Celebration of 75th Anniversary of Israel sparks growing concerns from local human rights activists
[Editor’s note: This story, which originally aired on April 25th, 2023, has been amended to add context and clarifications to certain elements of the piece.]
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— Members of the Jewish community celebrated Israel’s 75th anniversary with a beach barbecue at Leadbetter Beach.
But this 75th anniversary brought forth growing concerns from students, activists, and locals about what it means to celebrate the birth of Israel.
One organization called Jewish Voice for Peace drew a clear distinction between Judaism and Zionism, saying that you can be Jewish and still be critical of the Israeli government’s occupation of Palestine.
Protesters gathered at Leadbetter Beach Tuesday evening to raise awareness about the occupation of Palestine. [Editor’s Note: A representative of The Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara notes “there were less than 10 protesters at an event with 150 people.”]
“This anniversary is not an anniversary of celebration of independence. It's rather a mournful experience of loss…It also reminds me of the fact that I cannot return right now to my dad's village because it was completely destroyed in 1948,” said UCSB PhD Student Sebaah Hamad.
For many Jewish people, Israel represents the promise of a place to call home after facing centuries of persecution.
“Israel is the realization of a dream that that there could be and should be a place for Jews around the world if they so choose to have the opportunity to go and live in this land that has been holy to us since 3000 years ago,” said Rabbi of Congregation B’nai B’rith Daniel Brenner.
But other Jewish people have expressed horror and grief that Israeli human rights violations are being committed in the name of their Jewish faith. [Editor’s Note: A representative of The Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara says "the policies and practices at issue are actions of Israel's government, not actions on behalf of the Jewish faith, all Jews in Israel, or Jews anywhere else.”]
“We are actually asking why they're celebrating it. Why are you celebrating a country that is so oppressive?…When Palestinians are treated so badly, so inhumanely. That hurts me profoundly… I don't really believe it is a democracy when you only allow Jews to be citizens,” said Jewish Voice for Peace Organizer Barbara Parmet. [Editor’s Note: Israel has non-Jewish citizens. As an example, The Israel Democracy Institute says that as of 2020, the number of Arab citizens of Israel was roughly 1.6 million, and the majority of them are Muslim.]
Jewish organizers from the “Jewish Voice for Peace” say that this contentious issue is not a religious or cultural issue, but rather an issue of human rights.
“We want to get the word out that not every Jew supports Israel. We want to let the public know that not all Santa Barbara in this case support Israel. And concretely, we want people to call their congresspeople and get them to support current bills in Congress and any bills in the future that will put a check on Israel and get the US out of culpability for enabling Israel,” said ‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ Organizer Rand Clark.
Clark’s fellow organizer Barbara Parmet says, “We grieve with our Palestinian brothers and sisters on this day of Nakba, the catastrophe, the ethnic cleansing, that occurred 75 years ago when over 750,000 Palestinians became refugees from their land and home.” [Editor's Note: A representative of The Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara disagrees with the use of the term ethnic cleansing, and notes that in 1948, the year Israel declared independence, it was also engaged in a war with multiple Arab countries.]
Protestors here say that the right of Jewish people to a homeland should not come at the expense of Palestinian lives.
They say that the only way to change the status quo is by continuing to organize and teaching others about the history of settler colonialism both overseas and in the United States.
