In Response to Chuck Schumer’s Speech in the US Senate
It was refreshing to hear from Senator Schumer, not just as the leader of the US Senate, but also as a Jewish American leader speaking about the situation in Israel-Palestine. As a Muslim American, we welcome his candid remarks that should create a platform for dialogues among Muslim Americans and Jewish Americans, so that our collective voice can lend some level of credibility to American policy and stance which has long been biased towards Israel without any pre-condition and had undermined our stance in the world for a long time. While we welcome this remark and we suspect it happened after a lot of internal deliberations within the Democratic party, government officials and within larger Jewish community, one should not lose sight of the fact that our expedited delivery of weapons to Israel since the conflict re-ignited on Oct 7 and continuing vetoing in the UN Security Council are real barriers to our moral capacity to speak candidly at this time. The recent show of absence to vote is better than vetoing but does not erase our continued complicity.
Our complicity in this tragedy and lack of global leadership is undeniable, irresponsible and cannot be whitewashed by putting blames on Netanyahu, Israeli extremists, Israeli settlers - many of whom come from USA, Palestinian President, Hamas, and Arab nations without owning up to our own role and misguided efforts in the past. Our intent may have been genuine, but our conducts left room to speculations that we were not a neutral broker, and the pro-Jewish lobby would not let us be.
Several key facts are to be laid out if we are to understand his remarks and to give context to our fellow citizens. First and foremost, we need to acknowledge that Holocaust happened in Germany and Europe. Palestinians (Muslims, Christian and Jews) had no rule in it and should not pay the price. Placing historical claim to lands where generations of people of different faiths (particularly Jews, Christians, and Muslims) had lived for centuries in peace and to allege that God somehow favors one group over another based on tribal or religious affiliation is contrary to the very notion of truth and justice on which all scriptures are based upon, especially the Abrahamic faiths. As the Qur’an says in Chapter 5, titled after the Last Supper of Jesus “Unto each religious group God had prescribed different rules and rituals. Had God willed, God could have made all of you into a single community, but God wanted to test you in what you find yourself with. Therefore, compete in goodness (not in evil). You all will be gathered before God and then God will inform you about your difference. (5:48)
Second, we as Americans cannot and should not accept the notion that a state can be for one religious group (in this case for Jews) to the exclusion of others or a state when the majority religious group routinely dehumanize, restrict and intimidate its minority citizens (Muslims and Christians), where one group (Palestinians already displaced) is put into open air prison and whose movement, livelihood and dignity is left to the whims of a military apparatus and extremist settlers violating all norms of human rights, democratic institutions and rule of law. Such practices are incompatible with our democratic principles and our willful ignorance and lack of effective deterrent is part of the problem.
Third, we cannot selectively apply our moral indignations in one place and fail to be equally vigorous in other places such as large-scale persecution of Uyghurs in China, the Rakhine people in Myanmar and Ukrainians in their own land by Russia because they happen to be non-Jewish victims. As the Qur’an says, “…persecution is worse than killing…” (2:217) because persecutions impose a sustained denial of human freedom, honor and access to livelihood. Too often killing is also part of the toolkit of persecution, something we ourselves had inflicted on American Indians, African Americans, and many places around the world.
Fourth, the polarization of our own country and political instability in our democracy where a major political party, which once was at the forefront of fighting slavery under President Lincoln, has lost moral clarity and is consumed in White Supremacy, and yes, abusing the teaching of Jesus, will make this task very difficult. It calls for our collective effort to rally our citizens to protect our democracy at home first and apply the same principles to our allies and our adversaries, without exception.
In this backdrop, we applaud his courage to speak and rally us all around a more equitable solution for Israel and Palestine. Four impediments that hinder progress were articulated. May we suggest a fifth one. And that is our own country, which needs to and must be an unbiased broker and willing to enforce any agreement that is mutually agreed to. As the Qur’an says, “Uphold justice and equity and bear witness for God’s sake, even if it means testifying against yourself, against your parents, and against your community —be they poor or powerful. God has better claims than these people. Do not follow your vain desires, lest you deviate from truth. If you distort the truth and refuse to testify, then be aware that God knows the exact nature of all that you do (4:135).
We are also reminded of a great advice and caution from Prophet Moses to the Children of Israel when they complained about the tyranny of Pharaoh. Moses said to them, “It may well be that God will destroy your tormentor and give you a hand in overseeing the affairs of the land. God will then see how you conduct yourselves.” (7:129). This guidance is to us in America as well and we as a country will do well if we heed this timeless advice.
