More Zionist than the Jewish state itself

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man February 9, 2014 | Edit

The man who wants to take over the Zionist Organization of America is further to the right and more of a warmonger than the most right-wing government Israel has ever had.

The Zionist Organization of America was one of the first major Jewish-American umbrella organizations to support the nascent State of Israel. From Louis Brandeis to current president Morton Klein, the organization has seen ideological shifts – and with them varying levels of support. It’s safe to say that the organization’s heyday is long gone.

Morton Klein has headed the organization for the last 20 years and this year, his leadership is being challenged by one Steve Goldberg. The challenger, as I’ll call Goldberg, appears to be even more of an extremist than the man he hopes to make his predecessor – and is certainly further to the right politically than Israel’s own government.

Five takeaways from Goldberg’s ‘campaign video’ (below):

1. Goldberg boasts of representing the Jewish Defense League (JDL), which was founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane. Like Kahane’s other movements, the JDL was classified by the FBI as a domestic terror group for its attacks against Muslims in the United States.

2. Goldberg wants Israel to annex the entire West Bank, a proposition that even the current far-right Israeli government itself shot down just today [Sunday].

3. Goldberg says he believes a two-state solution would be “morally wrong and strategically stupid,” putting him directly at odds with Israel’s current leadership (at least on paper).

4. According to Goldberg, who apparently takes cues from his former client Kahane, Palestine is not Palestine; Jordan is Palestine.

5. When it comes to the Iranian nuclear program and efforts to stop it, Goldberg asserts, “only military action is going to stop Iran from going nuclear … Israel needs to take preemptive military action.” Let’s remember that even Benjamin ‘Bomb Iran’ Netanyahu argues that sanctions should be backed by “a threat” of military force. By saying military action is the only way, Mr. Goldberg is openly defining himself as a warmonger.

h/t Jeremy Elster

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TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies. This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza. We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives. Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

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