated.  The Border Policeman began punching him.  He tried forcing Yair’s car door open.  So the victim opened the door for him.  He then grabbed him and ejected him from the vehicle, continuing to brutally strike him.  He then dragged him behind the security booth where he beat him even more.

The entire scene unfolded in front of the victim’s wife, who was forced to see her own husband brutalized by a bully in uniform.  Both the victim and witness attest that the former did nothing to provoke the attack, that he continually asked in a civil manner why he was being assaulted, that he told the security forces then he was a citizen of Israel and had at a local business. None of this helped at all.

Eventually they handcuffed Israel, who repeatedly asked them why he was being arrested and received no answer, and took him to the local police station.  At the station, he was questioned but could not explain to them what he had done to provoke the attack.  He was taken to the investigations unit and after two or three hours released.

When a reporter asked him why he thought the incident had occurred he replied:

“I don’t know.  I only know there are many racists in Israel.  Each day I have similarly unpleasant experiences because of the color of my skin.  Everyone from our [Black Hebrew] community faces this.  I know that there are people in Israel who believe there is no value to a person and no equality possible for someone of a different skin color [than them].  It’s simply unbelievable what happens here.  These are things we face every day.”

After her husband was taken away from the checkpoint, Anat was told by the police to leave the scene. She told them she had no driver’s license. They told her that as far as they were concerned she could walk to Eilat.

The eyewitness, who remained at the scene, was asked by the police to leave the area.  He refused, telling them they should be ashamed and that the whole incident was on video.  He thought that might cause them to restrain themselves.  But it didn’t help.  Instead, they demanded that he give them his cell phone.  They lied telling him it was illegal to film them.  He refused again. They told him that if he did not do so they would open a criminal investigation against him

Zamora then ran to his car and called his sister who is a member of a local kibbutz in Eilat. He told her to drive urgently to the checkpoint. He said that if he was no longer there, she should drive immediately to the police station. When she arrived, Zamora asked his sister to drive Anat to the Kibbutz while he drove to the police station to be with Yair.

When asked by the reporter to explain why he understood Yair had been attacked, he replied:

“Because of the color of his skin.  I see no other reason this should happen to a young couple celebrating a birthday in Eilat.  Yair offered his ID.  He didn’t attack anyone.  He was inside his car the entire time.  I can’t even imagine how long it will take him to recover from this.”

When asked if he regretted intervening in the incident, Zamora added:

'No one wants to go through such a thing.  Maybe it will be a blemish upon me, but when you see policemen behaving with such brutality you must get involved.  I thought about Yair.  He had no one.  He was lying on the ground handcuffed.  His powerlessness obligated me to get involved.'

Oded Zamora is a true mensch.  He stood up to injustice without fear.  Some, but likely very few Israelis would’ve done the same.  So if there are any readers who are going to say that Zamora’s courage redeems redeems Israel or shows it to be a decent, liberal, humane society–think again.  He likely intervened because he’s been living in the U.S., where we are becoming less & less tolerant of police abuse and executions.  Even if that’s not the case, the individual righteousness of citizens cannot compensate for the overall evil that infects the official state apparatus.

This is not a one-off act of racism by an lone-wolf Israeli police bully. This is official racism and brutality. This is official sanctioned violence by the state against its own citizens. Though they happen to be citizens who are not White and therefore not worthy of the full rights of every other Israeli citizen.  Israel is a state seeped in racism and violence: not just against Palestinians (which is half to be expected) but against its own Palestinian and Black citizens.

I’ve often remarked here upon the special reputation for brutality and cruelty “enjoyed” by the Border Police.  They take torture to an entirely new level.  The assassination in a Hebron hospital a few days ago was perpetrated by a Border Police death squad, Yamas.

This must end.  There is only one way to do it: Israel must become a state of all its citizens.  Everyone must be treated the same.  No person, religion or ethnicity deserves superior treatment.  Separation or privilege based on these criteria must be rooted out.  I am not saying that religion should be rooted out, just that religions must be treated the same.  They must all receive respect and none treated better or differently the other.  And no religion may replace the state or supercede the state or compel the state to act politically to achieve a religious objective.  Religions must occupy a spiritual space, not a political one.

The Thugs Respond

Israeli Border Police spokesperson responded to the charges against his force by claiming that the level of force used in the incident was proportional and reasonable. He lied, claiming that Israel refused to identify himself and attacked the officers. He further claimed that while the victim was being arrested he continued to resist.  There is no evidence whatsoever to support his account and the video completely repudiates this version.  Further, it makes no sense whatsoever that an Israeli citizen at a checkpoint would refuse to identify himself.  Every Israeli understands security protocols and why they’re necessary.  No one refuses to participate.

With a straight face, the flack noted that because of this incident, the Border Police were asking all citizens to behave with restraint and to coöperate fully with security forces so that they could perform their duties.  No one can get Israeli border police to except any responsibility for its actions. It is above the law, because it is the law.

Further, the spokesperson claimed that Zamora had interfered with the arrest.  He also falsely claimed that the police asked him to accompany them to the station as a witness to the event and because the video was evidence.  When he refused, he too was detained and brought to the station.

Yair further claimed that the police lied when they told the media he’d been released with conditions placed upon him.  He was released without anyone telling him anything about any conditions.  He told the reporter that he would continue to fight against this injustice:

“I am the second generation born in this country.  And I must continue to fight for change because there are new generations behind me.  I must not give up because the generation before me suffered from the same things, but had no power to change anything.  God gave me the strength to fight this so that it won’t happen again.

…I want people to know the good things about our community.  To give us respect.  Though we are a community that prefers to remain quiet, we can’t ignore these things anymore.”

For yet another example of the grievous suffering inflicted on the Black Hebrew community, this time by the IDF, read of the suspected murder of Toveet Radcliffe, a young woman serving in the army.  It claimed she committed suicide by shooting herself with her own rifle.

H/t to David Sheen and Ofer Neiman.

See also Israel detains and deports AmericanJews because they are Black