After Israel’s interior ministry recently announced that members of the Jewish community of Uganda are not allowed to immigrate to Israel many progressive Israelis and diaspora Jews denounced the decision as racist.
Of course it is; racism is a defining characteristic of Zionism which privileges one ethnic group over others. The decision is also in keeping with the virulent anti-Black racism plaguing Israel equaled or surpassed only by the country’s anti-Palestinian racism.
More importantly it confirms that not all Jews who wish to become Israeli are “returning” to their ancestral homeland.
In this case the Abayudaya Ugandan Jews do not claim to have roots in historic Palestine; they only started formally converting to Judaism around two decades ago. The interior ministry’s decision to deny them the right to immigrate is not based upon their being recent converts but rather on the state’s contention that they are not a “recognized Jewish community” – a technicality.
In other words if you convert to Judaism in a manner acceptable to Israel you can claim “return”. If you convert “Ugandan-style” you may not immigrate. Making aliyah is not about ancestry roots return; it is about being “acceptable” to Israel’s political elite.
What I found intriguing but also quite revealing of the latent Zionism still pervasive among even some of the more progressive Jewish circles is that they expressed outrage at the idea that anyone who is Jewish should be denied the right to claim Israeli citizenship.
A Facebook post by the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) organization included a quote from a Haaretz article stating: “The notion that Israel’s interior minister should have the power to dismiss the legitimacy of Diaspora Jewish communities […] is both insulting and counter to the written criteria of his own ministry.” It was followed by many comments in which readers expressed indignation at the anti-Black racism of Israeli politicians without questioning the supposed birthright of all diaspora Jews to immigrate to Israel.
The Haaretz article points to the fact that the interior ministry’s decision “could have serious repercussions for ‘emerging Jewish communities’ around the world”. The term “emerging” refers to communities that have recently converted to Judaism – not those descended from Jews whose origins are in historic Palestine.
Incorrigible racism
Those who responded to the JVP post might not be members of the organization themselves but one can assume from the tone of their posts that they consider themselves to be anti-racist. Yet for a left-leaning newspaper such as Haaretz to be concerned about the immigration prerogatives of recent converts to Judaism speaks to the undeniable racism of liberal Zionists.
Other commentators on social media more soberly pointed out that during white supremacist rallies in the US only two national flags are ever hoisted by the mob: the American Stars and Stripes and Israel’s Star of David. White supremacists love Israel’s unabashed ethno-nationalism.
In contrast the Palestinian flag is prominent at Indigenous rights protests and Black Lives Matter marches. Both the Red Nation and the Movement for Black Lives a coalition of more than 50 Black-led organizations have endorsed the BDS (boycott divestment and sanctions) movement.
So has JVP which officially renounced Zionism in 2019. But clearly some of its followers remain attached to the idea that all Jews should be granted residency in Israel if they wish because it is the spiritual homeland of Judaism. Since Palestine is also the birthplace of Christianity I guess we Palestinians must consider ourselves lucky that not all Christians expect to be entitled to pack up and become our new colonizers.
Denouncing Israeli apartheid
The racism of liberals is also evident in the attention given to the recent B’Tselem report denouncing Israel as an apartheid regime when Palestinians have been saying the same thing for decades only to be called racist for it. As academic Lana Tatour writes the report was termed a “watershed” event – but it was not news for Palestinians.
Nor is it enough to denounce Israeli apartheid and specific incidents of Israeli racism; Israel as a whole must be recognized as the product of settler-colonialism which in itself is racism.
The progress we have made has been painstakingly slow and the outrage of liberals at Israel’s anti-Black racism – even as they fail to acknowledge the inherent racism of Zionism – is a sad reminder of how much more work we must still do before the world comes to recognize that Israel is fundamentally a racist state.
Still there is reason to be cautiously optimistic. As veteran journalist Jonathan Cook among many others globally has observed: “Israel is losing the fight to obscure its apartheid character.” Denunciations of Israel’s racism are becoming commonplace if flawed and inconsistent.
And even though US President Joe Biden is an avowed Zionist who may not be inclined to undo some of the more egregious acts of the Trump administration such as moving the US embassy to Jerusalem the executive orders he issued immediately upon taking office are a clear indication that he is aware of the demands of progressives.
New rallying cry
As columnist Liza Featherstone explains Biden’s “surprisingly progressive” executive orders must be credited to the organized left. They are not the impulses of the “depressingly conservative” man who only became the 46th president because a significant number of Americans needed to oust Trump.
The organized left must now make mainstream denunciations of the very logic of Zionism not just its occasionally salient discrete incidents of racism. Decolonization of Palestine and the Palestinian right of return – a right not a “law” devised by a racist state to privilege its select people – must be the rallying cry of progressives.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
– Nada Elia teaches in the American Cultural Studies Program at Western Washington University and is currently completing a book on Palestinian Diaspora activism. Her article appeared in the Middle East Eye.
