Is there a future for Jewish progressivism after Oct. 7?
by Shira Schoenberg
Boston Globe | November 13, 2023
For years, tensions have been simmering between Zionists and progressives, leaving those who share both identities, including many American Jews, foundering. The Oct. 7 terror attacks and the anti-Israel response by many on the far left of American politics has brought those tensions to a head, sometimes forcing Jews to choose one identity over another.
At its core, the debate is over how to understand Zionism. Some progressives identify Israel as a colonialist oppressor of the Palestinian people, and although Jews are multiracial, some in the racial justice movement conflate Jews with white elites. “From the point of view of many progressives, [Zionism] has no place in a movement that stands against racism, bigotry, and oppression,” said historian Sara Hirschorn, a visiting lecturer at the University of Haifa.
