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News :: Miscellaneous |
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David Green Lecture on Zionism & Jewish American Thought |
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by Nancy Dietrich-Rybicki
Email: nancydietrich (nospam) juno.com (unverified!) |
10 Feb 2001
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Resubmitted from lecture given Sunday, Feb.10th. Title of Lecture, "Zionism's Role in the Corruption of Jewish Intellectual Thought" |
David Green presents lecture on how Zionism has affected Jewish Thought in America
by Nancy Dietrich-Rybicki nancydietrich (at) juno.com
The Channing-Murray Foundation was the site of a thought-provoking lecture on Sunday entitled "Zionism’s Role in the Corruption of Jewish Intellectual Life" presented by David Green, Ph.D.
Mr. Green stated that the goal for this lecture was to "demythologize Israel’s history," referring to several major myths promoted by Zionist intellectuals. He emphasized that rational discourse cannot take place without researching the facts regarding Israel’s background. Much of this research has, in fact, been done by Israeli Jews, as well as by Palestinian, English, French, and American scholars, including Jewish-Americans such as Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein.
Mr. Green contended that Zionism and the formation of a Jewish state has more to do with economics and power than with Jewish religious beliefs. "It particularly goes hand in hand with American Imperialist interests," he stated. He noted that these interests serve primarily the oil and arms industries.
He commented that Zionist thinking has manufactured consent from the Jewish population, consent which maintains current U. S. and Israeli policies by distorting historical facts about the Jewish state. Green notes that Jewish-Americans, in particular, have a distorted view of the history and facts relating to Israel. Green cited sources which refute several of these commonly held beliefs. One of these beliefs is that Palestine had very few people residing in the area before it was created. In reality, Green states, Palestinians have lived in the area since at least the 8th century. Other beliefs Green questioned were Israel’s claim to the legality of taking over Palestinian land, that Israel has only engaged in defensive wars, that the Holocaust justifies the creation of Israel, and that the Israeli people have never engaged in terrorism, only Arabs do. Green believes that these myths inhibit Jewish intellectuals from addressing genuine solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and from becoming full members in the current progressive movement.
Mr. Green challenged those present to research the facts about the history of Israel from many different sources, instead of just from the sources written from a Zionist point of view.
This is a search for the truth," he added. "I want to increase people’s knowledge of this topic on all sides of the issue. This isn’t a Jewish problem, or a Palestinian problem, or a Christian problem, this is an American problem. This is about American support for Israel. Without a change in American foreign policy, there can be no just peace in the Middle East."
I would like to thank Mr. Green for contributing to the article. |
