Pro-Justice, Pro-Security. A New Way to Think About Israel.

For too long, the conversation about Israel has been trapped between two words: justice and security. Supporters of Israel have emphasized security; pro-Palestinian advocates have enshrined justice.

As if you have to choose.

At LIBRAEL, we are choosing neither. We are pro-justice, pro-security.

Not because we believe the truth lies somewhere conveniently in the middle, as a compromise that probably achieves neither.

Instead, we believe something more fundamental: Israelis and Palestinians are both human beings, and both deserve to live with dignity, freedom, and safety.

Hamas militants breaching the fence on October 7. Israelis know what it means to see the horrors of October 7 on television and fear that our house is next.

That should not be a radical idea, but in today’s conversation saying it clearly is. And while some people are rushing toward the Two-State Solution (which means one thing for Israelis and a something totally different to Democrats), we first want to focus on the two values from which any solution - Two-State or other - should stem.

Security and Justice Go Together

As Israelis, we know what insecurity feels like. We know what it means to run to bomb shelters, to see the horrors of October 7 on television and fear that our house is next, and to live with the knowledge that there are some people, not all Palestinians of course, who want to harm us simply because of who we are, no matter how much compromises will we make.

Israeli lives matter. That means security, as cliché as the concept has become through the advocacy of countless Israeli organizations, is a real thing for us. Not a talking point and not an excuse.

Palestinians deserve security, too: security from oppression and violence, but also security in their homes and communities. Security that allows them to imagine a future that is more than endless conflict.

And they deserve justice: dignity, liberty, and prosperity. The opportunity to build a future of their own. Whether that future is achieved through a Two-State Solution or any other policy is not for us to decide, nor is it for us to advocate for.

And just as much as Palestinians deserve justice, Israelis deserve justice too: recognition as the democratic nation-state of the Jewish people, where Jews can survive and thrive after a millennia-long history of persecution, discrimination, and extermination.

Many of our fellow Israelis would read this and feel angry, perhaps even betrayed, as if we are asking Israelis to choose justice for Palestinians over security for Israelis. Many progressives would feel the same, as if Israeli security will always come at the expense of Palestinian justice.

That’s simply false. Because in the long run, we cannot have one without the other.

Good ideals collapse into themselves when pushed to the extreme. This would happen if Israelis - and our friends and supporters - continue to ignore the Palestinian desire for justice, or if Palestinians - and their friends and supporters - ignore Israelis’ legitimate security concerns and demands.

An Israel that is secure but permanently in conflict is not really secure. A vision of Palestinian justice that ignores the fears and concerns of Israelis will not achieve justice.

Good ideals collapse into themselves when pushed to the extreme. In the name of equality, the Soviet Union became one of the most unequal societies in history; in the name of liberty, the French Revolution led to systemic oppression and the suppression of liberties. The same could happen if Israelis - and our friends and supporters - continue to ignore the Palestinian desire for justice, or if Palestinians - and their friends and supporters - ignore Israelis’ legitimate security concerns and demands.

We start from Israel

We start from the conviction that Israel should be the democratic, secure, and prosperous nation-state of the Jewish people. We believe in Israel’s right to exist and thrive as the national home of the Jewish people, and that this goes hand in hand with liberal democracy.

Precisely because of that, we believe Israel must pursue a future in which Palestinians can also live with freedom, dignity, and security.

This is what “pro-justice, pro-security” means.

It means believing that Zionism and liberalism can reinforce one another. That caring about Palestinian rights does not make us less Israeli or willing to compromise on our security - and that defending Israel does not require us to abandon our commitment to justice.

And it means imagining something bigger, broader, than the politics of permanent conflict, without binding ourselves to outdated clichés and slogans.

That is the message LIBRAEL wants to bring to Israel and to liberal America.

Not another argument about which side to choose, but a new starting point.

Pro-justice. Pro-security. Pro-Israel.

If you liked our work, that means you share our vision and values. You can help us live up to the urgent task we’ve taken upon ourselves by donating to LIBRAEL here. For tax-deductible donations in the United States, click here.