The UN Partition Plan & the Golden Calf
Did the United Nations give the Jewish people a state? Whose interest does this narrative serve and what impact has it had on Israeli society?
Rav Yehuda HaKohen is a West Bank Jewish organizer & educator. As a leader in the Vision movement, he works to empower students to become thought leaders & active participants in the current chapter of Jewish history. As part of Semitic Action, he organizes grassroots dialogue sessions for Palestinians & Israelis seeking to transcend competing one-sided narratives in favor of a more scientific analysis of what forces us into conflict.
Did the United Nations give the Jewish people a state? Whose interest does this narrative serve and what impact has it had on Israeli society?
Jewish indigeneity to the land of Israel can’t just be a pro-Israel talking point. It must be an identity Jews internalize as part of our own decolonization.
Thinking outside-the-box & questioning the assumptions behind most of our political conclusions can prevent Israel’s national-religious camp from losing our way or unwittingly betraying the struggle we’ve committed our lives to.
We can’t judge those who didn’t fight. But we can acknowledge that within the context of a system that fostered an exclusive focus on personal survival, fighting was an act of reclaiming our humanity.
Israel’s laws and customs possess incredible cosmic significance way beyond the revealed reasons for which they were ostensibly established.
Those interested in solving this conflict must transcend the battle between two competing stories and construct a larger narrative inclusive enough to encompass both ostensibly rival narratives.
A ‘narrative’ is a version of reality – a story told about a chain of events that organizes facts while being influenced by ideology. The same chain of events can be organized into many narratives, especially if influenced by different ideologies.
Until now we’ve defined a ‘Jewish state’ as one that places superficial Jewish decorations over a European-style nation state. But this can never satisfy our country’s fastest growing populations.