Thread by @jvplive

Many JVP members come from Jewish social justice organizations that we once called our political and communal home.

But, along with a growing number of Jews, we could no longer ignore that liberal Zionist orgs often fight for justice for everyone except Palestinians.

(thread)

Recognizing the contradiction between support for freedom for all and Zionism — which requires the forced displacement and oppression of Palestinians — is intellectually and emotionally hard, especially for those of us raised to understand Zionism as a social justice movement.

But that recognition is vital. For Palestinians, Zionism is not a theoretical concept but a brutal reality. It is the movement that expelled them and occupied their land. It created a militarized apartheid state that prevents them from living in freedom, safety, and dignity.

So we must take a hard look at what Jewish Zionist organizations include in their advocacy. For example, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) spends millions to fight BDS and other attempts to hold the Israeli government accountable for its human rights violations.

Other organizations, such as the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism (RAC), support continued US funding to the Israeli military, which is responsible for executing the illegal occupation of Palestinian land and regularly commits acts of extrajudicial violence and murder.

Many Zionist organizations also denounce or qualify their solidarity with other social justice movements when those movements analyze Israel as an apartheid state or challenge US funding to the Israeli military, as the Movement for Black Lives did a few years ago.

Instead of reckoning with why a Black liberation organization would empathize with and support Palestinians — and how anti-racist and anti-Zionist movements are both fighting for a world with justice for all — these orgs, including RAC, called the M4BL platform "unfair."

As an anti-Zionist Jewish organization, we know that many Zionist organizations are not Jewish — and that it's dangerous to assume otherwise. Indeed, the largest Israel lobbying group in the US is Christian. We need to call out and push back against Zionism in all its forms.

As we said, reckoning with Zionism in social justice movements is not easy. But it's necessary if we are to apply our principles consistently and bring about the collective liberation — including for Palestinians — that we all want and deserve.