On December 5, 2023, I joined other Jewish students outside the United States Congress to protest a resolution confusing criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. Our calls to reject the resolution have not been heard. Two weeks earlier, a hearing was held in which our concerns were once again ignored; only pro-Israeli witnesses were called to testify.
For us progressive Jews, it seems that elected officials who proudly supported former President Donald Trump after he refused to condemn neo-Nazis and dined with anti-Semites only value our voices when they can symbolize some privileged to achieve their political objectives.
Confusing anti-Semitism with criticism of a modern apartheid state is dangerous historical revisionism. It ignores the fact that since the conception of Zionism, there has always been a strong and diverse Jewish opposition. For decades, progressive Jewish movements have viewed Zionism as a dangerous form of nationalism, with some Holocaust survivors openly denouncing Zionist policies.
Like countless other Jews, I was raised to believe in extending solidarity, fighting oppression and supremacy, and defending the sanctity of human life. The Torah declares that all men are made B’tselem Elohim (in the image of God), making every life sacred. The Talmud teaches that to save one life is to save the whole world, commanding Jews everywhere to fight against the loss of life wherever they are. These teachings nourish the love I have for my faith and my culture…and the sorrow I feel every time I see the destruction wrought by Zionism.
The Israeli army has killed more than 27,000 Palestinians since October 7, including more than 11,000 children. Of the tens of thousands of bombs dropped on Gaza – one of the most densely populated areas in the world – almost half were “unguided”. Israel has indiscriminately killed Palestinians in unlawful attacks on hospitals, United Nations-run school shelters, ambulances and civilian evacuation routes. Entire neighborhoods in areas like Gaza City, with a higher population density than New York, have been razed.
The Israeli government claims to be fighting to destroy Hamas. Yet Israeli authorities have long supported the strengthening of Hamas, facilitating payments to the group and rejecting intelligence reports of a planned attack on southern Israel.
It is now more than clear that this is not a fight against Hamas, but rather a genocide in the making. Israel is starving millions of civilians, illegally depriving them of food, water and medical supplies. It is systematically destroying Gaza’s health system, depriving the wounded and sick of the most basic services, with the aim of making it impossible for millions of Palestinians to survive.
Israeli officials openly call for the fate of Palestinian civilians to be “more painful than death” and call for the complete destruction of Gaza. The Israeli military has even killed its own soldiers taken hostage by Hamas, making it clear that there are no “rules of engagement” for Israeli soldiers when dealing with civilians.
Israel has sought to annihilate every aspect of the Palestinian nation, including its knowledge and culture. More than 390 educational institutions have been destroyed in Gaza, along with every university; thousands of students and teachers were killed.
If this had happened in any other country, our universities would have immediately taken up arms, but they remain completely silent about the destruction of the Palestinian education system and the ongoing genocide. Worse still, many universities in the United States continue to invest in industries that reinforce Israeli military brutality.
University presidents often claim to be looking out for the safety and best interests of Jewish students, while suppressing condemnations of Israeli violence. But attacking freedom of expression and doxxing students does not help fight anti-Semitism on campus, because there is nothing anti-Semitic about opposing genocide. What’s more, university administrations have consistently made it clear that they do not care much about the safety of students with pro-Palestinian attitudes, even if they are Jewish.
Earlier this month, members of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) groups were attacked with what appears to be an Israeli-made chemical weapon while gathering peacefully for a ceasefire. campus of Columbia University. Since then, at least eight students have been hospitalized.
The university administration chose to blame the victims for what happened, saying their protest was “unauthorized and violated university policies.” Columbia is one of many universities fueling the dangerous and ahistorical conflation of Judaism and Zionism, having banned its SJP and JVP sections.
These slanders and hypocrisy are nothing new. As a student in Washington, D.C., I watched political pundits slander pro-Palestinian marches as “breeding grounds” for anti-Semitism on campus, while claiming that the November 14 march for Israel was an event rejecting anti-Semitism.
Many of my Palestinian and Arab peers – who have always stood in solidarity with the Jewish community – are continually threatened, harassed and labeled “terrorists” for supporting a humanitarian ceasefire and mourning their loved ones. As a Jewish woman, I have felt nothing but kindness and safety at every Palestinian-led protest I have attended. At the March for Israel, I would not have felt the same way, alongside the cries of “No ceasefire!” and guest speakers, such as Christian Zionist televangelist John Hagee, who believes that “God sent Hitler.”
While disagreements will always exist within our community, Zionist nationalism is not the norm, with American Jews now shutting down highways, occupying elected officials’ offices, and chaining themselves to the gates of the White House to demand a cease and desist. fire.
In the face of unspeakable violence, Palestinians continue to demonstrate resilience and selflessness, and the world owes them solidarity. It is not enough to proclaim that the actions of the Israeli government do not represent us; The grief and rage we feel over continued violence must motivate us to act.
In 1965, civil rights activist Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote of the march from Selma to Montgomery in which he participated: “Even without words, our march was worship. I felt like my legs were praying.
Now, almost 60 years later, we must also view protest as a form of prayer, as fighting against injustice has long been the norm in our community. As Jewish students, we must refuse to allow our identity to be corrupted to justify crimes against humanity. We must refuse to remain silent while our taxes and tuition funds genocide in our name, knowing that never again means never again for everyone.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.