Isa Cruz

Before I start: While this piece is addressed to Jewish Zionists, I think it important that all people understand the perspective of Jewish anti-Zionists.

As a Jewish person who fights for Palestine, I say to all you Zionists, f*** right the heck off with your goofy hypocrisy. Since when does being Jewish mean you love genocide? I thought that as a group, we decided we didn’t like that. Weren’t you guys at the meeting? It was the 1900s, and our grandparents and great-grandparents were like … in camps … like … getting killed … for being Jewish. When did we change our minds and decide that rounding up innocent people based on their nationality, ethnicity or religion was a good thing?

These are the thoughts that rumble in my mind as I sit here, having been temporarily suspended from my institution for questioning the State of Israel on its policies regarding its sister country. When I was growing up, I was taught that there was an invisible string that connected us all. I was taught that we should be empathetic before anything else. I was taught to treat others as I would like to be treated. Would you like to be starved? Would you like to be taken from your home? Would you like your college to be bombed, your education to be brought to a complete halt? Whether you’re Jewish or not, I don’t think that’s what you want.

I spoke Hebrew at home as much as I spoke English, and though my Hebrew is much degraded these days (I wish I had some people to talk to in my language, but it seems most Jews here are Americans—weird that some of y’all love Israel so much for having such minimal connection), I still love my language. I was raised by Israelis, Mizrahi Israelis (you might even call them Arab Israelis if you aren’t too scared to admit that Arab isn’t the opposite of Jew), and they loved Israel. I loved Israel, and in fact, I’d say I still love that land more than most things. That doesn’t, however, mean I have to accept the actions of the Israeli government, nor does it mean I believe that I have some right to that land over someone else. Diaspora is sad. It’s scary, and it makes you feel as though you will never belong in the community you find yourself in. The displacement of a people is not the solution.

I don’t have a simple solution. Whether it be sharing the land or allowing cooperative governance, I’m not sure what could work. I’m often told that Israel has a right to defend itself. I’m often told that Muslims or Arabs believe all Jews should be killed. I don’t need to know the truth value of either of those statements to know that murder and displacement are wrong, to know that sending missiles into residential areas in response to rockets shot at Israel, whether intercepted by the Iron Dome or not, is wrong. I also know that the bombing of innocents does nothing but radicalize them against you.

It’s very funny (type-II funny, where it’s not actually funny) how often I’m told that “If Hamas stopped today, Israel would stop,” or “They can just leave.” My favorite (and by favorite I mean most disturbing) is when I’m told that “Hamas is using them as human shields. Hamas is their government. They could give innocent Palestinians food and water if they wanted. Palestinians should realize that Israel is the good guy,” as if the wrongdoing of a government that most Palestinians didn’t vote for makes murder and starvation okay. I hear all the time that “These protestors refuse to condemn Hamas” (think of a recent Orient op-ed regarding “belonging”)— NOW WATCH THIS: I ASHER NATHANIEL FEILES CONDEMN HAMAS. THE ATROCITIES THEY COMMITTED ON OCTOBER 7 AND MANY OTHER ACTS PERPETRATED BY THEM HAVE BEEN WRONG AND BAD. Are you shocked? Did I just blow your mind? I’m sure many of my fellow activists would be happy to say the same thing. Have you ever asked anyone that question directly, or is this just a strawman we’re creating? Admitting the wrongdoing of one group in no way exonerates the wrongdoing of another.

I do not want Israelis to be removed from their homes, to be murdered or to be tortured. For the same reason I don’t wish Israelis to be displaced, killed and tormented, I don’t want Palestinians to undergo these same horrors. Nobody deserves to lose their life for no reason; no life is more valuable than any other. Look to Gaza and realize the mourning you must undergo now that you understand that innocent lives have been, and still are, being taken. It could have been your sibling, parent, child, partner or you.

Being a good person is about radical empathy. I can not, and I will not, sit idly by as murder is committed, especially not in my name.

-An extraordinarily Tired Jew

Asher Feiles is a member of the Class of 2027.