ARZA joins call to counter extreme right-wing groups in Israel
Recent events in Israel have led to ARZA, the organisation representing Progressive Zionists in Australia, to join a campaign led by its world body ARZENU to call on the Government of Israel to take immediate and strong action against extreme right-wing groups, and for Zionist groups around the world to condemn their acts of terrorism and hate-mongering.
Steve Denenberg Photo: Henry Benjamin/J-Wire
“Every Jew should be horrified by these acts and statements” said the Australian Reform Zionist Association’s president, Steve Denenberg “and they should join us in wholeheartedly condemning the anti-assimilationist group, Lehava, and its leader, Benzi Gopstein when he says “Christians Are ‘Blood Sucking Vampires’ Who Should Be Expelled From Israel” and that Israel should “remove the vampires before they once again drink our blood.’”
“We also need world Jewry to speak out against the campaign of hatred and incitement that is being carried out by the pseudo-Zionist group, Im Tirtzu. This organization cloaks itself in the language of Zionism but takes actions that strike at the heart of the Zionist vision of a secure homeland for the Jewish people within a democratic State of Israel,” said Denenberg.
“In particular, we condemn a recent video that incites viewers against four Israeli Non-Governmental Organizations — declaring them traitors, “foreign plants” of European governments, and supporters of terrorism. We also reject their attack on the President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, for his statements that Reform, Progressive and Conservative Jews are equal members of the “one family” of the Jewish people.”
“With regard to the utterings of Lehava’s leader, were the word “Christian” replaced by “Jew” anywhere in the world, the entire Jewish community would be up in arms, calling on the Government of the country to act against such vile and discriminatory language” said Denenberg. “Accordingly, we expect nothing less from the Government of Israel, who should instruct the Prosecutor and Police to immediately launch an investigation.”
ARZA Australia totally endorses the ARZENU perspective that the pre-requisite for any successful Zionist vision is a commitment to democracy and civil society in Israel. “We join people in Israel and around the world in unequivocally condemning the statements and actions of these groups, as well as those using a wedding to call for violence against the Government and celebrating the murder of a Palestinian baby and their family,” said President of ARZA, Steve Denenberg.
“These actions are a direct threat to Israel’s democracy and contrary to Israel’s founding vision to “foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants… based on freedom, justice … [and to] ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex…guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture…” said Denenberg.
“ARZA will actively participate in this global campaign to protect Israel’s commitment to democracy by encouraging Zionist Federations to condemn these groups and to support actions in Israel to outlaw them.”
The Zionist Federation of Australia’s president Dr Danny Lamm is currently overseas and declined to comment until he returns to Melbourne.
I am a Progressive Jew and I am a Zionist. And I wholeheartedly reject ARZA’s misleading, hysterical, distorted, biased, loony-left posturing.
I have never heard of Lehava or a wing-nut called Gopstein. In a democracy like Israel anyone is free to say anything he or she likes no matter how stupid or offensive, as long as it is not treasonous, defamatory or inciting. ARZA, like all extremist groups demand the freedom to say anything and the protection from having to hear what their opponents say; they are true democrats – NOT.
Im Tirzu is a true Zionist group that has got sick and tired of the loony-left which seeks Israel’s destruction to validate their ideology that all people can live together and love each other. That forced and faded ideology does not work, especially in the muddled, muddied and bloodied ME.
Islam and totalitarian regimes frustrated every gesture of good will the Jewish state extended to its enemies. The battle between Israel and her enemies is religious and that enemy is a religion where the Jew is, at best, a tolerated inferior and where the truth of Allah is validated by victory on the battlefield.
Im Tirtzu stands up for Israel, a liberal Western democracy. The problem with Israel’s lefties and their Diaspora claque, is that they cannot accept their irrelevance.
LET THEM GO AND LIVE IN ISRAEL, AND JUSTIFY THEIR VIEWS AGAINST THE PEOPLE LIVING THERE. THEY ARE FOR THE BDS AND EVERY ACTION AIMED TO DESTROY THE STATE OF ISRAEL.
http://www.aijac.org.au/news/article/rudeness-to-palestinians-it-s-about-incitement
The extreme right wing groups in Israel are a very small minority of Jews.Unlike the Palestinian terror groups which are an integral part of Palestinian Society and are supported by most Palestinians.These latest terror attacks have been incited and initiated by Abbas and his henchmen.Time these so called progressive Zionists called a spade a shovel and denounced this terror supported by Abbas.
Supporting the loony left again I see J-Wire. Don’t we have enough to bear without this lot.
I was born a Christian But am more Jewish and attend synagogue. I am deeply offended by the remarks made by Benzi Gopstein. Furthermore I wholeheartedly support Australia my birth country and Israel
Added to my comments during late November into December 2016 I did a crash course on the Talmud via Chabad.org