r/JewsOfConscience • u/AutoModerator • Aug 28 '24

AAJ "Ask A Jew" Wednesday

It's everyone's favorite day of the week, "Ask A (Anti-Zionist) Jew" Wednesday! Ask whatever you want to know, within the sub rules, notably that this is not a debate sub and do not import drama from other subreddits. That aside, have fun! We love to dialogue with our non-Jewish siblings.

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u/SkyOfViolet Non-Jewish Ally Aug 28 '24

What are this subs thoughts on (what I personally thought was) an interesting point from a Palestinian anti-Zionist on Instagram: suggesting that Jewish voices are the most critical on this issue and that only Jewish anti-zionists can really in good faith criticize Israel without “goyimsplaining” it is further devaluing and dehumanizing Palestinian voices against the genocide?

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u/Thisisme8719 Arab Jew Aug 28 '24

I'm not sure what that means. I haven't seen Jewish leftists say Jewish voices are more important than Palestinian voices or that others can't criticize Israel in good faith. So that shouldn't apply to them.
People in pro-Israel circles don't privilege Jewish anti-Zionists. If anything, they marginalize them, question their motivations or erudition, and even question whether they are Jews altogether. So that shouldn't apply to them either.

If it'd apply to anyone, maybe it'd be to someone like Piers Morgan who'd repeatedly platform Norman Finkelstein but rarely if ever have on Rashid Khalidi. But even then, they'll have on people like Mustafa Barghouti or Omar Baddar, so that wouldn't really count either.

If the poster said that Palestinian voices are just devalued generally, then sure. Or if they said that the Palestinian narrative written by people who aren't Palestinians is more frequently taken seriously, then that'd also be true.

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u/magavte_lanata Jewish Anti-Zionist Aug 28 '24 edited Aug 28 '24

I think it depends on the context. In the USA, this is true in many contexts (mainstream media, testifying before Congress, etc.) In Egypt or Jordan, probably not so much.

Edit: I should state that I don't agree with the second point, that only Jews should speak on this. I do agree that for practical reasons it makes sense to center Jewish voices in certain circumstances even if it's not moral to do so. Non-Jews, whether Palestinian, Arab, or otherwise, speaking against apartheid is not "goyimsplaining."

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u/SkyOfViolet Non-Jewish Ally Aug 28 '24

That’s interesting, would you mind elaborating? Is it the demographic difference or cultural differences or a combination of both?

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u/magavte_lanata Jewish Anti-Zionist Aug 28 '24

A lot of older American liberals support Israel because they see it as a defender against antisemitism (despite it largely doing the opposite.) An American Jew, especially one who has survived the Holocaust or is related to Holocaust survivors, subverts that narrative when they support Palestine. Katie Halper has a lot of interviews like that on her youtube channel (ignore the clickbait titles; she's an excellent journalist.) Halper is herself Jewish and was fired from publication The Hill for calling Israel an apartheid state.

The USA could have stopped the Holocaust and accepted Jewish refugees, but it refused to do so.

Miko Peled is another good example; he's the son of an Israeli general and is anti-Zionist.

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u/magavte_lanata Jewish Anti-Zionist Aug 28 '24

Replying to note that I edited my first response. I don't agree at all that non-Jews resisting apartheid is "goyimsplaining", just that having Jewish speakers can sometimes be a good PR move.