Published: 14 November 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
“The right’s incitement machine against the left is at work all year round,” Zandberg told The Jewish Independent ahead of her visit to Australia this month, “but at times like this it’s especially poignant. I was the only voice in these studios questioning the attacks on Gaza, if not opposing them altogether.”
Zandberg, 43, may have lost the leadership race of her Meretz party in June to Nitzan Horowitz, but that setback has made her no less visible as Israel’s leading political voice calling for reconciliation with the Palestinians.
“Israel’s current policy toward Gaza leans solely on force and recurrent rounds of violence,” she says. “The government doesn’t lift a finger the rest of the time.”
“We’ve experienced six rounds of violence with Gaza over the past decade, with smaller-scale conflagrations over the past year. This ties into decades of conflict with the entire Palestinian people, with whom we share this land. Without addressing that larger context, we’re lying to ourselves and to the public,” Zandberg adds.
Israel’s current policy toward Gaza leans solely on force and recurrent rounds of violence. The government doesn’t lift a finger the rest of the time.
“Since the collapse of the last round of talks five years ago, there are no negotiations of any kind. Things have only gotten worse since the election of Donald Trump in the US. The situation isn’t at a standstill, it’s deteriorating.
“Moves like the US embassy relocation to Jerusalem; the regulation law of Israeli settlements (passed in February 2017); Netanyahu’s statement about annexing the Jordan Valley - these are all very dangerous and have de facto effect on the ground.”
According to Zandberg, Israel is not only suffering real violence from Gaza, but also mounting diplomatic pressure from its Western allies who are fed up with the political standstill.
“The world has somewhat lost interest in what’s happening here, that is true, but in the bigger picture, it still cares. The EU decision to label all settlement products is just one example that things aren’t static.”
Zandberg has met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas several times in recent years. She says his commitment to the two-state outcome and rejection of violence make him an important ally of Israel’s.
However, she did not deny that Abbas is also bound by political considerations and has stalled on reconciliation efforts with his main rival, Hamas.
The world has somewhat lost interest in what’s happening here, that is true, but in the bigger picture, it still cares. The EU decision to label all settlement products is just one example that things aren’t static.
“It’s in everyone’s interest that Palestinian unity be achieved,” she says. “Unfortunately, Israel isn’t encouraging this process but actually doing the opposite, implementing a policy of divide and conquer.”
'I can imagine us in a coalition with Lieberman and the Ultra-Orthodox'
Time has almost run out for Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to form a coalition, increasing the spectre of a third round of general elections within a year. Zandberg would prefer to join a centre-left government led by Benny Gantz and comprising Blue and White, Labour, the Democratic Camp and the Joint Arab List.
But she is realistic about the prospect of a broader coalition including parties less ideologically palatable to her, such as the Ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism, or Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu. However, partnership with National Religious parties like the New Right or the Jewish Home are out of the question, she says.
“Ultimately, the government is tasked with promoting certain policies. We represent the exact opposite of parties advancing the annexation of the West Bank, neo-liberal economic policies, and a reversal of the status quo on issues of religion and state.”
“As for the ultra-Orthodox,” she adds, “I have serious issues with them, especially as a feminist. But at the core, we have certain things in common; such as social issues and the peace process. We’ve sat together in the past, in the governments of Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak, but joining the same government will require concessions on both sides.”
While Avigdor Lieberman has highlighted the issue of drafting the ultra-Orthodox as key to his agenda, Zandberg describes the issue as “a political axe to grind.”
It’s important for me to sound a different voice, one that includes social justice and equality as Jewish values. To be Israeli doesn’t necessarily mean to support the government.
“For us, that’s not a significant impediment. Issues like civil marriage and gay marriage are much more critical in seeking social equality.”
Zandberg’s party demands drastic change in the interplay of religion and state, starting with the introduction of public transportation on the Sabbath.
“That’s the most acute issue. The absence of buses on Shabbat is an arrangement which began with the foundation of the state -- not necessarily as a permanent arrangement -- and affects the life of every Israeli. There’s also no halachic (Jewish legal) justification for maintaining the situation as it is.”
'I want a different Israeli voice to be heard abroad'
As she prepares to travel to Australia at the end of November on a speaking tour organised by the New Israel Fund, Zandberg says it is important for Diaspora Jews to hear “the entire range of political opinions in Israel.”
“Jews abroad are mostly exposed to the positions of the Israeli government, which only pushes them away from Israel, since their values are the exact opposite,” she says. “This is especially true in the US, where most communities are liberal.”
“It’s important for me to sound a different voice, one that includes social justice and equality as Jewish values. To be Israeli doesn’t necessarily mean to support the government. Who knows, we might be part of the next government.”
Tamar Zandberg will speak at 7.30pm on November 26 at the Bondi Pavilion, and at 7pm on December 1 in the MEMO Music Hall, St Kilda
Photo: Meged Gozani
