Finding peace and justice
Lisa Hoyle writes about a talk given by Nimrod Evron on Israeli state policy
Nimrod Evron is an Israeli citizen who stands in opposition to Israeli state policy and the occupation. He has played a pivotal role in setting up organisations working with youth who oppose conscription and is currently studying for an MA at Birkbeck College, London. The Liverpool Quaker Peace Group invited Nimrod Evron to speak at a public meeting in June.
In the first part of the talk he described the population of Israel and, in particular, explained how the status of Mizrachi, Ethiopian and Russian Jews is lower than the Ashkenazi Jews, who hold much of the economic, political and cultural power. Mizrachi Jews, hailing from the region, are more likely to be settlers and thus create a buffer zone. During national service Ashkenazi Jews typically work in intelligence services and this period in a young, privileged person’s life is often a valuable time to build networks that enhance future career prospects.
We heard that the Israeli state integrates militarism into every facet of life. Young women on active service might serve as primary school teachers (one was depicted, in full uniform, working with children). There is no separation of state and religion and inter-marriage between different faiths is forbidden. Despite this, Israel does bear some of the hallmarks of a liberal democracy: the judicial system, for example, can oppose state policy and military action.
Perhaps the most insidious aspect of life in Israel is the perpetuation of fear. Nimrod outlined how most of the population had recent familial memory of terror and said that, in his view, the state actively sought to maintain this. He showed us one slide that depicted a primary school poster. It translated the words ‘Who wants to kill us?’ with the answer ‘Pharaohs, Arabs, Hamas, Nazis’.
The talk went on to describe the current political parties and recent movements in Israel (feminism, rights for LGBTQ, animal rights), which he took encouragement from. He also described those opposing occupation as a tiny but very active group, nearly all of whom are Ashkenazi Jews (as they have the money and influence to be able to act). He described some actions that are taken – such as acting as human shields or occupying houses to prevent demolition – and pointed out that it was difficult to build trust: ‘I grew up in a house in Jaffa which had been taken from Palestinians – not my fault – but this creates a particular relationship between us.’ It was clear that the social and economic consequences of speaking out against state policy were very high indeed.
We broke for questions: ‘Is Zionism a racist philosophy?’ Answer: ‘Zionism is a philosophy of emancipation which has developed racist features by seeking to create sovereignty’.
Question: ‘How real is victimhood? Is it propaganda?’ Answer: ‘The problem is it is difficult for many to understand you can be both victim and oppressor.’
Nimrod spoke about the boycott of settlement goods, which is currently Britain Yearly Meeting policy. He expressed the opinion that boycotts can be counterproductive. They can feed into the idea of victimhood and of being picked on by countries that only two generations ago sought to annihilate the Jewish people. He suggested that supporters of the rights of Palestinians could usefully engage in their own countries with Jewish communities to articulate the specific aims of the boycott – such as ending the occupation or dealing with the refugee crisis – so that this was better understood.
This was an excellent and important talk that needs further thought and I learned much from it.
Liverpool Quaker Peace Group meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month.
