When it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict, I am decidedly on the dovish side of the fence. I am a strong supporter of the two-state solution. I have written that Israel is on the path to becoming an apartheid state. I have called for the United States government to more forcefully condemn Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
And yet, I find myself increasingly alienated from the political left when it comes to discussions of Israel and Palestine.
The reason is simple: I am a Zionist. I believe that the Jewish people, of which I’m a member, have the same right to self-determination as any other national group, including the Palestinians. And I believe that opposition to Israel’s policies—including the so-called BDS movement, for boycott, divestment and sanction—is increasingly taking on the ugly tenor not just of anti-Zionism, but also of anti-Semitism.