JEWISH RADICALS HAVE LONG CHALLENGED THE STATE PROJECT BUILT IN OUR NAME ~ James Horton ~ In view of the modern genocide the Israeli state is undertaking against the Palestinian people, it may not seem advisable or desirable to look at one’s own position in relation to it. It can feel self-centred to take a moment to interrogate one’s personal history in the face of such dystopian suffering. As a Jew, though, this feels slightly different. We’re told that the only way to establish security for Jews is through a nation-state with exclusionary policies that favour us. But should anyone, Jewish or not, pursue an interest in the history of politically active Jewish communities, they will find a richness of radical anti-nationalism—indeed, internationalism. Zionism was a story perniciously crafted by the Jewish upper classes, and its project relied on convincing working-class Jews to fight the fight and build the Jewish-only fortress on stolen land. The history of Jewish involvement in left-wing movements is far too extensive to summarise. Emma Goldman and Rosa Luxemburg are just two of the bigger names, but there were countless Jewish shop-floor strike coordinators, unknown newspaper editors, educators and artists—people of action and people of thought, who had a titanic influence not only on the left but on political discourse at large. Milly Witkopf, for example (1877–1955), married to the more famous Rudolph Rocker, and the Jews of her ilk are frequently absent from the discussion—despite the fact they did much of the groundwork on which movements were built. In modern times, these figures have been the target of naked smears by Zionist intellectuals and activists. The charge is often that they hold lofty “lefty” expectations (otherwise known as political principle), and care too little for the safety of the Jewish people. But for anyone with an ounce of media literacy, these smears come from the same figures who cheerlead the Netanyahu administration in its policy of ethnic cleansing—and so cannot be trusted. But for those foolish enough to take them seriously, such figures at least resemble serious political actors and must be discussed to the extent one can stomach. CLASS AND ZIONISM, THEN AND NOW The Zionist project, when distilled to its essence, is an elitist ideology. It began as a project among the Central European bourgeoisie—both Jewish and Christian—as a “solution” (always a troubling word in politics) to Jewish oppression in Europe and the US. But as scholar Albert S. Lindemann points out, Zionism chose to “solve” the problem not by fighting modern nationalism, but by following in its footsteps and crushing class solidarity. Early Zionists collaborated with the same imperialists who had collared the social rights of Jews—men like Arthur Balfour, a vicious opponent of Jewish migration while Prime Minister (1902–1905). Chaim Weizmann, later Israel’s first president, was a known anti-Bundist, led the Zionist Federation and attacked leftist Jews whom he rightly saw as potential challengers to the nationalist fantasy he sought to realise. He and others advanced the Zionist cause with the institutional and physical backing of some of the most vile antisemites of the era. Even down to the Language Wars—when in 1900, 8 million Jews spoke Yiddish—Zionists weren’t satisfied with this mongrel language of the working class. They saw it as synonymous with exile, failure, and persecution—not one of liberation, as Bundists did in Russia or anarchists in London. Using direct violence against their own people, including the burning of Yiddish publication houses, Zionists split the Jewish working class from their linguistic roots, seeking to homogenise them for a nationalism they would then exert on others. Today, Yiddish is considered a “dead language”, with only around a million native speakers globally. Where does this history leave us in an era of unmasked cruelty against Palestinians? One takeaway from the growing pro-Palestinian movement in the West is that more Jews raised on the idea of Israel are revolting against it. The 2023 Al Jazeera documentary Israelism tries to understand this phenomenon—though it has attracted heavy criticism. What Zionists push—through festivals, trips abroad, and propaganda—is that Zionism is sexy, and more importantly, necessary for Jewish security. Young Jews, mostly from New York and Los Angeles, are sponsored on trips to a land they are encouraged to inherit, with wealthy philanthropists manufacturing the same Zionist fervour they have always sought in the Jewish working class. But as before, many are slipping out from under this weight of radicalisation and standing for Palestinian self-determination. Jewish activists and writers, doing serious work at local and national levels, often speak of the “Not In Our Name” position. Crucially, it comes with a call not only to challenge the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, but to build a new system in which oppression in all forms is no longer tolerated. Emily Apple, a Jewish woman and former editor at The Canary, said to me: I feel really strongly about the ‘Not In Our Name’ idea. When I was growing up, the distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism didn’t need to be made—it was just a given. Now a lot of Jewish people have been sold a lie that isn’t in the interest of Jews or Palestinians. When I see other Jews going after radical voices that want to make change—for Palestinians, for refugees, for anyone facing oppression—it makes me feel sick. Being Jewish for me is about my place in the world and my history. My great-great-grandparents’ generation were all refugees. When I’m engaging in campaigns, I feel that sense of responsibility really strongly. Jewish history is inspiring. Writing and fighting in any language and on any land they stood, radical Jews fought for the emancipation of workers, the end of colonial dominion, and the liberation of people deemed unconventional. That is not just our history—it is our present. And Zionism is a colossal obstacle to its continuation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Photo: Peter Marshall The post Class, memory, and Jewish anti-Zionism appeared first on Freedom News.

REPORT FROM A PRESENTATION ON THE ROOTS OF ZIONISM IN THE LEAD-UP TO 1948 ~ Giannis Voliatis ~ On Thursday (26 June) the Thessaloniki libertarian communist group Orizontia Kinisi (Horizontal Move) hosted an even at Ovradera social centre, presenting its research on the early history of Zionism. Attended by dozens of participants, the presentation discussed the roots and history of the movement, its political positions and the strategies that led to displacement of thousands of Palestinians during the Nakba (catastrophe) in 1948. The presentation covered the causes that put the Zionist project to truck, from the antisemitic pogroms in Europe to colonial thought and practice, and showcased how British imperialism aided the colonisation process during the first quarter of the 20th century. Specific important aspects of the Zionist thought were highlighted that are generally unknown to the Greek radical movement, like its pseudo-historical validation, its questionable relation to Judaism, and the collaboration between the official Zionist movement structures and leading European anti-semites. The presentation also included notes on the dirty role of Histadrut and “labour Zionism” in the establishment of the state of Israel, the love/hate relationship the various armed Jewish factions in Palestine had with the British mandate authorities, and the atrocities they committed. The purpose of the event was to arm the local radical movement with historical knowledge and arguments against Zionist historical revisionism, and the pro-Zionist monopoly on mainstream media discourse as the Gaza genocide continues. The post Thessaloniki event: “The road to the Nakba” appeared first on Freedom News.

A PEOPLE WHOSE ENTIRE EXISTENCE DEPENDS SOLELY ON MILITARY MIGHT IS DESTINED TO END UP IN THE DARKEST CORNERS OF DESTRUCTION, AND ULTIMATELY, IN DEFEAT ~ Orly Noy ~ It has been more than 46 years since I left Iran with my family at the age of nine. I have spent most of my life in Israel, where we built a family and raised our daughters — but Iran has never ceased to be my homeland. Since October 2023, I have seen countless images of men, women, and children standing beside the ruins of their homes, and their cries are etched in my mind. But when I see the images from Iran after the Israeli attacks and hear the cries in Persian, my mother tongue, the sense of collapse within me feels different. The thought that this destruction is being carried out by the country of which I hold citizenship is unbearable. Over the years, the Israeli public has grown convinced that it can exist in this region while harbouring deep contempt for its neighbours — engaging in murderous rampages against anyone, whenever and however it pleases, relying solely on brute force. For nearly 80 years, “total victory” has been just around the corner: just defeat the Palestinians, eliminate Hamas, crush Lebanon, destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities — and paradise will be ours. But for nearly 80 years, these so-called “victories” have proven Pyrrhic. Each one digs Israel into a deeper pit of isolation, threat, and hatred. The Nakba of 1948 created the refugee crisis that refuses to go away and laid the foundation for the apartheid regime. The 1967 victory gave rise to an occupation that continues to fuel Palestinian resistance. The war of October 2023 spiralled into a genocide that turned Israel into a global pariah. The Israeli military — central to this entire process — has become a mindless weapon of mass destruction. It maintains its exalted status among a sedated public through flashy stunts: pagers exploding in men’s pockets at a Lebanese market, or a drone base planted in the heart of an enemy state. And under the command of a genocidal government, it digs itself deeper into wars it has no clue how to exit. For so many years, under the spell of this supposedly all-powerful army, Israeli society convinced itself that it was bulletproof. Total worship of the military on the one hand, and arrogant disdain for regional neighbours on the other, bred the belief that we would never pay a price. Then came October 7, shattering — if only for a moment — the illusion of immunity. But rather than reckon with the significance of that moment, the public surrendered to a campaign of revenge. Because only through slaughter did the world make sense again: Israel kills, Palestinians die. Order restored. That’s why the images of bombed buildings in Ramat Gan, Rishon LeZion, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv and Tamra (an Arab city in the Galilee) were so jarring. They were hauntingly similar to the ones we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from Gaza: charred concrete skeletons, plumes of dust, streets buried in rubble and ash, children’s toys clutched by rescue workers. These images delivered a brief rupture in our collective delusion, that we are immune to everything. Civilian casualties on both sides — 13 Israelis and at least 128 Iranians — highlight the human cost of this new front, even if the scale remains a far cry from the devastation routinely inflicted on Gaza.  THE ARMY AS DOCTRINE  There was a time when some Jewish leaders in Israel understood that our existence in this region couldn’t be sustained by the illusion of total immunity. They may not have been free of a sense of superiority, but they grasped that basic truth. The late leftist lawmaker Yossi Sarid once recalled Yitzhak Rabin telling him: “A nation that flexes its muscles for fifty years — those muscles will eventually tire”. Rabin understood that living forever by the sword, contrary to Netanyahu’s horror-laced promise, is not a viable option. Today, there are no more Jewish politicians of that ilk in Israel. When the Zionist left erupts in celebration over a reckless attack on Iran, it reveals a stubborn attachment to the fantasy that, no matter what we do, or how deeply we alienate ourselves from the region we live in, the army will always protect us. “A strong people, a determined army, and a resilient home front. That’s how we’ve always won, and that’s how we’ll win today too,” wrote Yair Golan, head of the Democrats Party — a merger of the Zionist left parties Meretz and Labor — in a post on X following Friday’s strike. His fellow party member, MK Naama Lazimi, chimed in to thank “the advanced intelligence systems and intelligence superiority. The IDF and all security systems. The heroic pilots and the Air Force. Israel’s defence systems.” In this sense, the fantasy of immunity granted by the army runs even deeper in the Zionist left than on the right. The right’s answer to its security anxiety is annihilation and ethnic cleansing — that’s its endgame. But the centre-left places its faith almost entirely in the army’s supposedly limitless capabilities. Without question, the Jewish centre-left in Israel worships the military far more fervently than the right, which treats it merely as a tool to execute its vision of destruction and ethnic cleansing. We Israelis must understand — we are not immune. A people whose entire existence depends solely on military might is destined to end up in the darkest corners of destruction, and ultimately, in defeat. If we haven’t learned this most basic lesson from the past two years, let alone the past eighty, then we are truly lost. Not because of Iran’s nuclear program or Palestinian resistance, but because of the blind, arrogant hubris that has taken hold of an entire nation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A version of this article was first published in Hebrew on Local Call. Read it here. Photo: Destroyed homes in the Israeli city of Rishon LeZion, central Israel, after a ballistic missile fired from Iran hit the area, June 14, 2025 (Oren Ziv) The post Israel’s greatest threat isn’t Iran or Hamas, but its own hubris appeared first on Freedom News.