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By Bruce S. Ticker
April 25, 2006
"And you get Israel out of Palestine!"
- Cindy Sheehan, Aug. 5, 2005
This line was culled not from a right-wing Web site but from Cindy Sheehan's book, "Not One More Mother's Child." She uttered the words at the Veterans for Peace convention in Dallas. It's at the end of the third paragraph on page 66.
Despite her protestations, Sheehan still has some explaining to do to the Jewish community. The passage above is naturally an Israel-bashing comment and, in the context of the entire paragraph, it is legitimate to question if she indeed blames Israel somewhat for her son's death in Iraq.
Here is the quote in full. Projecting what she plans to tell President Bush, Sheehan states: "And I'm going to say, 'And tell me what noble cause my son died for.' And if he even starts to say 'freedom and democracy,' I'm going to say, 'Bull----. You tell me the truth. You tell me that my son died for oil. You tell me that my son died to make your friends rich. You tell me that my son died to spread the cancer of Pax Americana, imperialism in the Middle East. You tell me that. Don't tell me my son died for freedom and democracy. Because we're not freer. You're taking away our freedoms. The Iraqi people aren't freer; they're much worse off than before you meddled in their country. You get America out of Iraq. And you get Israel out of Palestine."
Is Israel being in "Palestine" part of "imperialism in the Middle East?" Why raise questions about the cause of her son Casey's death and then inject Israel's supposed transgressions at the end, in what sounds like an afterthought?
For the record, I have opposed the war in Iraq from the outset, on grounds that neither the Bush administration nor Congress presented a clear rationale for the invasion and nobody bothered to assess the risks. Can anyone but Dick Cheney deny that we are now bogged down in a quagmire there?
There is no doubt that Israel has made serious mistakes, but to blame only Israel is to betray ignorance of the history of this conflict, which is more than a century old. Sheehan does not know what she is talking about when she dumps on Israel in such a casual manner. Possibly she picked up this line from some of her friends in the anti-war movement who regularly equate the Iraq war with Israel's so-called oppression of the Palestinians.
Even this is no excuse since Sheehan has embraced her icon status in opposing the war. She has a responsibility to unite Americans who oppose the war, not divide them. The vast majority of American Jews are probably against the war, yet the presence of Jews in the anti-war movement has been minimal. Coincidence?
Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun magazine, said that Sheehan attended Yom Kippur services last year at Beyt Tikkun in Berkeley where she said she does not blame Israel or American Jews for the war in Iraq. Lerner, who is spiritual leader of Beyt Tikkun, reported that Sheehan told him that she was aware that more than three-fourths of Jewish voters supported Sen. John F. Kerry in the 2004 presidential election.
Credit Lerner with performing a mitzvah for drawing Sheehan to a Jewish environment. No doubt he explained to her the diversity of thought among Jews.
However, Lerner's experience with Sheehan is not enough to square matters with the Jewish community. Sheehan cannot convince the vast majority of Jews that she does not have issues with Israel -- and possibly Jews in general -- by hiding behind Lerner, who out-liberals most of his own people, and attending services where congregants are likely far less inquisitive about the subject than most other Jews.
Possibly someone should prep her more on the subject and explain to her why her "Israel out of Palestine" comment is offensive to Jews. Then she could address the issue with reporters from Jewish newspapers.
Sheehan may well dread such an experience, but if her intentions are reputable she should ace the interviews.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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