Summary
Author of Chapter 27 of From the River to the Sea, “Not in anyone’s name” (1 December 2023), opening Part 4 of the collection, on Jewish anti-Zionist organizing (From the River to the Sea: Essays for a Free Palestine, lines 2095-2177).
Details
- A National Board Member and Chicago chapter organizer of Jewish Voice for Peace, which at the time of writing had swelled to over 22,000 dues-paying members and had planned or contributed to over eighty actions across the US in several weeks (lines 2101-2105).
- The Jewish Labor Bund rejected Zionism in favor of doikayt, “hereness”: a rootedness in place and a commitment to fight for liberation wherever we find ourselves (lines 2117-2119).
- The first lesson: “it is the work we do between the waves that really, really matters” — organizers cannot control the explosion of mass struggle, but can “make sure that when sparks fly, the gas is turned on” (lines 2149-2153).
- A caution against centering Jewishness: there are many more secular and Christian Zionists than Jewish ones, and Zionism’s material base runs through tech firms, weapons manufacturers, and oil, gas and water companies (lines 2167-2173).
Related pages
From the River to the Sea: Essays for a Free Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, Christian Zionism, Matzpen, Great March of Return