Avraham Burg, the former Jewish Agency Chairman and Speaker of the 15th Knesset, was live online on April 5, 2011, answering readers' questions on anti-Semitism in the modern world. Many thanks to all of those who participated in this live event.

An observant Jew affiliated with the political left, Burg has caused waves with his call to abrogate the Law of Return, his accusations against the immorality of the settlement movement, and declarations such as "to define the State of Israel as a Jewish state is the key to its end. A Jewish state is explosive. It's dynamite."

Open gallery view Avraham Burg in his office in Tel Aviv. Credit: Eyal Toueg

Born in Jerusalem in 1955, Burg became active in parliamentary politics in 1985, when he began serving as adviser on Diaspora Affairs to then Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

Burg sat in parliament numerous times until 1995, when he resigned to become chairman of the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization. He returned to the Knesset in 1999, when he was elected Speaker, and retained his seat in parliament until resigning again in 2004.

Q: Do you believe there will be a time in the near future when right-wing Christian evangelicals will overpower the Jewish voices regarding U.S. politics toward Israel? What is the stance of these Christian evangelicals regarding Jews? Regarding left-wing Jews in particular?

Thanks,

Miriam



A: Dear Miriam,

For me religious fundamentalism is not confined to just Christian evangelical quarters. It is a trend that characterizes Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Unlike Huntington, who says this clash of civilization is between Christianity and Islam, between us and them, I see a different clash, a clash between democracy and theocracy. This clash happens in each and every religion of ours. Therefore, religious fundamentalism is an adversary, and sometimes even an enemy, which might be within or out.

I envision a coalition of "them" - a combination of Jews, Christians and Muslims - versus a coalition of "us" – democratic, pluralistic, humanistic, socialist. When we combat them, we must not ignore our responsibility as well. I call on all of those who share our values not just to oppose them, but to encourage us as well. I expect moderate churches, synagogues and mosques to support the peace camp all over the world. To give a shoulder to political effort and go en masse to the ballot boxes in order to support "our kind of world leader" rather than their conservatives, extremists and zealots.



Q: How feasible would it be to allow settlers who truly want to stay where they are (because of their connection to the land) to stay put by becoming citizens of the future Palestinian state?

Dimitri Fischler

Dear Dimitri,

For years, we were under the assumption that, a) the two-state solution is the solution, and, b) as we won't have to pay any price for doing so, let's do our utmost to take every opportunity to counter this.

The moment of truth is coming very fast, it's very close. Not for long will we be able to continue this eating the cake and having the settlements too. However, I am not at all sure that a two-state solution formula is alive. Maybe the settlers on our side and Hamas on their side have succeeded in their targeted liquidation of this formula.

So, what do we do? Some say let's not do anything. Others, I among them, are trying to explore new paradigms. One of those paradigms touches on your point. How do we create a decent, respectful equilibrium with the Palestinians who are living under Israeli sovereignty and Jews who will eventually live under Palestinian sovereignty? The only key for the success of such a new equilibrium is the absolute commitment of the Jews left behind in settlements to law and order in the new Palestinian state, in the same way we have from Palestinian Israelis.



Q: Dear Avraham,



Given the sensitivity about anti-Semitism, I am surprised how Israelis fail to see that they would be justifiably outraged if Jews received similar treatment to those of Arabs in Israel. In other words, please explain the recent rise in racist views in Israel towards Arabs (and others). In particular, recent data shows that the rise comes especially among Israel's youth. Furthermore, the same groups most sensitive to global anti-Semitism seem to be oblivious of their own racist discourse. I would be grateful if you could also explain how to reverse this trend.

Ed

New York

A: Dear Ed,

As I said to Moshe Chertoff below, I tried to address this in my article from the magazine. But let me add one more layer: there is a lot of hatred in the world. Many hate many. Islamophobia, xenophobia, liberal values, immigrants, the "other." But the rule is not to differentiate the hatred against the rest of the hatred. On the contrary, we must do our utmost for the creation of a world coalition against hatred. Then the cooperation of all the elements, all the others, becomes a very positive, very energizing political reality.

Furthermore, I feel this is our moral obligation. "Never again" is not just never again for Jews only. It is never again for anyone who is being victimized. It is our role as yesterday's eternal victim who became an omnipotent entity to do whatever we can, for the prevention of abuse and victimization of whoever needs us.



Q: Dear Avraham,



I am interested in your vision for Israel in thee next 50 years. How would choose to see Israel's existence unfold? What are the key factors you see which would support this vision coming to fulfillment?

Thank you,

Peter Singer

Negotiation Counsel

Melbourne, Australia



A: Dear Peter,

My vision is easy - I have no idea what will happen in five months time. So let me try to share some dreams with you. The dream I'm dreaming for my kids and grandchildren mean a State of Israel as a laboratory, greenhouse, of two thousand years of Jewish dreams and commitments. As a utopian, I really believe there is a higher call, and this call is today try to live according to my past commitments.

Whenever we said in the past, if and when we shall have the responsibility, we shall have the authority and we shall have the sovereignty, we meant this State of Israel. And when we said in the past, we shall do it differently, we should not do unto others what we hated to be done unto us; and to us this is an obligation. So the State of Israel I would like to see in 50 years time is the State of Israel my great, great, great-grandparents dreamed about 500 years ago.



Q: How can American Jews support Jewish students on college campuses and combat increasingly provocative anti-Semitism masquerading as anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian activity, while still acknowledging Israels right to exist and its deeply troubled and increasingly exclusionary (indeed, racist) internal politics? In other words, how can we support Israel to college students while still being honest about those internal politics?

Thank you for your honesty and your courage.

Jonathan Sebastian Leo



A: Dear Jonathan,

If there is one lesson I've learned in my long life it is the one which says no good public relations without good public behavior. The way Israel has behaved in the last couple of years cannot be explained, cannot be defended, cannot be represented, unless you are seriously ready to compromise your inner truth ad your inner values. If you really want to have a better position on campus, put pressure on Israel for better policy and better politics.

Q: How can the Jews of the world remain identified (to others) by the merits or directions of their own communities and break the burdening link to the policies of various governments of Israel? Do you think that such a separation and independence can lead to less anti-Semitism?

All the best,

Moshe Chertoff, Kibbutz Shomrat

A: Dear Moshe,

I wish I could answer this existential question that lasted for so many years in a couple of lines only. I'd be more than happy if you look at my article about just this topic, which was published in the Haaretz magazine last weekend.



Q: If Medinat Yisrael were not called a Jewish state, how would you call - and define - it? And how would you see its (not yet defined) future constitution? Do Jews, as a people, and as a remainder of the Jewish people slaughtered in Europe, not deserve to have their own state? Do not Arabs have muslim states (where only that religion is official?)

Adiel Caspi

A: Dear Adiel,

There is here a very confusing mixture in terms and concepts. What is Jewish? A religion, a national definition, a cultural expression, civilization power? There are so many different definitions for the same word and therefore so many misunderstandings come out of it. However, any definition of Jewish will contain a very serious religious component that leads to a very serious question: Should any modern state have a religious ingredient in its definition? The answer is no. More precisely, definitely no.

The state must be a natural tool in the hands of the people, equal and fair for its citizens. Therefore, the definition of the Jewish state must be the responsibility of the people and the communities other than the state organ. In that, coming not just from my political science reading and from the understanding I have of Jewish state, each and every time, the Jewishness collided and ended up in a tragedy. Nationally, the Jewish definition of the equation was separated beyond eschatological. As for the right of the Jews for political self-definition, it has nothing to do with the Holocaust trauma if the birthright of the nation collides with the right of the other people's compromises other than the ways and means we have adopted over the last 60 some years.

Q: Do you think that Jewish self-deprecating humor contributes to anti-semitism in the modern world?

Noah Reichblum

Concord, NH, USA

A: On the contrary. A sense of humor is one of the most powerful compelling bridge-builders to get misunderstandings and differences. The problem is that as cynical we are, we have abandoned the classical most efficient tool - the Jewish toolbox, Jewish humor. That way we lost the ability to build bridges with the rest of the world.



Q: Mr Burg, How can Israeli left represent observant Zionists nowadays? Who can lead such a trend? Can Israel benefit from European Jewry ?

Toda raba!

Beatrice Strouf

A: Dear Beatrice

We have here first of all to clarify some terms. What is Zionism and what is observant Zionism? Let's first try to understand the evolution of the Zionist idea from '48 and on. Israel was established as a socialist, secular, political entity, became nowadays a capitalist and religious one. So what wing of the equation do you want to be represented? The old one or the new one? The new one from my point of view is a very dangerous, nationalistic, almost racist one (just look at the recent legislation coming out of the Knesset, and the rabbis' letter and other embarrassing expressions of it).

Old Zionism requires a very serious update, a quantum leap from the elegies of the establishment to the new energies of the existence, i.e. from national enthusiasm to civil regularity. That's to say, that neo-left in Israel must be egalitarian, very democratic, belonging to all of its citizens, Jews and non-Jews alike. And this is exactly the kind of benefit Israel can have from Europe in general and European Jewry in particular, likes of the amazing compelling, cultural, spiritual political intellectual new environment of Europe.



