Jewish, Not Zionist

‘WE JEWS ARE NOT ENDANGERED BY THE RIGHTS OF PALESTINIANS – WE ARE ALL ENDANGERED BY A WORLD THAT PERMITS GENOCIDE.’

We were thrilled to co-host Marilyn Garson via Zoom all the way from her home in Aotearoa New Zealand about her new book Jewish, Not Zionist.

‘We are on this political precipice and yet it’s harder than ever to speak,’ author Marilyn told the packed seafront room at the White Rock Hotel.

‘I want to enable more speech by clearing the fog around antisemitism.’

She observed: ‘We are being shown a world of unchecked power, with a complete merciless absence of civilian protections. What would it take for more people to object to the world we are being shown? My Palestinian partners say that the biggest obstacle to participation is not indifference but confusion about Judaism and Zionism.’

Marilyn then tackled this subject head on, making a clear distinction between Zionism - Jewish nationalism - and Judaism as a religion.

‘Israel is a state,’ she said. ‘Not a religion. It has no mandate to speak for us. It is subject to all the laws and norms of any state.’

Marilyn speaking via Zoom to a packed meeting.

She then discussed the way in which Zionism is transforming itself into a new Jewish identity which seeks protection ‘in the same way we protect a religion or ethnic identity’.

This ‘distorted definition of antisemitism', says Marilyn, is how opposition to Israel’s illegal occupation came to be called antisemitic.

And it is this distortion ‘robbing us of the ability to call out wrongdoing.'

The same distortion stigmatises principled protest, misdirects us from real antisemitism, silences Palestinians and diverts us from genocide by creating a moral panic about protest.

She said: ‘The panic implies that there is no other reason to object to genocide in Gaza, it must be antisemitism.’

She went on: ‘As an anti-racist Jew, I also see how this distortion separates us from our allies, because it frames Israel as a separate solution to antisemitism. But there is no separate solution to racism. The people who hate Jews overwhelmingly are also Islamophobic: we are in this together.’

The distortion of the meaning of antisemitism 'robs us of our ability to call out wrongdoing.'

Marilyn described how she returned home after spending four years in Gaza in search of her community. As an observant Jew, she was keen to reintegrate into her synagogue but she was left ‘shul shocked’ by her treatment. She was hated, snubbed, lied about and bullied for daring to speak up for the rights of Palestinians.

After four years she finally left, and with her friend Fred, she co-founded Alternative Jewish Voices to create an independent Jewish worship space that was liberatory, anti racist, spiritual and activist.

‘We, Jews, are not endangered by the equality and the rights of Palestinians,’ she concluded. ‘We, all of us, are very much endangered by a world that permits genocide and suppresses protest.’

There was then an expansive Q&A session followed by many lively discussions over teas and coffees.

Thanks to all who came and participated in the event, to our co-hosts Hastings & District Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Circaidy Gregory Press, the UK publisher for Marilyn’s book.

If you are interested in reading Marilyn’s story and insights, pick up a copy of Jewish Not Zionist for £12.50 here: https://kaygreen.blog/2024/12/05/a-wonderful-opportunity/

Marilyn's book Jewish Not Zionist is available from Circaidy Gregory Press.