The Israeli left is dead. It has been dead for years. With the recent offensive in Gaza and the election of a hard line right government, it looks as though it will not be coming back to life anytime soon. The settlements have not stopped growing and protests in Tel Aviv have not accomplished much. Things have gotten worse and people have gotten tired. They give up out of fatigue and frustration. People in certain circles on the right, on the other hand, have had no problem suffering through intense heat and cold while sitting on windswept hilltops throughout the West Bank in a demonstration of their political views and power. The mainstream left in Israel has lost that spirit a long time ago (perhaps it never had it to begin with) while the direct action left is trying to keep it alive but in small numbers.

Today’s Friday Edition of Haaretz has an Op-Ed piece written by Carlo Strenger, a Tel Aviv University professor entitled “Why Israel’s left has disappeared”. The article highlights what has become a commonplace argument against any and all criticism of Israeli polices in the West Bank and Gaza. Strenger writes,

“Israel’s policies since 1967 are evil stupidity or stupidly evil, and I continue to think that the occupation must end as quickly as possible. But I believe that Israel’s stupidity is matched by the Palestinians making every conceivable mistake along the way, and I think the left should give them the respect of holding them responsible for their actions rather than talking about them as if they were abused children”

The message is clear; Israel is occupying but what the Palestinians are doing is worse. We do bad things but what they do is worse and if you do not call them out on it then there is something wrong with you. Despite the fact that we are the occupying power and the strong military force, the Palestinians deserve all the blame. Leftist who believe otherwise can be pushed to the side for not realizing a simple fact.

The author states that he has a problem with the occupation and that it is, in some sort of way, evil. That is where the argument should end. If you are against the occupation, work to end as an Israeli. Instead he is dismissive and shifts the focus to the Palestinians in the classic liberal Zionist way. Look at what we have done for them and how they have repaid us…

It is absurd to deal with the occupation/settlement debate by stating that the other side is so bad or that other countries have similar problems. These issues have a place in the debate but not the primary one. The real issue is that no one is willing to take responsibility for the blame of the occupation and, more importantly, no one is forcing Israel to take the responsibility. How difficult is it to be a member of the left in a society in which the concept of responsibility is almost nonexistent.

The author of the article argues that the left has failed because it did not provide a realistic picture of the conflict. Perhaps the left is simply no match for the extreme religious nationalism that has overtaken this country. This nationalist mindset has populated the center to such an extent that any critical discussion of Israeli polices are answered with “but they do this or this happens there”.

Also today, an Op-Ed in the Jerusalem Post written by Michael Freund arguing that the left should support the settlement project if peace is the true goal of the movement. The reason for this insane proposition? The Palestinians cannot be trusted and taking as much land as possible is the only sure way that we can guarantee that they will seriously listen to our demands of peace. Implicit in this argument is that Israel can be trusted on its word and that our goal is peace with the Palestinians but that is another story.

Of course neither of these articles touches on the issues of maintaining the occupation itself. The oppression of an entire population under military control, the house raids, administrative detention arrests, the double standards of life in the West Bank (one set of resources for settlers and one set for Palestinians), the humiliation of Palestinians in daily life, the countless acts of setters violence and the moral decay that effects every society, no matter how moral, that occupies another. Have we gotten to the point where calling a spade a spade is impossible?

With recent moves to cut off funding for Israeli NGOs from foreign governments, the climate for discussion in Israel is becoming more and more hostile….