Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on June 27, 2024

A protestor looks toward downtown Memphis while walking off the I-40 bridge during a protest in February. Photo by Andrea Morales for MLK50

I never thought about Palestine. I never thought about Palestinian people. I never thought of Palestine in the same way people in the U.S. dont think about Indigenous people, myself included.

Until 10 years ago, I believed what I was taught about Palestinians, which is the same rhetoric of dehumanization that is heard every day. I believed in Zionism. I was taught that the authenticity of my identity was rooted in Zionism. Admittedly, I always felt a sense of discomfort with it. I didnt know why, but I still chose to ignore it. I will always regret that.

In one of the weeks during Israels siege of Gaza in 2014, I was sitting in the car with my father. The radio station reported that Israel had bombed a school in Gaza and killed a dozen or so civilians. I worked up the courage to ask my father why they would bomb a school, knowing there were innocent people inside. He answered me, They (Hamas) hide in these buildings and use people as shields. I hesitantly asked my father again why Israel would bomb the school anyway. He became agitated and then said something to me that I never forgot. Its either them or us.

I realized that my father didnt care about dead Palestinians. I also realized that Id never cared about them either, and wondered why. I never asked myself, much less anyone else, what the Palestinians were resisting in the first place. I decided to look deeper.

When I made the decision to learn about Palestine, I thought, or perhaps I hoped, that it would be a confirmation of everything I was raised to believe. It wouldve been easier. Instead, I found myself watching interviews from Palestinians who were displaced in the Nakba (Catastrophe), which was the violent ethnic cleansing of 750,000 Palestinians by the Zionist army in 1948. Then, I watched interviews with Palestinians living in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza. I never understood what the West Bank was until that moment. I still remember how much my eyes hurt because I had been crying so much, but simultaneously forgot to blink for god knows how long.

From then on, Palestine became a part of me. I will be committed to its liberation for the rest of my life. However, in the journey of decolonizing my brain, I was also struggling with my identity. Then, I discovered the Jewish Anti-Zionist movement.

As it turns out, there is nothing more inherently Jewish than to be an anti-Zionist. Every major anti-Zionist figure and organization, from 1897 until now, has been composed of Jews. Socialist Revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg,The Jewish Labor Bund, Albert Einstein and one of the leaders of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising Marek Edelman were all anti-Zionist Jews. Jews made up a large portion of organizations like SNCC and the anti-apartheid resistance movement in South Africa.

In 2024, we have seen the largest resurgence of the Jewish Anti-Zionist movement since the 1930s and 40s. Organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (both of which I am a member) have stood beside Palestinians at the forefront of the protests over the last eight months, but have also been active for the past 15 plus years.

Historically, we have always been the ones who resisted imperialism and colonialism. And yes, Zionism is the very definition of colonialism.

Colonialism is not just invasion. Colonialism is erasure. Colonialism is theft. Zionists have convinced the world that Palestine isnt real and then stole every aspect of Palestinian culture and declared them to be their own, especially their cuisine and even the keffiyeh. They have convinced the world that Palestinians are just Arabs from Egypt and Syria who needed to be removed so the land could flourish. They convinced the world that the land was theirs to take as ordained by God. Sound familiar? Replace the word Zionists with Europeans. Then, replace the word Palestinian with Native Americans. There is no difference.

I am a Jew. I know of the massacres, expulsions, pogroms and the history of us living under the boot of imperialism and fascism. There is a generational trauma that I feel everyday. In that same breath, what gives us the right to take that same boot, paint it a different color, and step on the throat of Palestine? The answer is nothing.

Zionism hasnt just colonized Palestine; its colonized Judaism. The ironic thing about it is that Judaism, to a certain extent, recommends primacy as a sign of validity. Meaning what comes first is more valid than what comes later. Judaism existed before Zionism, and Palestine existed before the state of Israel.

I get asked a lot of questions, especially, Why do you care?

Her name was Naifa Riza al-Sawada. She was the 94-year-old matriarch of her family and was displaced in the Nakba. She developed Alzheimers, which prevented her from being able to speak, walk, or eat on her own. This past March, the Israeli Occupation Force (known as the Israeli Defense Force to everyone else) invaded her home and forced her family to abandon her. Two weeks later, her charred remains were found where her home once stood.

What if it were you? What if she was your mother or grandmother?

The fact is, this isnt about me. This is about Palestine and the future of humanity. Palestinian liberation isnt a threat to Jewish safety. It never was. I believe were seeing a turning of the tides, and we must hold strong. Never again is now.

Sam Blustein is an activist who was born, raised and still lives in Memphis. She has a masters degree in history and is an alumni of the University of Memphis. She has participated in holding and organizing teach-ins on Palestine and Gaza over the past nine months alongside other activists in the city and has been a part of social justice work for the past decade.

This story is brought to you by MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a nonprofit newsroom focused on poverty, power and policy in Memphis. Support independent journalism by making a tax-deductible donation today. MLK50 is also supported by these generous donors.

Read more from the original source:

'Palestinian liberation isn't a threat to Jewish safety' - MLK50

Category: Jew
Tags: