On Normalization, Revisited
by Jonathan Kuttab
In response to my recent reflection On Normalization (revised for Mondoweiss as Normalization and Co-Resistance), I was confronted with numerous questions as to whether this organization or that activity constitutes “normalization” and whether it is permitted or forbidden to cooperate with a particular group or to participate in a specific action.
Now, I do not claim to have any authority to determine this issue for anyone other than myself; my intention was only to start what I thought was a necessary conversation on this issue, in light of the increasing need for joint activities to resist apartheid. Clearly, each case must be studied on its merits. Also, circumstances may require an activist to cooperate on a particular activity alongside those with whom they do not fully see eye-to-eye, while simultaneously challenging them to a greater and more radical commitment to justice.
There is no doubt that normalization is something we need to confront. We are all familiar with countries like Saudi Arabia considering agreements with Israel, in utter disregard for the Palestinians, and who treat Israel as if it were a “normal country.” I, however, am concerned here with the behavior of individuals and institutions in relation to Israeli or Zionist groups. For many activists, the standard is a set of political positions that the Israeli interlocutor must meet. Yet such guidelines often lead to a stifling of joint activities altogether, even inhibiting Palestinian activists who do not wish to be branded as “normalizers.” It also diverts attention from fighting the occupation and focuses it instead on infighting, boycotting and shaming other activists for their “normalizing” activities.
For the Palestinian victims, particularly the villagers or others on the frontlines, such a discussion is unnecessary. When confronting soldiers demolishing their homes or settlers attacking their crops and even their children, the physical presence of any Israeli standing in solidarity with them is more than welcome. Palestinians on the front lines do not waste much time discussing the nuances of the political positions of those willing to stand with them, facing tear gas, arrest, or worse. They do not ask such activists whether they are Zionists, whether they served in the Israeli army, whether they support their right of return, or whether they meet any formula for acceptable cooperation. It is enough that they are there, to face the oppression together. The issue may come when an army jeep arrives, declares the area to be a “closed military zone,” and orders the Israelis to leave. The Israeli participants are then faced with a decision as to whether they are willing to challenge the system and take the additional step of “civil disobedience,” or whether they are so embedded within the Zionist system that they would reflexively obey the “military order” and withdraw, leaving the Palestinians to face the music alone. That becomes the litmus test for whether they are simply exercising their position of privilege to protest, while normalizing the situation, or whether they are co-resisting oppression together with Palestinians.
The question arises more often in the minds of activists contemplating future joint activities or entering into discussion and sterile meetings away from the action. The danger here is that such meetings and “dialogue sessions” become an alternative to actual actions on the ground. They may work totally within, and therefore reinforce, assumptions and structures which are oppressive. Israel has been quite creative in absorbing such criticism by left-leaning Israelis and using it as proof of its “robust democracy.” As long as Israeli activists played their part within the broader framework of the Israeli structures, and if their criticism remained innocuous and did not pose a radical challenge to the overall structure of the regime, it was fine. In fact it provides a useful and necessary facade of legitimacy to the whole enterprise.
In the United States, where much of the joint activity does not involve any real risk or danger to the participants, the question becomes more pressing. Are we merely “blowing off steam” and assuaging the conscience of those who ultimately enable the oppressive policies of the state of Israel? Israel does not care much about ecclesiastical statements and resolutions, as long as they do not have any impact on the ground. In Israel, the saying is: “It does not matter what the goyyim (gentiles) say, but what the Jews do.” The role assigned to Israel’s supporters abroad is to ensure that the aid keeps flowing and that diplomatic support insulates Israel, like an umbrella, from international censure. Beyond that, mere statements of censure, like the criticism of settlements, are perfectly acceptable to the regime.
One of the criteria I personally use to determine whether a particular action or organization or individual is involved in “normalization” is to note the red lines openly announced by the other side. Israeli apologists would often say that it is legitimate to criticize Israel, as long as you do not cross certain red lines. In fact, it is healthy and desirable to carry out such criticism as long as you fall in line where it really counts. Among the “red lines” often cited as illegitimate criticism are:
Engaging with or supporting calls for Boycotts, Divestment, or Sanctions (BDS)
Canceling aid to Israel, or conditioning it on its actions or behavior (settlements, human rights, etc…)
Using the term “apartheid,” “ethnic cleansing,” or the analytic framework of “settler colonialism”
Talking to Hamas
Calling for the Palestinian Right of Return
In short, criticizing Israel is fine, the thinking goes, as long as you refrain from any measure that has a chance of impacting the situation on the ground, or fundamentally challenging its structures.
On the other hand, it is oftentimes useful to meet people where they are and to gently push them towards more progressive positions, by pointing out the ways in which they are complicit in the very evils they purport to oppose. People who might oppose settlement construction, for example, but refuse to engage in a boycott of settlement products may be asked, “How then do you propose to end settlements without imposing real pressure and extracting a cost?” Or, “Would you lobby to deduct from Israel’s aid package an amount equal to what they spend on settlements?”
It is far more useful to spend the time to listen, engage, and seek ways to co-resist than to criticize and ostracize those we deem to be normalizers. After all, Palestinians and Israeli Jews are destined to live together, I believe, so we might as well start practicing: by refusing to accept the structures of apartheid that hold us captive and by building together a bright new future based on dignity, equality, and justice.
FOSNA News
Joint Statement: Civil Society Organizations United in Opposition to Israel's Admission into the Visa Waiver Program
FOSNA is one of 12 civil society organizations to sign onto a joint statement in opposition to Israel's recent admission into the Visa Waiver Program. We call upon the U.S. government to reconsider its decision and prioritize the reciprocity, security, and international cooperation principles underpinning the program. The admission of any country into this program must be based on precise adherence to the established criteria and a demonstrated commitment to the program’s core values. As an apartheid state and a state that discriminates against Palestinian Americans, Israel does not meet the program's requirements. Read the full statement here and take action below to tell President Biden that Israel does not belong in the Visa Waiver Program.
Preach Palestine 2023: Exposing Apartheid with the Light of Truth
"Hope," in the immortal words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, "is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." Responding to the call of our sisters and brothers in Palestine, FOSNA calls upon all communities of faith and conviction to stand firm in the light of truth and preach against apartheid this advent season. Preach Palestine and work to dismantle the darkness of oppression and segregation endemic to the Israeli apartheid regime.
We have gathered resources for worship planners from a diversity of traditions and voices that lift up liberation from Turtle Island to Palestine and beyond. Be it an entire service or a single prayer, a study series or a guest lecture, and/or a film screening or a fundraising event, we are asking you once again to Preach Palestine and lift up the Palestinian people, such that they would come to experience the joy, justice, and peace of Christ's liberating reign as a very real light in the present darkness.
Can you commit your congregation to Preach Palestine this Advent season?
Get Involved!
We invite you to join us in the following events and activities:
October 1: Online
Sabeel-Kairos UK: Hope for Palestine - Autumn Online Series
Sabeel-Kairos UK is Taking Action for Palestine this Autumn with their 4-week Hope for Palestine series. Week 2, "Hope for what?" explores solutions with FOSNA Executive Director Jonathan Kuttab.
This series is FREE to all Sabeel-Kairos paying members. Non-members will need to make a donation of £10 for the series.
October 13 - 14: New York & Santa Cruz
Battling the ‘IHRA definition’: Theory & Activism
Join the first convening of the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism in October 2023! This inaugural gathering will bring together ICSZ’s community of scholars and activists to build and share knowledge about how “the IHRA definition of antisemitism” both amplifies and hides repressive power and state violence.
This is a working meeting for scholars and activists of ICSZ’s community, particularly those engaged in researching and confronting the repressive use of “the IHRA definition” to foreclose critical discussion and scholarship on Zionism. A selection of papers and videos of presentations will, however, be published after the event.
Registering: Please use this form if you’re interested in attending. Due to limitations on attendance, filling out this form does not immediately register you for the convening. You will receive a response as quickly as possible from our volunteer team to confirm the status of your registration. Deadline: October 9.
October 15: Online
Voices From the Holy Land presents: Israelism
Israel is central to the political and cultural life of the American Jewish community. But it has also become a deeply divisive subject, as painful generational cracks have emerged within the Jewish community over the Israel-Palestine conflict, inspiring argument, protest and even censorship.
Focusing on the stories of two young Americans raised to defend Israel at all costs, Israelism traces their awakening to Israel's dehumanization of Palestinians and the ongoing violence of the occupation. The film explores the past, present, and future of the relationship between American Jews and Israel, as growing numbers question whether support for Israel should condition and define their Jewish identity. Featuring a range of American Jewish thinkers, community leaders and activists, Israelism asks how and why Israel became the cornerstone of American Judaism, what the consequences have been, and what will happen as divisions continue to grow.
Watch the film for free at your convenience; Join the Q&A Discussion
Eric Axelman: filmmaker, co-founder of Tikkun Olam Productions
Simone Zimmerman: Jewish American activist, co-founder of IfNotNow
Lubna Alzaroo: instructor at University of Washington specializing in settler colonialism
Peter Beinart: editor-at-large at Jewish Currents, professor of journalism, CUNY and Publisher, The Beinart Newsletter
You must register to get the free film link and to participate in the Q&A discussion.
Weekly
Sabeel Prayer Service. Join Sabeel every Thursday (6pm Palestine) for online Bible Study, discussion, and prayer. Examine scripture in light of the ongoing realities confronting the Palestinian Church and the pursuit of Palestinian liberation.
Wave of Prayer. Subscribe to receive Sabeel's Wave of Prayer, enabling friends of Sabeel around the world to pray over issues of critical concern to the Holy Land on a weekly basis.
Kumi Now! October 1 to 7: Week 40 - Nonviolence in Palestine Kumi Now is an online gathering every Tuesday (6pm Palestine) with a guest speaking on the weekly topic. Register here.
October 2 is the International Day of Non-Violence, celebrated annually by the United Nations on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. Dedicated to teaching “the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence” and working “to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence,” it is an international holiday that is dear to the Kumi Now community. This week, we look at the organizations and individuals working on all sides of the conflict in Palestine and Israel to bring a just solution through nonviolence. Here’s what you need to know about nonviolence in Palestine and Israel and what you can do so that together we can rise up.