Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen

Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen


The Jewish Tradition of Anti-Zionism

August 07, 2020

How is it that Jewish liberals felt the State of Israel was exempt from criticism applied elsewhere? Our guest today Benjamin Balthaser, who teaches multi-ethnic literature at Indiana University, talks about a little known history: Most liberal and left Jewish Americans were anti-Zionist in the 1930s and 40s. After all, the Jewish culture is portable, and militaristic nationalism is antithetical to the spiritual identity. Jews spread across the world are taught to be citizens of where they are. Both the fascists and Zionists felt there was no place for Jews in Europe,but Balthaser says there were other options in 1945 in the wake of the Holocaust. Now, he argues, Jews should speak up for equal democracy for everyone in Israel/Palestine.