A non-Jewish leftist has taken it upon herself to address the anti-Semitism she sees as a problem in her political community. Judy Andreas is in her middle 50s, divorced and of white Christian background; originally from Ohio, she has been living for many years within the radical-left milieu of the San Francisco Bay Area as an out lesbian. She argues that her concern for Jews is “simply applying the same principles of caring toward an oppressed community” that the left applies routinely toward other embattled minority groups.
Reinforcing the surprise one feels at the level of her passion and commitment for this cause is that she is of the hard left, not a mere liberal. For example, she not only opposes US policy in Iraq but also condemns the invasion of Afghanistan. On Israel, however, she does not follow the far-left line. For a dovish Zionist like myself, her protective view of Israel is both a comfort and a perspective that I occasionally disagree with, depending upon the exact aspect of the conflict discussed.
More than 300 people, almost all left-wing activists, were drawn to the conference she organized in Oakland, California, August 2004 — “Facing A Challenge Within.” There was sharp contention between pro- and anti-Israel participants two years ago, and it carried on into a post-conference e-mail discussion group, marred by expressions of mutual animosity. But this split was much less evident in Andreas’s follow-up conference at the Double Tree Hotel in Elizabeth, [New Jersey] March 25-27.
For entire article, link to “Jews and the Left: Who are you calling ‘oppressed’?” in NJ Jewish News….
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