As Jews, we resolutely oppose Zionism: This opposition means full support for Palestine's right to self-determination and resistance

(Patria) - "The events of the past week in Palestine have been terrifying. Israel has directed its full force against millions of people it has trapped in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israeli politicians have, explicitly or implicitly, declared their intention to commit ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza.

As Jews, in whose name genocide is allegedly being committed, we resolutely oppose Zionism. This opposition means full support for Palestine's right to self-determination and resistance, faith in the legitimacy of Palestinian claims to their land, and an unequivocal rejection of Israel's illegitimate "right to defend itself," which is used to justify its crimes," writes a group of American Jewish students at the beginning of an op-ed for The Michigan Daily.

Ten of them wrote a commentary for this newspaper in which they sharply condemned the Israeli retaliation, following the incursion of Hamas militants into Israel on October 7, but also the behavior of their university.

"Along with the horrific massacre of Palestinians by the Israeli government in Gaza last week, the major Western powers have engaged in a comprehensive information war, spreading unsubstantiated claims and rhetorically dehumanizing Palestinians to provide cover for their genocide. One of the key features of this information war is the weaponization of anti-racist rhetoric against Palestinians and their supporters. Those who are in solidarity with Palestine and against Israeli colonization of their land have long been mislabeled as anti-Semites. Arab and Muslim students who support Palestine face serious harassment—and consequently are driven to speak anonymously—while Jews are labeled as "traitors" or "kapos."

While working at the University of Michigan, some of us have received hate messages, been sent various files, and even threatened with dismissal from our positions at the University for speaking out in support of Palestine," they further state.

They also state that some professors have been sanctioned because their actions were maliciously interpreted as "anti-Semitic." One of them was punished for refusing to provide a recommendation to a Jewish student for further engagement in Israel.


"Now, more than ever, it is crucial that we reject these lies and articulate the truth: Opposition to Israeli apartheid is not anti-Semitic, but rather a stance for justice and self-determination for an oppressed people," the signatories emphasize.

"Apartheid makes no one safer, and a growing number of diaspora Jews are beginning to recognize this. While Zionism is often conflated with Judaism, support for Zionism is not universal Jewish public opinion. A quarter of American Jews correctly recognize Israel as an apartheid state. We completely reject the notion that Palestinians and their supporters must be suppressed or condemned for the Jewish people to be safe. Zionism, an ideology that dehumanizes Palestinians, harms Jews by entangling us in imperialism and provoking violence in the Middle East. Only the abolition of the occupation and the establishment of equal rights and participation for all people will bring safety.

We also reject the notion that Jews should be privileged over non-Jews—a fundamental premise of the Zionist project. This racist logic is evident in all aspects of the illegitimate state of Israel: its formation through the settler-colonial theft of Palestinian land in the Nakba, its Jewish supremacist character evident in its self-definition and its frequent terrorism against the Palestinian population. We have similarly seen the logic of Zionism last week in prioritizing Jewish sentiments over the voices and lives of Palestinians who have experienced genocide, exemplified by the ban on protests in solidarity with Palestine.

We must be absolutely clear: the focus of Jews, as well as all people of conscience, must be on condemning Israel's ongoing crimes and standing with the Palestinian liberation movement in taking action. At the University of Michigan, we must support initiatives like SAFE and other groups, such as condemning the unacceptable statements of University President Santa Ono, holding solidarity actions, and calling for divestment from corporations that profit from or support Israeli apartheid.

From our perspective, Zionism is incompatible with Judaism. For us, Judaism is rooted in the experience of diaspora, in being a minority in the place where we live. When asked what makes someone Jewish, the eminent Polish historian Isaac Deutscher answered: "Religion? I am an atheist. Jewish nationalism? I am an internationalist. So, in no sense am I a Jew. I am, however, a Jew by force of my unconditional solidarity with the persecuted and the exterminated."

The Palestinian people are the ones being persecuted and exterminated, and to anyone for whom Deutscher's words resonate, it should be clear that Judaism demands our unconditional solidarity with them," the op-ed states.