Marking the one-year anniversary of 7 October, Britain’s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, published an article in the New Statesman presenting an impassioned defence of Zionism. After recycling various well-worn tropes justifying the creation of the state of Israel as a response to the historical persecution of Jews, his argument took an interesting turn.
“It is extremely sad that the existence of a Jewish state in a land within which the Jewish people were indigenous long before the dawn of both Christianity and Islam should be seen as controversial in any way,” Mirvis wrote in the final paragraph. “I am a Zionist because I have inherited a language, culture and faith from the indigenous people of Judea.”
Close observers of the discourse surrounding Israel-Palestine, especially online, cannot have failed to notice the rhetorical shift that has occurred in recent years within what is known as hasbara – official and unofficial public diplomacy in support of Israel. As many liberals – including Jews – increasingly turn away from Zionism and join the ranks of the Palestine solidarity movement, those making the case for Israel have sought to couch their arguments in language that appeals to young progressives. …..more
