New Progressive Era Still Politics As Usual Regarding Israel

New York City is a city of diverse communities with diverse political opinions. When New Yorkers enter polling stations to cast their votes for city and state elected offices, we choose candidates who are committed to work on domestic issues that impact their respective districts, all of understanding that the winners will have the influence to make important changes.

I respect that individual elected officials have the right to freedom of speech; however, when they were elected to the New York City Council or as mayor they were elected to represent the people of New York City—not France, Italy, Mexico, or Israel. In a new, progressive New York, I naively thought politics as usual might come to an end, and for once our local elected officials would not take sides in a decades-old conflict, and, in so doing, alienate segments of New York City.

As a Palestinian-American born and raised in Brooklyn with family still in Palestine, I am disappointed by the actions of members of the City Council, who had the opportunity to use this moment of terrible conflict and great hardship to bring New Yorkers together. Instead, they chose to stand with a handful of political elites to show unwavering support for Israel.

Through their actions, these councilmembers are sending a message that some New Yorkers are more important than others. Rather than holding a “New York Stands for Israel” press conference, why not convene a “New York Stands for Justice and Peace” rally? This approach would not be far off from the stance former Mayor Bloomberg assumed over the course of his three terms in office.

Sadly, the councilmembers’ reaction was thoroughly predictable; the same switch gets flipped every time violence escalates in Israel and Palestine. There’s no discussion or reflection, just an identical knee-jerk reaction.

The state Legislature, the New York City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio all have no influence whatsoever upon the events in the Middle East. Their words mean absolutely nothing. They stand unequivocally with the State of Israel without addressing the criticism that stems from that country’s dozens of violations of international law, its building of illegal settlements, its apartheid walls, illegal checkpoints, siege on Gaza and disruption of the daily life of Palestinians. Mayor de Blasio sees it as his obligation to take a position in support of Israel because he represents the largest Jewish population in the country, making the erroneous assumption that all Jewish New Yorkers support Israel’s policies without question.

News flash: de Blasio also represents the largest Muslim population and the third-largest Arab-American population in America. In this month’s hostilities, over 160 Palestinians have been killed, according to recent news reports, and the United Nations estimates that 77 percent of the casualties in Gaza were civilians. These victims had names, dreams and aspirations. They were human just like you and me.

Support for Israel should never be the political litmus test for local elected officials. Their stances on women’s rights, social services, the environment, education, the economy, sanitation, infrastructure—these are the kind of issues we should demand to know their positions on and what action they are taking to address them, because these are the issues that impact us all and these are the issues they have the power to impact.

With the increasing political power and engagement of Muslim- and Arab-Americans, we have the power to insist that elected officials reconsider their same old, stock reaction to the complex conflict in the Middle East—and we will.

Linda Sarsour is the executive director of the Arab American Association of New York.