2017 Feminism and Zionism

Key Findings:

Summary:
Janet Freedman discusses anti-Zionism and antisemitism within the feminist movement; summarizes her experiences as a progressive Jewish feminist within the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA); describes the process and tactics which were used to promote a BDS resolution in that organization; and assesses where we are today and how we might respond to the ever-changing tactics of the BDS movement, including the charge that feminism and Zionism are incompatible.

The Linking of Women’s Rights and Anti-Zionism: The United Nations Women’s Conferences
The first of four United Nations Women’s Conferences dedicated to “the advancement of women everywhere, in all spheres of public and private life” and placing gender equality at the center of the global agenda took place in Mexico City in 1975. The delegates passed the first “Zionism=Racism” resolution by a UN-sponsored gathering, several months before the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 3379 equating Zionism with racism. 

Author and activist Letty Cottin Pogrebin attended the second UN Women’s Conference, held in Copenhagen in 1980, where the resolution was reaffirmed. She reluctantly concluded that “feminism might be helping to empower some women who hate Jews.” 

After the conference, Pogrebin published “Anti-Semitism in the Women’s Movement” in the June 1982 issue of Ms. Magazine. In her article, Pogrebin identified five problems which she felt characterized and supported the presence of antisemitism in the feminist movement, including the issue of invisibility from feminist consciousness: Jews were everywhere in the women’s movement, but unseen as Jews. 

The National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) and Its Jewish Caucus
Efforts by Jewish feminists to include antisemitism in NWSA’s mission statement that opposed racism and other forms of oppression passed only after including both Arabs and Jews as targets of antisemitism.

They founded a Jewish Caucus to address the invisibility of Jews as an identity category within the organization. The Caucus became a place where Jews could address the issues that affected them as Jewish feminist activists within NWSA. The membership and programs of the Jewish Caucus challenged the notion that “Jewish” and “white, middle class” were synonymous.

An Assault on Academic Freedom and Democracy
In 2015, the NWSA conducted an electronic poll of its membership and passed a resolution supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS). Unlike most other academic associations, there was no debate about this resolution within NWSA. Those who questioned BDS as a strategy to promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians were placed in the “enemy camp,” assumed to be opposed to justice. 

My Experience in 2015

With the BDS resolution to be voted upon by the membership within weeks, Freedman accepted an offer to speak on a panel of four presenters. This was the sole opportunity to present a divergent viewpoint on the resolution at the conference. Freedman used her time on the panel to demonstrate how the “Frequently Asked Questions” appended to the resolution and intended to allay concern about its content instead provided the very reasons it should be rejected.

A Surprise That Should Not Have Surprised Me

In response to Angela Davis' 2016 book, Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine and the Foundation of a Movement, Freedman notes the 2014 plenary session on Palestine, at which a call for a BDS resolution received an ovation, was planned with no consultation with the Jewish Caucus.

Suggestions for Action

Finally, the author offers suggestions for how faculty members can work toward fostering a more positive climate on campus and in academic associations; she invites AEN members and friends to share what has worked for them in creating discussions of Israel/Palestine that can oppose BDS, express a strong commitment to academic freedom and first amendment rights, and build community among Jews and with others who share similar perspectives and values.