Word: shahak
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...Shahak contends that American Jews "deify" the state of Israel, thereby losing their ability to constructively criticize policies they would oppose in other situations. His writing on that subject is explosive. He asserted in a bulletin published by his group in 1972 that "the majority of fellow Jews... worship the material State of Israel like our ancestors worshipped the Golden Calf and Baal...
...point Shahak insists on making almost as often as he speaks or writes is the distinction between "principle" and "slogan." The former he describes as a belief under which an individual orders his life and a nation orders its social system. The latter is merely polemic...
...Shahak seems qualified to emphasize that distinction, for his activities over the past several years demonstrate a consistent adherence to principle. Shahak immigrated to Palestine in 1945 from his native Warsaw, Poland. A survivor of the Nazi concentration camp in Bergen Belsen, he says that the historical experience of the Jews should have made them the most stringent adherents to institutionalized human rights. In fact, however, he believes that blind devotion to the Israeli state has obstructed devotion to principle...
...Although Shahak's activities certainly arouse controversy and anger in the Israeli political arena, he avoids political alignment with any group. Labeling himself as a fiscally conservative "anti-Marxist," he nevertheless works closely with many socialists and communists, including outspoken lawyer Felicia Langer, whose defense of the many Palestinians brought before Israeli tribunals has made her one of the most prominent members of the Israeli peace movement...
While the Israeli faction headed by spokesmen such as Shahak and Langer remains very visible and vocal, it is still a tiny minority. Shahak said he expects the group's impact to remain at its present low level for the next several years. He estimates that the active membership of his own group is no more than a few hundred, although many more would rally to his cause, Shahak adds, if matters really came to a head--in the event of another war, for example. He characterizes the current mood in Israel as one of apathy that...