Guide for Jewish Anti-Zionist Allyship

The struggle against zionism is not a dispute between Jewish zionists and Jewish anti-zionists. It is important that Jewish anti-zionists recognize this and orient their politics and organizing around it.

• Read writing from anti-zionist, decolonial Palestinian writers. Listen to speeches from anti-zionist, decolonial Palestinian organizers. Seek out information from anti-zionist, decolonial Palestinian organizations. Learn about the history of zionism from the standpoint of its victims. Then think and reflect within yourself. What drew you to anti-zionism?

  Readers might begin with scholars such as Fayez Sayegh, Ghassan Kanafani or by reading through the information and resources at Decolonize Palestine.

If you find yourself feeling uncomfortable with or angry at the things these organizers say or write about so-called Israel, zionism, or about the perpetrators of zionist colonization, just sit with that discomfort. Do not bring that to Palestinians and expect them to manage it for you.

Part of developing real anti-zionist politics is developing a keen eye for politics that seem anti-zionist but, in fact, represent the interests of zionists.

• There exists an industry of Jewish organizers and organizations that siphons would-be Jewish anti-zionists away from radical anti-zionist organizing. Many of these organizers and organizations will claim to "oppose Israeli violence" or "oppose the israeli government" or "oppose right-wing zionism" or be “pro-Israel and Palestinians." They may even protest in the streets under these slogans. Nevertheless, these are “liberal" zionist dogwhistles.

  Jewish anti-zionists hoping to stand in solidarity with Palestinians should learn to recognize liberal zionism and make sure to avoid repeating liberal-zionist dogwhistles. Again, learning about zionism from anti-zionist, decolonial Palestinian organizers will prove invaluable with this.

The goal of Jewish anti-zionists should be to JOIN the global anti-zionist movement, not to speak over or co-opt it.

• There are likely already anti-zionist organizations actively struggling against zionism where you live. You should look to them for guidance and should learn from them. What is the terrain of struggle by you? What kinds of campaigns are they organizing or calls are they issuing? Join those campaigns and heed those calls. Figure out how you can add to the movement.

• In many cities, there tends to be two separate spheres of anti-zionist organizing: Jewish anti-zionism and Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab anti-zionism. While being Jewish may play a role in what calls Jews to anti-zionist organizing and may inform their worldview, it shouldn’t hold them back from simply joining the movement or make them feel entitled to speak over it. Anti-zionist Jews should be especially mindful of creating a situation where Jewish anti-zionist organizing functionally divides the movement. For instance, I have seen Jewish anti-zionist organizations host protests at the same time as a Palestinian-led protest taking place in another part of the city, forcing people to choose which protest they would attend, when the Jewish organization could have simply joined the Palestinian-led protest.

Jewish people hoping to enter anti-zionist organizing spaces need to decenter themselves and their feelings.

• The goal for anti-zionist Jews should be to disrupt zionist narratives, not to attempt to ‘save the soul’ of Judaism or absolve the Jewish community of its culpability for its communal involvement in zionism. When crafting speeches, solidarity statements, or making signs or fliers for rallies, events, or protests, anti-zionist Jews should be careful to avoid centering their feelings and experiences. Doing so can end up removing the attention from the people being directly subjugated by zionism. Further, if Jewish anti-zionists don’t decenter themselves when they show up, they run the risk of directly harming Palestinians in their community, Palestinian organizers, and the movement against zionism in general.

The success of the global struggle against zionism does not hinge on whether Jewish people support it. However, Jewish anti-zionists absolutely can support the struggle against zionism in real ways.

• It is plainly a product of racist zionist orientalism that the voices of Jewish anti-zionists are treated as more valid or trustworthy and anti-zionist Jews should understand that and acknowledge it directly in their public statements. That said, there are many instances where it can be helpful for anti-zionist Jews to organize and speak out as Jews against zionism. For example, amidst zionist efforts to redefine antisemitism within government institutions and at universities, Jewish anti-zionists can very effectively disrupt zionists narratives that zionists are acting in the interest of ‘Jewish safety’ or that they speak for the Jewish community.

• If you are involved in Jewish anti-zionist student organizing, it can be a major help to Palestinian student organizers for Jews and Jewish organizations to host/cohost events, cosign letters, and to disrupt and protest zionist events and organizations.

• When Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students and organizers are targeted by zionist organizations for their anti-zionist activism, Jewish students/student orgs standing in solidarity with them can make a huge difference. For those smeared as antisemitic, Jewish anti-zionist organizations can provide direct support by publishing letters of support or even offering to send letters privately to potential employers/institutions who might come across those slanderous accusations.

Jewish anti-zionists should work to disrupt zionism within Jewish institutions.

• Zionism is a settler-colonial movement undergirded by an international infrastructure. That global base of support is made up of many Jewish communal organizations and institutions. From organizations that host propaganda trips or directly fund zionist settlement to organizations that spread zionist propaganda, the Jewish organizations that structurally support zionism are many. This is a form of direct zionist harm that exists around us that anti-zionist Jews can and should struggle against.

• Finally, Jewish anti-zionists should relish the opportunity to "re-make" Jewish communities in alignment with decolonial analysis and against racist and oppressive systems, replacing racist zionist communal institutions, charities, and educational spaces with liberatory ones.