Question. Is Zionism Under Threat of Redefinition by Non-Jews? (Part 2 of 2) by Sheri Oz

...So Fred, I suggest you lament less about us Jews. I do not have to agree with you to respect you. I have heard your definition of Zionism and your ideas regarding our future – that the only good future is with a two-state-solution – and I thank-you for sharing your thoughts with us. I have enough confidence in my own powers of perception and strength of will to consider what you have to say and then decide for myself. And I have enough confidence in the will of the Jewish People to do the same.

Sheri Oz..
Israel Diaries..
03 September '16..

Maroun complied with Susskind-Sack’s insistence that non-Jews are pro-Zionists and can never be considered Zionists (see Part 1 of this two-part series). According to his latest Times of Israel blog post, he apparently accepted her application of replacement theory to this situation and the contention that non-Jews who call themselves Zionists are out to oust Zionists from Zion in some way. He draws an interesting parallel between Palestinian Arabs and Israel but develops it wrongly in my opinion. In doing so, he does a disservice to both and ends up with a nonsensical argument. That is unfortunate because I respect him as a man and as a writer. My critique of his article is threefold and I hope I will be able to state this clearly.

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Let me first state that this piece is written out of respect for Fred Maroun. I have seen him grow as a writer over the past year and value his input into the discussions surrounding the problems facing Israel and our neighbours. I debated with myself whether or not to rebut this piece and decided that to ignore it is to let premises I believe are mistaken remain unanswered in the public sphere. Furthermore, if we write only to have people say they agree with us and how wonderful we are, then we are not serving a useful purpose. I invite Fred and anyone else to cut apart anything I write because it is through criticism that I have been forced to dig a bit deeper, to re-examine my own assumptions and revise some of my own ideas. I hope that Fred (and anyone else whose writings I have criticized) accepts this as a contribution to our growing understandings as we battle ideas among ourselves, all the while maintaining esteem for those who disagree with us.

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