Limited Space and the Vectors of Allyship: An Immanent Critique of ‘Jewish anti-Zionism’
Dedications:
This article is dedicated first and foremost to my friend Ibrahim Ebeid whose family lost their whole livelihood because of Zionist militias forcing them out of their home in 1948. His book ‘My Roots are Deep in Palestine’ is amazing. I suggest everyone purchase a copy if they are able to and read it. Know that Ibrahim is passionate about Palestine and the broader Arab cause as a whole and will not censor himself to appease the sentiments of ‘anti-Zionist’ liberal Zionists of any variety.
Finally I would like to give thanks to my mentor MAM Haza. A Yemeni patriot and a humanities scholar of the highest caliber who fights against the racism of academia in the imperial core. Without his guidance I would have never been able to write this article in the first place as it took me a lot of soul searching and self-reflection to get my head in the right place.
Preface:
Why the term ‘immanent critique’? Does it serve a purpose here beyond a simple vocabulary ornament to give this article some level of rigor to it? While on the surface that charge would stick, I chose immanent critique as my method because I wish to not only put into context the issues of ‘Jewish anti-Zionism’. I wish to critique its ideological basis, and to show why it ultimately siphons valuable space in discourse where the anti-Zionism of Palestinians, Arabs, Africans, and First Nations peoples should be getting attention. It is true that Zionism has harmed Jews as well, after all I can attest since I have experienced a fair bit of intra-Jewish racism and xenophobia in my life, but I am not a main victim of Zionism, in fact we could argue that I can and do benefit from it in ways which I will outline below.
If one benefits from a system of power that disadvantages one or more groups while privileging another, then it is incumbent upon them via deontic ultimatum to cede space in our discourse to those who are disadvantaged by that very same system. Marxist objections to deontology aside this is simply known as being a decent person and not taking up valuable limited resources which we have to help those affected by colonialism and white supremacy. Hence why limited space in discourse should be going to those who need it most, not to those who not only do not need it, but who ultimately benefit unjustly from conducting discourse above the heads of those they claim to represent.
The vectors of allyship is a technical term for this article which can mean the magnitude and the direction which allyship can have at moments in time. It is probably not an original term of mine as there is most likely some academic literature which uses similar if not exactly the same kind of terminology, but we will use it for the article. The vectors of allyship describe how much material solidarity one can give and in what direction that solidarity is heading towards, hence the word vector indicating both magnitude and direction. Solidarity is not a set of empty words we say to others when we express verbal affirmation of their struggle, but rather concrete material aid and willingness to put oneself in harm’s way to support those they claim to intercede on behalf of.
If any Palestinians, Arabs, Africans, or First Nations people reading this article have critical feedback they wish to give then please feel free. If it is made clear to me that I have drifted out of my lane then I will do what I can to make amends and rectify my error in that regard.
This article is inspired by the writings of Steven Salaita, Rima Najjar, and my good friend Ibrahim Ebeid. Ibrahim in particular has probably been most important to me in regards to how his uncompromising attitude towards Zionism and steadfast devotion to Palestine, the Arab people, and anti-colonial struggles the world over has helped to inform my own perspective. At first when I met him he immediately put me out of whatever comfort zone I had with how he did not waste time making 5 minute long disclaimers about why Judaism and Zionism are not the same and went straight to talking about how Zionism uprooted and destroyed whatever life he and his family had in Palestine, how Zionists continued to harass and threaten his life in exile as a refugee, and how to this day he has been unfairly maligned by many on the ‘left’ for his uncompromising attitude.
This article is once again going to be tough to stomach for a lot of Jews on the left. Trust me, I know how this goes. We feel that we are anti-Zionist enough only to be told that we are in fact reinforcing Zionism and/or enabling people who do possibly out of a sort of communal and/or familial obligation we may feel, or out of unaddressed insecurities on the matter. I have been there, have made many of the same errors I am about to highlight here, errors such as taking up too much space in discourse, listening to Jewish voices before listened to Palestinian voices, and thinking that just because I was ‘on the left’ and at least verbally opposed to Israel’s existence that I was not also an oppressor of Palestinians and other colonized people, or that being a Jew of Color and facing intra-Jewish racism absolved me of the same responsibilities white Jews have towards Palestinian liberation. So more than anything else I am writing this as a commitment to start over and do better from now on.
Finite Dimensions of Discourse
By finite dimensions I mean how our discourse has ultimately limited space and how we [Jews on the left] tend to listen to other Jews on the matter of anti-Zionism first before we ever listen to Palestinians on the matter. This is not unique by any means, as it is incredibly common for cis people to listen to other cis people about trans rights than to trans people or for men to listen to other men about the importance of feminism rather than listening to women. This is not to say that transphobia and misogyny are on the same level of severity as settler-colonialism, they aren’t. But they are 2 examples of how people in the oppressor group listen to fellow oppressors long before they listen to those they by virtue of social subjectivity oppress.
But wait a minute, how can we be the oppressor if we are anti-Zionist? Is that not simply a category we can assign Israeli Jewish Zionists? Don’t Jews in the diaspora get a free pass? No, we don’t. Key term being social subjectivity here. We are not oppressors by virtue of being Jewish, we are simply oppressors by virtue of how our social formation is shaped by Zionism. Not by how Zionism is supposedly some secret cabal [there is no need for conspiracy theory here] but simply how Zionism has been an integral part of European and American imperialism of the past 100+ years. How because of Israel’s very existence in the Levant and the Arab world more broadly the US and Europe are able to enjoy low oil prices, heavy profits from weapons sales to most every country in the region, and have a garrison client state which keeps down any meaningful Arab resistance to the white man. In other words Israel’s whole purpose as an ‘outpost of civilization’ for the Europeans is still very much relevant. That outpost allows for the white citizens of the imperialist metropole to have comfortable lives at the expense of Palestinians and Arabs as a whole.
Furthermore we should examine the role of Jewish community institutions in the diaspora in perpetuating anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism.* Let us begin with the ADL and how the organization has been integral in helping the US government push all forms of white supremacy for decades, whether it be spying on Arabs in the US, discrediting Palestine solidarity activism, or anything else of that sort.
*[It is important to also note that Jewish community institutions in the US and Europe also push large amounts of anti-Blackness as anti-Blackness is a huge component of Zionism. I will post a short further readings list at the end of the article containing readings that go into more detail. I may mention anti-Blackness throughout the article here and there as needed, but for an in-depth overview of Zionism’s anti-Blackness I suggest consulting the reading list I provide and doing further research as unfortunately I am not properly equipped to go too in-depth on anti-Blackness in general since I am a non-Black person.]
In a recent article from The Electronic Intifada titled ‘Social justice groups say drop the ADL’ written by Nora Barrows-Friedman the author makes a strong case for why the ADL is not to be trusted: “More than 100 leading anti-racist, social justice and civil rights groups are calling on allied organizations to end their relationships with the Anti-Defamation League.
“Many organizations in our communities find themselves in spaces with the ADL, using its anti-bias education materials, or counting on the ADL to support our political goals,” the groups state in an open letter.
“In light of a growing understanding of the ADL’s harmful practices, many progressive groups are rethinking those relationships,” the letter adds.
The letter was published on Tuesday along with a 34-page primer — “The ADL is not an ally” — on the ADL’s history of advancing repressive practices and a racist agenda.
A major Israel lobby organization, the ADL masquerades as a civil rights group while systematically undermining social justice movements and repeatedly denouncing Black activists for expressing support for the Palestinian liberation struggle.
It regularly inserts itself into corporate and public school “anti-bias” trainings while mainstreaming Islamophobia and disparaging Palestinian, Muslim and Arab community organizations.”.
She mentions specifically how the ADL has a history of smearing any Black activists who do not fall into line with Zionism as ‘antisemites’. This is a common tactic among [Euro+]* diaspora Jewish institutions to ensure compliance on the part of Black people so that they dare not express Palestine solidarity. Beyond this these institutions also regularly demand Black activists denounce any Black person they [the diaspora Jewish institutions] deem to be ‘antisemitic’ regardless of whether or not those people themselves are antisemitic. At the end of the day it is about compliance. 1
*[The term ‘Euro+’ refers to groups of Jews who aren’t only of European origin and therefore white, but also encompasses Sephardim, Mizrahim, and most non-Black Jews of Color that have by way of philosemitism become whitened in many respects. As in they [we] while not being white in the sense of whiteness equaling European these groups of Jews are very close to whiteness nonetheless, and often use this adjacent positionality to oppress Palestinians, Arabs, Blacks, First Nations, and other colonized people.]
Please excuse me for the long detour but it was important to give sufficient exposition on the point of social positionality and how we are in fact the oppressors in this case regardless of whether or not we are a white Jew. If that fact makes you uneasy, like you feel you wish to call me self-hating, antisemitic, then feel free. We aren’t here to feel easy and comfortable, we are here to put ourselves on the line to support Palestinian liberation in whatever way we are able to. Try and run from the truth all you want, it will eventually catch up to you and it will be pointed out sooner or later. Instead of running realize that this is my call for us to do better and not some denunciation of everyone as irredeemable. But note that we cannot simply claim anti-Zionism without first having gained the trust of Palestinians, of Arabs, of African people, and of First Nations.
Continuing on, we need to note what is meant by ‘limited space’. Why is space limited? What are the implications of this in the context of discourse on anti-Zionism? Limited space refers to how in our discourse there is ultimately a finite amount of time and space we can dedicate to a finite amount of voices to speak about a certain number of topics. As in having a bunch of oppressors take up space in discourse meant for the oppressed is a disaster waiting to get worse. Of course we as oppressors can stand in solidarity with the oppressed and even lay down our lives if need be, but as oppressors by virtue of social subjectivity we are under the leadership of the oppressed.
Discourse on anti-Zionism is ultimately discourse on Palestinian liberation, anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, et cetera. While it is true that intra-Jewish racism is a huge component of Zionism, and yes while I have in fact encountered plenty of white Jewish anti-Zionists who irked me with how detached and tone deaf they were on the topic in intra-Jewish racism, it is not something I need to be dragging endlessly into discourse or pretend that just because Zionism oppresses me that I don’t also benefit from it. Or worse pretend that my relationship to white Jews as someone they oppress means that I am in the same position as Palestinians. That is colonizer apologia at the end of the day.
In the context of Zionism and discourse around it I am just as much an oppressor as a white Jew, even if the white Jew is my oppressor qua intra-Jewish racism that stems from Zionism. We do not need more JoC and Mizrahi anti-Zionists representing ‘Jewish anti-Zionism’ in discourse, we need the whole space in discourse that ‘Jewish anti-Zionism’ carved out to be ceded back to Palestinians. The white Jews need not give it to me or other Jews they oppress, they need to give that space to Palestinians, or to African, First Nations, and Arab people who stand in solidarity with Palestinian liberation. We do not need to engage in convoluted games of representation politics which ultimately benefit one section of the oppressor class at the expense of another (more privileged) section of it, we need to give back the space we have effectively colonized in discourse.
How can we do this? How about when the topic is Palestinian liberation we stick to the topic at hand. No need to direct discourse towards the history of the Jewish diaspora, or how Zionism ultimately hurt many groups of Jews. It has, and still continues to do so, but our main reasons for anti-Zionism are to aid in Palestinian liberation, not to say that we were/are also oppressed. How about let’s not give hypothetical ideal solutions to decolonization in Palestine, drop the whole notion of ‘binationalism’, stop favoring one Palestinian liberation group over another, and interceding when we are clearly not needed. If the majority of Palestinians do eventually decide upon a decolonized Palestine as a ‘binational’ Arab-Jewish national republic that is up to them, but seeing how things have gone that is off the table completely. And even still that is contingent upon whether those who are settlers in Palestine are even allowed to stay after decolonization. Ultimately those matters are left up to the Palestinian people. Stop favoring PFLP and DFLP other Hamas and Islamic Jihad because the latter 2 don’t conform to your notions of ‘secularism’, and let Palestinians decide who they wish to conduct armed struggle against the Zionist entity. Regardless of the history of any group conducting armed struggle the Palestinian people are the ones to decide who gets to conduct that struggle on their behalf and we get no say in the matter. Let them have their land back, do all we can to help them in their struggle, and only do what we are told in that regard. Any decisions on decolonization are not up to us, so let’s not insert ourselves into the conversation no matter how uncomfortable it makes us.
The way the situation is now we by and large enable liberal Zionism to dictate parameters of acceptable discussion out of existential dread that antisemitism will appear at any moment in the discourse. This is a fear rooted in colonizer fragility at the end of the day. While it is true that people such as David Icke or Richard Spencer may invoke a false anti-Zionism as a means of being antisemitic it is important to note that they do that because they are not only virulently antisemitic, but that they are ultimately unable to interrogate whiteness and their own relationship to it. They themselves are not going to get punished for their nonsensical rhetoric; Palestinians, Arabs, Africans, and First Nations are those who pay the price. So be aware of that when you project anxieties around antisemitism. If something like the Protocols or legitimate Holocaust denial shows up in discourse let Palestinians handle it first and foremost. They are not going to let their struggle be used as a vehicle for bigotry against another people, nor are they going to allow white gentile Europeans try and center themselves as the main victims of Zionism when they are often it’s main beneficiaries in many respects. If your fear of antisemitism outweighs your commitment to Palestinian liberation then stop playing around with anti-Zionism, or find some way to work through whatever anti-Palestinianism and anti-Arabism you have been socialized into. It’s never too late to do better, but don’t be lazy about it, don’t expect anyone to hold your hand, and be accountable for any chauvinistic behavior or times you may swerve out of your lane. Drop the post-Zionism, non-Zionism, et cetera or get left behind.
This is not to say that within intra-Jewish discourse we should simply ignore Zionists and leave them be. If anything we should on our own time confront Zionism in Jewish institutions where we see it as that can help take the load off of Palestinians and other colonized people to allow them more room to speak. It would help them out a lot if they didn’t have to burden themselves with making long disclaimers about how Zionism and Judaism are separate, or how Zionism also harms Jews. They have done that for many decades, we by and large have demanded more from them, they are tired of it, particularly when we take into account how the situation in Palestine has gotten worse over the years. But ultimately if you do wish to do that it’s probably a good idea to consult with Palestinians and other colonized people on the matter and follow their instructions as thoroughly as possible. While this endeavor [combatting Zionism in intra-Jewish spaces] is not necessarily a lost cause just yet, it is a risky endeavor that can very well require us to cede ground to Zionism itself. We need people who are completely devoted to Palestinian liberation, not more oppressors who fancy themselves as ‘leftists’ trying to check off an arbitrary list of criteria as a means of gaining social capital for themselves.
To conclude this section I wish to critique a past error I made in regards to how I conceived of space in discourse. Last month I got into a spat with a white Jewish friend of mine over what I perceived as them positioning themselves as more radical than they are and taking away space in Jewish anti-Zionism from non-European Jews. Ultimately this attitude of mine was completely erroneous. I was simply asking for more representation in a space that (while exclusionary towards me) is ultimately a space that colonizes discourse meant for Palestinians.
While it is true that they occupy more space than me and do so because they have privilege over me because of intra-Jewish racism, it was ultimately colonizer fragility which caused me to resent them having that space rather than me. If anything it’s Palestinians who ultimately deserve the space they have. Not colonizer fragility in the sense that my white Jewish friend is not necessarily my oppressor [they and other white Jews are] but that I simply wanted the space their whiteness afforded them for myself and other JoC and Jews of non-European origin as we are most definitely underrepresented in anti-Zionist activism compared to our white Jewish siblings. They often exclude us out of preconceived notions of what it means to be Jewish, exclude us because (like in my case) they don’t consider matrilineal or patrilineal JoC with a single Jewish parent to be ‘really Jewish’, or because they feel insecure around us. Either way our marginalization within what is fundamentally an exclusionary anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Black space does not warrant taking the space for ourselves. To do so is to adopt a brownwashed liberal Zionism. We don’t need a brownwashed liberal Zionism which so happens to pose as ‘anti-Zionism’.
If my friend is reading this I would implore them to at least be aware that the space they are afforded allows them to more easily oppose Zionism than someone like me due to them being a European Jew. Whether or not they are in some ‘anti-Zionist’ liberal Zionist Jewish leftist space or some very decolonization oriented leftist space the dynamics of Zionism and philosemitism exclude me and other non-European Jews in favor of European Jews. No matter how hard they may try to not play into this dynamic they inherently reinforce this by virtue of social subjectivity. But I would also want to remind non-European Jews reading this that by virtue of Zionism and philosemitism we are privileged in the discourse at the grave expense of Palestinians and other colonized people. Even more so than European Jews are privileged over us and oppress us we are many times more privileged than Palestinians and oppress them many times more than European Jews have privilege over us and oppress us. Keep that in mind because we are definitely not let off the hook.
Zionism Does Not Oppress Equally
Who benefits most from Zionism? European Jews. Who is most oppressed the most by Zionism? Palestinians, particularly Afro-Palestinians, Arabs of all backgrounds, and First Nations. Who is oppressed by Zionism in some ways while simultaneously benefiting heavily from it and oppressing those who are most oppressed by it? Non-European Jews who are non-Black. I have been making this point multiple times throughout the article and now I wish to elaborate more in detail. This will mostly be directed at Jews of non-European origins in the diaspora for feel that their race and/or ethnic background gives them a free pass on anti-Palestinianism, anti-Arabism, and anti-Blackness. This analysis of mine in the context of the article does not apply to Black Jews as they face special marginalization by Zionism both within Palestine and in the diaspora especially, but it is true that Ethiopian Israelis do participate in the repressive apparatuses of the Zionist state and still have it better than Palestinian citizens of Israel, and Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. But let us not forget that there are African migrants in Israel who are at the bottom of society, and afro-Palestinians deal with anti-Blackness from all societies in addition to the colonial oppression they face at the hands of Israel.4 Israeli society is multi-tiered and has very clear hierarchies. The Jewish society especially is very divided with only the hatred of Palestinians and Arabs keeping them united.5
It is well known that Israel has engaged in massive racism against the Jews who became known as the ‘Mizrahim’ or those who were originally from the Arab countries and North Africa.3 It is no secret that much of Israel’s early history was defined by this dynamic, and the Ashkenazi versus Mizrahi divide has reproduced itself in the diaspora as the European versus non-European divide. We as non-European Jews, whether Sephardim from North Africa, Mizrahim, or Jews of Color with matrilineal or patrilineal heritage are marginalized by Zionism in the sense that Zionism created and still perpetuates modern day intra-Jewish racism, and how it has forced us to adopt a very whitewashed European Jewish identity against our wills, be subordinate to European Jews who tokenize us in their spaces, only to later mock us and further marginalize us. It is definitely a tough existence indeed.
But do you know what we also do? We can easily be complicit in the anti-Arabism, anti-Palestinianism, and anti-Blackness rampant in the Jewish diaspora. In fact we are all benefiting from those very things, both on a communal level, and on a systemic level with how organizations such as the ADL regularly work with the repressive apparatuses of the state.6 When synagogues hire police and other agents of the settler-colonial state apparatuses as a means of providing safety to those who attend services they effectively allow the normalization of white supremacy, anti-Blackness, the continuing genocide of the indigenous people of Turtle Island, et cetera. This is a systematic issue. Feeling safe at the shul comes at a heavy price for colonized people when those shuls have police there.
In addition we can leverage social capital more effectively in spaces meant for colonized people since by definition we come from a colonized background, but dynamics of philosemitism at play can allow us to take up more space than we would ever theoretically need. Limited space which should be going to Black and indigenous people, and particularly for Palestinian people. Should we simply become complacent in colonizing space as white Jews do? Do we want to be in true solidarity with colonized people worldwide or do we simply want to replace white Jews as colonizers.
Furthermore whatever marginalization we face because of Zionism is nothing next to what Palestinians face. Just because Zionism denies us fundamental aspects about ourselves, just because it has historically excluded and marginalized us in many ways, it has not put us in danger of losing our lives, it has not confined us to a densely populated ghetto in Gaza, nor has it dehumanized us to the extent that Palestinians in the diaspora cannot even avoid being blown up by Mossad terrorists who kill them along with their family members.7
We cannot simply keep being absolutely horrible to Palestinians the same way white Jews are horrible to us and expect to be thought of as anything other than colonizers all the same. We have definitely had a much harder time getting into anti-Zionism, it’s hard to have our perspectives heard when white Jews effectively dominate mainstream discourse, and it is very tiring to have them hold us to much higher standards that they refuse to hold themselves to. But then why do the same with Palestinians?
Why the feel the need to hold them responsible for any antisemitism on the left the same way white Jews do? Why do we feel the need to so desperately assert we are not like the white Jews we complain about while acting just like them, and often treat Palestinians, Arabs, Black people, and First Nations worse than white Jews treat us? I am sure it’s simply the bigotries and chauvinisms we were socialized into as children. We have become so selfish to think that because we aren’t those darn white Jews that we cannot do everything they do, and possibly even more so on to those we hold privilege over.
Ask yourself if you could stand being denied basic freedom of movement? Ask yourself if you could stand having a one ton bomb dropped on your house, being maimed for life and being left an orphan because your parents didn’t survive the blast? Ask yourself if you could stand having to make long disclaimers about the humanity of your oppressors just to assert your own humanity? Ask yourself if you could be forced from your home at gunpoint and have to march for several days through the desert only to arrive at a refugee camp where you and your family will most likely spend the rest of your life like the people of Lydda were in 1948?
Zionism primarily affects Palestine first and foremost. As such anti-Zionism is about Palestinian liberation on their terms. As painful as intra-Jewish racism is it does not even come close to what Israel has done to Palestine and it’s people. As much as I would love more discourse on intra-Jewish racism, as much as I would like to see more representation of anti-Zionists of Mizrahi, Sephardi, or JoC origin, as much as all of that would be nice they ultimately will come at the expense of Palestinians.
If anything we should lead by example and cede what space we are given in discourse back to Palestinians. The white Jews will either follow our example or they will continue being the same colonizers they have always been. Don’t use their bad behavior and laziness as an excuse to be lazy about this. Use your intermediate position between colonized and colonizer to effectively advocate for Palestine. We may not have the same abilities to navigate radical spaces the same way white Jews do, but we can still be the better people here.
Set the example of what an actual anti-Zionist ally to Palestinians and colonized people as a whole should be, but drop the notion of some separate ‘Jewish anti-Zionism’ and simply just commit yourself to anti-Zionism. Just remember that if you are reinforcing Zionism in any way be prepared to be called on it, be prepared to be knocked out of your comfort zone 24/7, and be prepared for dealing with lots of difficult situations where you are caught in the middle. But realize that we have it easy compared to Palestinians.
Let us leave this point behind for now and give a note to the white Jews.
The Diaspora Divide
As much as we don’t like the white Jews we should not turn anti-Zionism into a personal vendetta against them as that would de-center Palestinian people and be completely selfish on our parts. After all those sentiments can easily come back on us and be weaponized into talking points of ‘anti-Zionism is an example of white privilege’ we hear the Hasbarists utter so frequently, whether by the Zionist right in Palestine or by liberal Zionists in the diaspora who insinuate that anti-Zionists are predominantly self-hating white Jews. Anti-Zionism is not about getting back at them for how they have treated us, it’s about Palestinian liberation.
And to my white Jewish friends, please realize that the space you have been granted needs to be ceded to Palestinians. We don’t need more ‘anti-Zionist’ liberal Zionism that is more diverse in representation, we need to get behind Palestinian liberation and the liberation of all colonized people across the world. I have no doubt that many of you I meet who claim anti-Zionism and who put forward decent effort are genuine in your sentiments, but you all tend to have little awareness of your social subjectivities.
It’s easy to write off Mizrahim as right wing and reactionary or as fundamentally opposed to your European secular values of ‘humanism’. It’s easy to treat JoC as non-existent since many of us do not care to participate in any sort of Jewish communal life so we are ‘less Jewish’ because of it and written us off as tools of URJ liberal Zionist diversity quotas. Just realize that the Zionism which was originally made for you and you alone has brought about this situation in the first place. If some of you [white Jews] suddenly wish to then spin this as a defense of the Zionism coming from non-European Jews just know that we could say the same about many of you ignoring us historically and abandoning us to eventually become the tools of the Zionist right in Palestine, and in the diaspora to be puppets of liberal Zionist institutions that use us for diversity quotas. The underlying cause of these issues would be Zionism at the end of the day.
Obviously we are not it’s main victims, not even close. We simply ask for a redress of grievances in the context of intra-Jewish relations. But do not let this redress of grievances sway you towards liberal Zionism out of some obligation to fulfill a representation quota. Simply acknowledge past wrongs and make a commitment to do better on all fronts. Just as we all must make a commit to do better for Palestinians and colonized people as a whole. We all have a mutual responsibility to do so. As such we either work together under the leadership of Palestinians for the sake of anti-Zionism despite our differences and the historical bad blood between Ashkenazim and Mizrahim, European and non-European Jews, or we effectively concede defeat to Zionism. Should we concede defeat to Zionism then we have effectively endorsed it in totality.
Where to Proceed?
If you are reading this and thinking that I have the answers for how to effectively advocate for Palestinians, then you’re in for a bit of disappointment. Beyond simply doing what is required of us, such as making sure we push back against any false accusations of antisemitism directed towards Palestinians, debunking Zionist talking points whenever they come up in radical spaces, and not breaking BDS we need to follow the lead of Palestinian organizers on the ground.
We need to listen to a wide variety of Palestinian voices, from academics like Edward Said and Rashid Khalidi, to activists like Ali Abunimah, to revolutionaries like Leila Khalid and Ahmad Sa’adat, to passionate souls like Steven Salaita and Rima Najjar who might take us way outside of our comfort zone. They all have a valuable perspective to contribute. Stop listening to the Norman Finkelsteins, the Noam Chomskys, and the wide variety of Jewish critics of Israeli policy who simply give you a comfortable list of things to digest slowly.
Unless we are truly listening to Palestinians on anti-Zionism then we can forget being effective anti-Zionists. We may as well be honest and admit that we are still liberal Zionists of some variety. Unless we can truly step out of our comfort zones and realize how critical this work is, and how the liberation of Palestine will happen with or without us we will be left behind. And it will be for the better.
For unless we drop the notion of a ‘Jewish anti-Zionism’ separate from anti-Zionism and instead put of all of our energy into anti-Zionism as Palestinians define it, then we deserve whatever may come our way. Remember that well. Let us move forward to rectify past errors and repair whatever harm we have caused. Not to ease our guilt, but to be committed to truly doing better in aiding Palestinian liberation and opposing colonialism, racism, and imperialism the world over.
Conclusion: A commitment to Doing Better
So if I don’t have an overall plan of action for effective anti-Zionism, what do I have to offer? A dedication to doing better. A commitment to not repeat past errors which most likely caused harm. A determination to see others follow that same path.
I purposefully left the plan of action somewhat blank because effective anti-Zionism would be what Palestinian people decide, not anti-Zionist Jews who too readily intercede on their behalf without a care in the world as to how their [our] actions affect them. In fact that’s an important distinction I want to highlight. The ‘Jewish anti-Zionist’ versus the anti-Zionist Jew, how they differ, and why the former must be tossed out.
The Jewish anti-Zionist makes anti-Zionism about themself, about the Jewish experience. This is often out of good intent, as it is true that Zionism has harmed Jews all over the world in irreparable ways. It has destroyed community bonds between people in countries such as Palestine, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Libya, Morocco, and most of all Yemen, destroying their Jewish communities completely. It effectively makes Jewish communal life impossible for JoC in the diaspora and does not even acknowledge us as ‘real Jews’ most of the time. But it does not make our lives a living hell. It does not completely write our existence as a people out of mainstream history. It does not confine us to large ghettos and put us under a genocidal siege. It does not, nor will it ever deny us any and all sense of livelihood. It does not blame us for things we never did to justify itself. And finally, it does not view us as a population which must be killed and/or expelled from our homes to make room for wave after wave of settlers to live on the land we once called home.
Hence why it is inappropriate to claim anti-Zionism as a ‘Jewish cause’. Our Jewish values can most definitely inform our individual commitments to anti-Zionism. But anti-Zionism at the end of the day is defined by the Palestinian people. It is their struggle, and with or without us they will get their land back. As much as we would like to think we are the key to Palestinian liberation, we most certain aren’t. That is a harmful and chauvinistic attitude to have. I used to think that in the past, which was a huge error on my part.
I used to think that ‘binationalism’ would solve everything as I figured that simply implementing the UN resolutions Israel was bound by and changing 242 to allow for a single but binational state would bring everything to a close, and justice would be served. Was I ever wrong. A population that came as settlers has no say in regards to how decolonization is carried out, regardless of the ethnic background of the settlers. Your Jewish ancestors may have come to Israel from Iraq and experienced intense discrimination early in its history and still do today, or they may have come from Poland and survived the Holocaust to then later become part of the Ahusalim. In both cases your family are settlers on Palestinian land by virtue of social subjectivity. Even if they came from Levantine countries like Lebanon and Syria, they are still settlers in the context of Palestine, and possibly white adjacent in Turtle Island and Europe depending upon philosemitism and how well they can racially pass in society.
I have mostly directed this article towards Jews on the left who may consider themselves anti-Zionist or who may be heading towards that way. It is important to note that this idea I proposed is not my own by any means. In fact it was through reading a decent amount of Rima Najjar’s and Steven Salaita’s articles on the various frustrations they had dealing with ‘Jewish anti-Zionists’ that made me want to weigh in. Knowing my social subjectivity and where I stand I do not want my article to be taken as the authoritative source on this issue. At the end of the day it’s not our business to make such weighty decisions, but judging by what I have read I think it is safe to say that we should simply focus on anti-Zionism as anti-Zionism, and not anti-Zionism as ‘Jewish anti-Zionism’.
Finally, if MAM Haza is reading this I want him to know that he has greatly influenced my outlook on being able to think outside of the bubble of ‘the left’ we are so often trapped in, and to instead dealing with issues qua the issues themselves without thinking about how an arbitrarily selected group of European radicals will take our work. Your time you have spent mentoring me has definitely paid off and I hope to make you proud.
Sources for Finite Dimensions of Discourse
1:
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/social-justice-groups-say-drop-adl
Sources for Zionism Does Not Oppress Equally
3. https://apnews.com/7c226df039464b51a02945f9a88c815d
4. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aljazeera.com/amp/indepth/features/2017/03/afro-palestinians-talk-heritage-resistance-170329072425883.html
5. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181210-new-poll-finds-fresh-evidence-of-anti-arab-racism-among-israeli-jews/amp/
6. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/anti-defamation-league-us-attorney-s-office-eastern-district-pennsylvania-and-delaware
7. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.telesurenglish.net/amp/news/Ghassan-Kanafani-the-Palestinian-Revolutionary-Killed-by-Israeli-Intelligence-20170708-0022.html
Short list readings on the relationship between Zionism and anti-Blackness:
I picked 2 articles written by Black activists and one written by Palestinian academic Noura Erekat. Noura’s article in very academic in nature but otherwise goes over how Israeli society is a tiered system of privilege and oppression, while Palestinians are outside of that on the bottom forever as being socially dead within their own homeland. The Hood Communist article is a great general read overall, and Ajamu Baraka’s article draws good parallels between the US and Israel in regards to anti-Blackness.
Hood Communist article about how Zionist organizations smear Black activists as antisemitic as a way to keep them in line: https://hoodcommunist.org/2020/05/07/how-african-people-became-the-face-of-anti-semitism/
Noura Erekat’s article on how anti-Blackness informs the Zionist project in Palestine and why taking it into account is important so as to not reify universal contradictions and reinforce anti-Blackness https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/33280
Ajamu Baraka’s article the relationship between anti-Blackness in Israel and the US: https://www.ajamubaraka.com/antiblack-racism-exposed-in-israel-and-the-us
Short list of writings from Steven Salaita and Rima Najjar:
Rima’s article critiquing the notion of ‘binationalism’: https://link.medium.com/EEG0JBKSs9
Rima’s critique of the philosemitic narrative that privileges Jewish voices in radical spaces over Palestinian voices, and why Palestinians are put in an impossible position because of it: https://link.medium.com/9qP2CxoTs9
Steven Salaita’s article about how Palestine solidarity activism is often subject to the whim of (often non-Palestinian) gatekeepers that marginalize Palestinian voices, and why Palestinians should not be required to trust former Zionists who now claim to be anti-Zionists: https://stevesalaita.com/the-unlocked-turnstile-of-palestine-solidarity/
