Sorry, You Can’t Be “Progressive Except Palestine”
American liberalism has long had a curious quirk: that of the liberal who is progressive on every issue except Palestine. But as the brutality of Israel’s occupation becomes impossible to ignore, that position is increasingly impossible to hold.
Israeli soldiers stand behind razor wire near the Palestinian village of Bil’in in the West Bank. (Getty Images)
Israel’s new president, Isaac Herzog, warned last week of a “new kind of terrorism” menacing the Jewish state. Perhaps a new weapon or strategy employed by Hamas? Or some Iranian-backed conspiracy within Israel’s borders?
No. Israel has now stretched the term “terrorism” to include Ben & Jerry’s recent promise that they will stop selling ice cream to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
To be clear, Ben & Jerry’s never said that they would withdraw sales from Israel as a whole, only to Israeli settlements in the occupied territories — settlements that are in violation of international law. It’s a minimal but symbolically meaningful concession. But that hasn’t stopped the hysterical backlash and threats coming from the Israeli state. Or from some US politicians, including, most comically, New York City’s liberal mayor Bill de Blasio, who scolded the company and announced that he won’t be eating Cherry Garcia anymore in protest.
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