The Great Unmasking

by Jonathan Kuttab

The new Israeli government started off with a bang, as Benjamin Netanyahu announced the principles that would govern it. First, and foremost, was the principle that Jews have an “exclusive and unquestionable right to all the land of Israel, including the Galilee, the Negev, Judaea and Samaria, and the Golan.” Following the “Nation-State Law” of 2018, he was articulating a view of Zionism and the State of Israel that is openly, frankly, and unabashedly racist and discriminatory, a view that totally rejects any possibility of equality or compromise with the Palestinian Arab population who compose half of the souls living between the the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Other, more extremist members of his government chimed in reminding us that they, and not him, control the government. Itamar Ben Gvir took on the Ministry of Public Security (the police) and immediately staged a provocative visit to the Haram Al Sharif, contrary to his instructions and the warnings of the entire world, particularly his friends in the US, Jordan, the UAE, and elsewhere.

While these actions and words rattled many liberal Zionists and apologists for the state of Israel, Palestinians were far more sanguine. They had just concluded a year that saw the most casualties in decades and a record number of administrative detainees (830). They had seen an expansion of settlements, land expropriations, house demolitions, settler violence with impunity, continued ethnic cleansing in Masafer Yatta, and a constant, creeping annexation that may not always be “officially sanctioned” but is always retroactively recognized and “legalized.” All of this took place under the auspices of the “change government,” a government that was supposedly centrist (and which even allowed token Arab representation). While Palestinians are rightly apprehensive at the open legitimacy given to these actions by the new government, they are hardly surprised or outraged. They have already experienced the true face of Zionism and are now almost relieved to have it openly admitted and universally recognized for what it is.

Theologically, recognizing the true state of affairs: That we are sinners facing God’s judgment is the first step leading to repentance, to be followed by forgiveness and glorious salvation. Similarly, a recognition of the true state of affairs in Israel/Palestine is the necessary first step in working towards justice, leading to reconciliation, and then peace.

As long as people clung to the nonsensical view that Israel was a democracy (“the only democracy in the Middle East”), that it was genuinely interested in peace, that its occupation of Arab lands was simply a temporary condition awaiting the right configuration of forces to end it, and that a two-state solution remained a possibility, they could tolerate untold outrages and excuse most behavior as necessary for the sake of security. This was easy to do since the suffering was primarily experienced by Palestinians, and the world was sympathetic with the desire to provide a refuge to Jews escaping the ravages of the Holocaust. It also helped that Israelis constantly protested their desire for peace. Good people feared to criticize Israel for fear of being accused of antisemitism and thought that, in any case, a peace process would soon provide a state for Palestinians. The realization that, as Israeli MK Zvika Fogel just declared, “the occupation is permanent,” that “there will never be a Palestinian state,” as Netanyahu has promised, and that the ultimate goal is Jewish supremacy and control over all the land, from the river to the sea, may well be the beginning of an honest search for a just peace. Palestinians have long maintained that Zionism is a racist endeavor intended to make “Palestine as Jewish as France is French,” and that to achieve that goal it was imperative not only to import a maximum number of Jews but also to remove from the land by force a maximum number of Arabs and to obtain, by whatever means necessary, the maximum amount of land and hold it institutionally and in perpetuity on behalf of all Jews. Successive Israeli governments have pursued these goals steadfastly, while pretending that their aim was security and that their aspirations were for peace with Palestinians, not domination over them. The new Israeli government abandons all such pretense, rips off the mask, and dares the world to do something about it.

Acknowledging that reality is the first necessary step towards addressing it. When Israel determined it wanted to be a Jewish state, and further that it wanted to keep all the land of historic Palestine, the results were inevitable. The only two options Israel allows for are ethnic cleansing or apartheid. Calls for democracy and equality (where democracy includes giving Palestinians [50% of the population] the vote and a stake in running the country) are totally rejected.

The good news is that with this new government, the mask is off, and many people can see the reality. This includes a majority of the Jewish people in the United states and their supporters, who have always been liberal, democratic, and in favor of progressive values. Facing the reality of Israel may be painful for many of them, but it is an important first step towards seeking a new solution based on equality and human dignity, and which would also bring healing and peace. 

FOSNA hopes to be part of that process.


Take Action!


2023 Action Alert: Time To End Israel’s Detention and Abuse of Palestinian Children!

This Sunday, January 8, 2023, the Israeli Military Court will hold a hearing on Shadi Khoury's case. Please take time immediately to write or call your legislators requesting that they demand Israeli officials to drop all charges and declare him innocent.


News Alert


On New Year's Day, two young Israelis desecrated more than 30 graves at Jerusalem Protestant Cemetery. Archbishop Hosam Naoum has declared it a "clear hate crime," after CCTV footage showed the two smashing and pushing tombstones dating as far back as 1879. Watch the footage here.


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We invite you to join us in the following events and activities:


  • January 13: Online

    Confronting Apartheid

    A webinar on Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 7:00 pm CT

    (5 pm PT, 6 pm MT, 8 pm ET)

    This webinar is sponsored by the Peace & Justice Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago and Episcopal Peace Fellowship-Palestine Israel Network. It  follows the resolution Confronting Apartheid approved at Diocesan Convention in November 2021 that recognized that Israeli treatment of Palestinians constitutes apartheid as defined in international law. How do people of faith and conscience take a moral stand on this issue?

    Participants:

    Richard Falk – professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967  – will explain how Israeli apartheid corresponds to the definition in international conventions.

    Rabbi Brant Rosen – founder Rabbi of the synagogue Tzedek Chicago and co-founder of the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council – will discuss how Judaism inspires Jews to oppose apartheid.

    Mai Kakish Khader –Director of TEE Arabic Language & Culture for Children of the Arab Diaspora, board member of the Seraj Library Project, founder and writer with Almondandfig.com – will describe how apartheid affects the daily life of her family in Palestine.

    Harry Gunkel – member of the steering committee of Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Israel Network – will facilitate.


  • January 15: Online

    Is Israel an Apartheid State?

    Join Voices For the Holy Land's January Film Salon on January 15 at 12pm PT / 3pm ET.

    Does Israel’s treatment of Palestinians constitute a form of apartheid–the systematic segregation and discrimination of a population on the basis of race, first put into place in South Africa? Such is the claim of the UN, Amnesty International, B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, and journalists from a range of media. The International Criminal Court has labeled apartheid “a crime against humanity.” Two short documentary films explore the separate and distinct laws, physical infrastructure, civil systems and military enforcement applied to Palestinians in Israel and in the occupied territories. If this is apartheid, what is the authority of the UN and the ICC to adjudicate Israel’s violation of international law? Israel’s newly elected right-wing government promises more extreme forms of discrimination, exclusion, and violence directed at Palestinian citizens of Israel and in the occupied territories.

    Watch the film for free at your convenience | Join the Q&A Discussion with an expert panel.

    Saleh Hijazi: Former Deputy Regional Direct - MENA at Amnesty International

    Michael Lynk: Author, Associate Professor of Law at Western University, former UNHCR Special Rapporteur for Palestinian Territories

    Edwin Arrison: Anglican Priest, Development Officer - Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation

    Jonathan Kuttab (moderator):  Attorney, author, Exec. Dir. Friends of Sabeel North America

    Watch the Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnoNjmg9qps


  • January 25: Online

Boulder-Nablus Sister City Project Presents: "Book Discussion: Beyond the Two-State Solution with Jonathan Kuttab"

Join Boulder-Nablus Sister City Project and Jonathan Kuttab for an online book discussion of “Beyond the Two-State Solution” by Jonathan Kuttab on January 25 at 6:00pm MT via Zoom.

Get your free electronic copy of “Beyond the Two-State Solution” at JonathanKuttab.org 


Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem:

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Kumi Now! (Week 1) Kumi New Year Happy New Year everyone! Start 2023 off right by setting your Kumi Commitment for the year as Kumi Now resets.


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