Zionism or International Law: On Which Turf Do We Battle?

Among the publishing class of Israel’s critics, a boundary (by no means inseperable) exists in how best to approach a critical analysis of the situation, and in turn, which path toward a solution. For the likes of Norman Finkelstein, Noam Chomsky and organizations such as the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, philosophical discussions about Zionism are fine for the classroom, but changes in policy are the goal. Finkelstein often points out that the entire “international community” (meaning for these purposes global institutions and popular opinion) is fairly unanimous on the basic contours of the issue: Israel is required by law to retreat to the 1967 borders, end the occupation, and arrive at a just and consensual settlement to the refugee question (whether full right of return or reperations). The International Criminal Court has ruled against the apartheid wall, and every mainstream human rights organization is in basic agreement about the systemic abuses of Palestinians by the IDF.

Yet there is no such consensus on Zionsim, they contend: national liberation movement or racist colonialism? Fallen from grace or corrupt from the start? Activists in the Finkelstein camp may recognize the inherent problems with such international institutions as the U.N. or NGO’s (Finkelstein himself remains an avowed Communist, surely grasping how distant such bodies are from his ideals), but see no use in arguing from a weak and divided position. Should international law actually be followed (an untested proposition to be sure), conditions for Palestinians would surely ameloriate. Deal with the possible, they say, not the ideal. As Hussein Ibish of the American Task Force on Palestine summarizes in a recent debate,

“If you are involved in Palestinian national liberation for decades, as I have been, then it is clear that to have an effective political program you need a clear and well-defined goal. Without it, you can have no coherent strategy, and, without a coherent strategy, you cannot be effective. Things will just be random and ad hoc, and whatever momentary victories take place end up getting lost in the ether. So the question, ‘What is our actual goal?’ is crucial.”