'Not in our name': The Jewish movement for Palestine
11 Min Read
Jewish anti-Zionist movements are leading the fight for Palestine against the Israeli apartheid regime and alternative media is playing a bigger role than ever in giving these voices a platform they never had.
-
The Jewish movement against Zionism has proven that the occupation does not represent Jewish interests or safety.
(Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Hady Dbouq)
On October 19, nearly two weeks after “Israel” began its onslaught on Gaza, more than a thousand protesters stood outside the US capitol demanding the US call for a ceasefire to the slaughter.
No traditional Palestinian chants or Keffiyehs in sight, rather scores of Jewish Americans sporting black t-shirts that read “not in our name.”
Members of Jewish advocacy groups, including Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now, gathered at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. pic.twitter.com/trnY4jXgnk
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 18, 2023
In recent months, history has seen many "firsts." Coordinated attacks from the Axis of Resistance, the penetration of the Israeli "border" by fearless Palestinian resistance members, and a global campaign for BDS and Palestinian rights awareness.
But perhaps most impressive of all, and most unprecedented, is the very support extended from the brotherly arm of the Jewish people opposing the occupation. An unlikely ally for the struggle of Palestine, but a crucial one in the last six months.
Jewish Voice for Peace, a determined ally
Jewish Voice for Peace, a massive movement and often a large collaborator of such protests, describes itself as the “largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world.”
The group organizes a "grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of US Jews into solidarity."
According to the New York Times, Jewish Voice for Peace, and IfNotNow, another Jewish group vehemently critical of "Israel", have both organized antiwar rallies and report they have witnessed an increase in membership since the war on Gaza began.
American Jews and Jews worldwide have proven to the world that "Israel" is a Zionist settler project and does not speak for all Jews or represent a haven for Judaism.
On the contrary, as Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, a prominent figure within the Neturei Karta Orthodox Jewish movement in America, recently emphasized to Al Mayadeen, the core principles of Judaism, rooted in compassion and adherence to God's commandments, stand in stark contrast to the ideology of Zionism.
Rabbi Weiss further underlined that Zionist claims to the land of Palestine under the guise of religious entitlement are false and misleading, condemning the manipulation of religious symbols like the name "Israel" and the Star of David to garner global support.
Are US politicians tired of "Israel"?
Patrick Wintour, a diplomatic editor for The Guardian recently wrote that the recent remarks of Chuck Schumer aimed at Benjamin Netanyahu were “unthinkable” a decade ago.
This begs the question, how many US lawmakers have true conviction in their views on “Israel,” and how many have only been pressured by Israeli lobbies to support “Israeli security” at the cost of Palestinian lives?
Read more: How the war on Gaza mobilized the American left: NYT
This “chokehold” according to Rodney Martin, a former US legislative staffer, from the Israeli lobby prompted a group of over 100 liberal Jewish activists to say in a joint letter published that they "strongly oppose AIPAC’s attempts to dominate Democratic primary elections.
Days ago, after dozens of pro-Palestine activists were arrested at Columbia University, President Nemat Shafik was cornered by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar during a Congressional hearing, who asked her if she had seen a protest that was specifically targeted against Jewish people.
The Congresswoman questioned Shafik on how many of the students involved in canceled pro-Palestine events were in fact Jewish, to which Nemat admitted that one of the groups was Jewish Voice for Peace, essentially proving Omar's point that such protests were not anti-Jewish, but rather anti-war.
Young Americans more pro-Palestine
A YouGov survey in late October found that in the current war on Gaza, Americans aged 18-29 sympathized with Palestinians more than with Israelis, the only age group with such feelings. Experts such as Dov Waxman believe this may be due to older generations being convinced by their governments that "Israel" was a homeland for holocaust survivors, while younger generations recall a much more violent image of "Israel."
According to Kerry Anderson, many Millennial and Generation Z Americans see modern "Israel" as an established "state" with a powerful military capable of inflicting much more harm rather than "self-defense". Younger Americans, more in tune with social justice, particularly since the Black Lives Matter movement, see "Israel" as the aggressor, while acknowledging Palestinians are the oppressed population.
Another reason for the divide is religious belief. Less young Americans do not identify as conservative or Evangelical Christian, which are demographics far more supportive of the occupation.
In a series of surveys conducted between 2012 and January 2024, a trend of declining and polarized support of "Israel" among Americans with various political affiliations, ages, and ethnicities can be witnessed.
When observing the current state of affairs in the US, i.e. mass gun violence, a drug crisis, a healthcare system in shambles, and a housing crisis, it is not hard to see where the frustration of hundreds of thousands of young Americans is coming from as they witness their country investing billions of dollars to further a Genocide rather than resolve their own issues.
The Scarlet Letter: A for Antisemitism
For mainstream media outlets that support the occupation, history began on October 7. The Palestinian resistance motivated by nothing but "hatred for Jews" began ruthlessly murdering Israelis.
Only alternative media and independent journalism have dared to question the truth and provide a voice for Palestinians, subsequently allowing a larger audience to finally see the other side of the “conflict.”
Meanwhile, Zionists have relied extensively on their failing talking points utilized to silence people who question Israeli aggression as anti-semites. Anyone who dares to criticize "Israel's" methods of "self-defense" must bear the tenuous and exhausted title of being an anti-semite.
In a recent interview with Piers Morgan, Zionist Rabbi Shmuley accused presidential candidate and founder of The Young Turks, Cenk Uygur, of not having genuine care for Palestinians but rather "pure antisemitism."
"This is not about caring about the Palestinians," he spewed, "This is about pure antisemitism."
Later in the interview, he spared Congresswoman Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) the accusation of antisemite, calling her a "Jew-hater" instead.
The Palestinian-American congresswoman has rallied against the current administration for its complicity in the genocide.
Any logical person with a shred of decency, Jewish or otherwise, can see that Zionist actions are maniacal.
Hungarian-Canadian psychiatrist and author, Dr. Gabor Mate, a Holocaust survivor, expressed in an interview with Piers Morgan that he cried "every day for two weeks" at what he saw when he visited the Israeli occupation during the first Intifada.
He divulged that as a former Zionist, the movement was very important to him as "A salvation for the Jewish people" until he found out it was based on the expulsion and "multiple massacres" of the native population.
The warped version of reality pushed by Zionist pundits for 70 years is now crumbling live on air.
Self-hating Jews
When calling non-Jews antisemites fails, Zionists like to defer to calling Jews against "Israel" self-hating.
In a recent interview with Candace Owens, a popular right-wing former member of The Daily Wire, Jewish American professor Norman Finkelstein made a clear and concise point expressing that he was not pro-Palestinian, or pro-Israeli, but that he was simply “pro-truth and pro-justice.”
Israel vs. Palestine with Norman Finkelstein pic.twitter.com/8mVKz1B6cl
— Candace Owens Podcast (@CandaceOwensPod) November 17, 2023
Finkelstein has been attacked viciously for decades for his outspoken stance on "Israel," as well as his numerous writings documenting how the US Jewish elite used the Holocaust for political and financial advantage to further Israeli objectives.
Leon Wieseltier, a former Atlantic editor, called him "poison," and a "disgusting self-hating Jew."
Wieland Hoban, Chairman of Germany's Jüdische Stimme (Jewish Voice), a peace movement against apartheid, recently told Euronews that members are often called “clueless tokens, useful idiots or self-hating Jews," and accused of disrespecting the memory of Holocaust survivors.
Hoban noted, “There is no inherent contradiction between being Jewish and supporting Palestinian rights.”
If I were a self-loving Jew, would that mean everything I say is true? - Norman Finkelstein
It is important to note the psychology behind such tactics since they are used to force the masses into expressing support for Jewish "self-defense," by equating "Israel" with Jewish security and safety.
This forces the world to theoretically ‘pick a side’. Either you support "Israel's right to self-defense" or you support their complete destruction. After all, what nation wants to be compared with Nazi Germany or worse, Hamas.
Any resistance against the occupation is also smeared as religiously fanatical and motivated by ‘radical Islamism.” This is a blatant lie and an attempt to distort the true nature behind the resistance to apartheid Israeli aggression and land theft.
US foreign policy failures have led to a flood of Arab immigrants which have allowed Americans to see Palestinians and Arabs, or “human animals” as Yoav Gallant likes to call them, in real life, rather than on news broadcasts where they are vilified.
By sharing their classrooms, coffee shops, neighborhoods, and theatres with them, most have realized that Israeli and US propaganda simply does not live up to its promises.
Even in Hollywood, many have found it easier to come out and express their indignation about the genocide. Jonathan Glazer, a Jewish director and writer of "Zone of Interest," made a bold announcement after he won an Oscar for Best International Feature Film.
Glazer expressed that "Our film shows where dehumanization leads, at its worst," explaining that “Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people.”
His comments enraged Zionists, unsurprisingly, and this led to more than 150 Jewish artists signing an open letter in his support.
Alternative media and the future
Social media has thrown the Palestinian solidarity movement into the limelight and served as a platform for exposing Israeli crimes. Social media has been highly effective in coordinating numerous protests and calls for global boycotts. A simple share button can reach hundreds of thousands of people in mere minutes.
A 2022 YouGov poll showed that Americans aged 45 and older are more likely to take news from TV networks and their websites, while Americans under 45 are more likely to get their news from social media.
Palestinians in Gaza, such as filmmaker Bisan Owda, have amassed millions of followers on social media by providing footage directly from war-torn Gaza.
Rather than clean up its act, "Israel" has been ruthlessly continuing its incursion in the sad and deluded hope that it will destroy the resistance at worst, and at best annihilate the Palestinian people. It is becoming increasingly belligerent and reckless in its methods that can only be described as purely vile bloodthirst, looking at any opposer with arrogant defiance while it claims to fight the very evil it has become.
As a result, even ardent supporters of "Israel" are now beginning to backtrack and some are facing the inevitable truth: you cannot oppress a people for over 70 years and expect no resistance.
Numerous analysts are now pointing to the only ugly and irrefutable reality: "Israel’s" aggression on Gaza has only created thousands more Hamas fighters and in the future battles, in the eyes of many in the world, history will not begin on October 7.
