TULSA — Some see the recent atrocities committed against Israeli settlers as a bitterly ironic turn in Israeli politics, because - as a professor at the University of Oklahoma points out - many of those settlers were political opponents of the Netanyahu government, and supporters of peace with the Palestinian people.
[Hear the KRMG In-Depth Report on the political fallout of Hamas’ attacks on Israel HERE]
The last year has seen regular and well-attended protests against the Netanyahu government, specifically regarding “judicial reforms” which protesters say would eliminate the checks and balances critical to a representative form of government, and lead to religious hard-liners seizing full control.
Many of those protesters, Professor Alan Levenson told KRMG Sunday, would possibly have come from the very kibbutzim targeted by Hamas during its initial massacre of civilians.
He holds the Schusterman/Josey Chair in Judaic History at the Schusterman Center for Judaic and Israel Studies at the University of Oklahoma, and according to the school’s website, “has written extensively on the Jewish experience for both scholarly and popular audiences.”
“These are people who are... generally speaking grew out of the labor movement, and are supporters of peace with the Palestinians. These were actually, on the whole, on these kibbutzim, these were the people who were murdered,” Levenson said.
Himself a supporter of a two-state solution to peace in the region, Levenson said the political opposition has been all but silenced, for obvious reasons.
He does think the formation of a new (albeit temporary) coalition government, along with a war cabinet, is a positive development.
“Actually, I’m glad they formed an emergency war cabinet,” Levenson told KRMG, “because a couple of - two or three - of Netanyahu’s ministers were ministers because they were, you know, idiotic supporters of Netanyahu, not because of any great skills they had as generals or diplomats.”
Now, he believes, the new war cabinet will consist largely of people with the skills necessary to defend the country.
As for what Oklahomans can do to support Israel, he recommended that “everybody send their best wishes, letters, emails, everything to their friends there.”
“Send support,” he added, “because it actually does matter.”