Notes on Anti-Zionist Climate

[Originally posted on Instagram]

We have to be mindful of the ways in which political strategists attempt to derail our movements by dividing them. Representatives have begun demanding those who advocate for ceasefire “separate themselves” from those calling for freedom for Palestinians from the land to the sea. Moderates want to divide the Free Palestine movement and steer it to the political center. They want us to focus solely on the suffering of Israeli hostages in an attempt to appeal to our humanity as Jews. 

We cannot understand the experience of being a hostage. We know both Israelis and Palestinians have experienced horrors. But we refuse to “both sides” this issue - by focusing primarily on the suffering of the Israeli hostages and diminishing the unlawful imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, the murder of 10,000 Palestinians in the past month, and the vengeful and unrelenting genocide Israel imposes upon Palestinians daily, you are choosing the side of the oppressor. 

Moderates want to call us heartless and cruel for suggesting we should not center Israeli hostages when entire Palestinians families are being systematically murdered and wiped off the civil registry. We are not heartless. We have grown up watching Israel legalize occupation and genocidal acts in the name of Jewish safety. We have read too many stories and seen too much footage of Israeli oppression of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. 

And we are heartbroken, angry, and done centering Israel in this narrative. We have seen Israel for what it is: a violent settler colonial state that will commit atrocities in order to justify its continued existence. Palestine will be free. From the river to the sea 🇵🇸