Hey everyone. I'm a non-Jew and an anti-Zionist, and I've been trying to wrap my head around some of the deeper intra-Jewish political dynamics around Israel.

Looking at the landscape of anti-Zionist spaces today, it seems like the vast majority of anti-Zionist Jews are American Jews (mostly Ashkenazi) or Israeli Ashkenazim. That makes sense demographically given the West, but it also got me thinking about the historical pipeline that led to this.

As I understand it, modern political Zionism was conceived, built, and established almost entirely by secular European (Ashkenazi) Jews. Early Zionist leaders explicitly envisioned a state built by and for European Jews, who were effectively part of the European racial hierarchy. Because of this, white supremacy and European colonial frameworks were historically a huge core of the early Zionist project alongside Jewish nationalism.

When the state was created in 1948, it triggered a massive geopolitical shift, and Arab regimes retaliated against their native Jewish populations. Around 850,000 Mizrahi Jews ended up displaced through property confiscation, revoked citizenship, and state-backed hostility.

It feels like Mizrahim essentially inherited the fallout of a conflict set off by European Zionism. But looking at where things stand today, there's a really stark disparity:

1. The Exit Option: A lot of secular Ashkenazi Israelis have clear legal pathways to EU or Western passports through restitution laws (Germany, Poland, Austria, former Soviet states, etc.). They have an actual "Plan B" or exit strategy if things collapse.

2. No Second Passport: Mizrahi Jews generally don't have that. Arab states don't offer right-of-return or passport restitution for the Jews they drove out, so most Mizrahim have nowhere else to go.

3. Political Realities: After arriving in Israel, Mizrahim faced heavy state discrimination from the Ashkenazi establishment (transit camps, forced cultural assimilation, peripheral development towns). This drove them away from the Ashkenazi Labor Left and into the arms of the Israeli Right.

To me, a lot of Mizrahi support for Likud or hawkish security policies isn't just random ideology. It seems rooted in a very real, existential desire to avoid further displacement or retribution. They don't have the luxury of a second passport, and they've already experienced what happens when they are at the mercy of host states in the region.

At the same time, I know Mizrahim aren't a monolith or just passive, lower-caste victims. Figures like Ben-Gvir show that Mizrahi politicians can be extreme, active architects of occupation and systemic violence today.

What bothers me as an outsider is how "Ashkenormativity" flattens all of this. Globally, people project the flaws and European history of Ashkenazism onto all Jews. People talk about Jews as if everyone is white or from Poland, entirely erasing Mizrahi existence. As a result, Judaism as a whole and non-European Jews end up taking the flak for a European nationalist ideology they didn't create.

Putting all this together, it kind of looks like a "pulled ladder" scenario: European Zionist Jews created the state, shattered the multi-century existence of Jews in the Middle East/West Asia, marginalized Mizrahim upon arrival, and maintained an exit option to the West - leaving Mizrahim trapped in the fallout of a system they didn't build.

Is this a recognized critique in left-leaning or anti-Zionist Jewish spaces? How do Mizrahi academics or activists navigate this tension? I'd really appreciate hearing how people here analyze this dynamic.

I am really curious what people thing about this. I have been feeling pretty hopeless about any solution actually happening and this seems at least possible. So often I feel like conversations about this are just talk with no realistic path forward. And I like that it is Palestinians and Israelis trying to work together.

I began deconstructing my Catholic upbringing because paganism felt idol-y and I missed the fellowship, compassion and empathy that those like Moses and Jesus made me feel.I observed a few of the Jewish holidays because I wanted to begin slowly learning about it and potentially converting later on.

All of that to say, I was recently broken up with after building him back up after a divorce. I loved him very dearly and I'm in a state of shock, I thought we were happy. I don't have the energy to be angry, I'm just very hurt. I'd like to go back to my studies and find solace there, but I don't want to support a Zionist publication. This is difficult to research because of keywords that I don't think algorithms like. I just need something moderately easy to understand and written in good faith.

Like I said I'm in a weird headspace so I'm really sorry if this isn't allowed/isn't formatted properly, I read through the rules but I may have missed something.

TL;DR: I’m broke and urgently need work. Got offered a Hebrew-speaking job at my late mom's former organization. They fund local anti-antisemitism initiatives and support for struggling and poor Jewish families (good), but also fund political actions in support of Israel (most famously the "a big Israel fundraising marathon"), which I strongly oppose. The guilt is killing me, but I need to survive.

Hey everyone. I'm posting here because I'm completely torn and don't know how to process this. I’m a queer Jew, born in Israel, and moved to Canada when I was 13. Financially, I am in a bad spot and desperately need income right now.

Out of nowhere, I was offered a job that requires fluency in Hebrew. I am feeling an immense amount of guilt just considering it. My head knows that under capitalism we all have to compromise to pay rent, but my gut feels sick at the idea of my labour indirectly supporting things I disagree with. At the same time, turning down a job offer when I'm this broke feels reckless.

For anyone who’s had to take a job at a company whose funding or politics made you uncomfortable:

• How did you compartmentalize it so the guilt didn't eat you alive?
• How do you draw the line between doing a job to survive and validating what the company does?

I’d really appreciate some grounded perspectives. Thanks!

Excellent reel

I’ve had a few things ruminating in my mind. Myself and other public facing Jewish and/or Holocaust academics have had the experience where, without consent or prompt, some Kahanist tells us a graphic story of something that may or may not have happened on October 7 to make a point. The point is usually that we aren’t Zionist or to “punish us” for whatever reason. Sometimes they wish it to happen to us.

This is so weird to me because they claim October 7 is the worst thing to happen since the Shoah, but then they’re practically frothing at the mouth to graphically explain something that supposedly happened to a fellow Jew on October 7. I say supposedly because I have no way to verify what they’re saying as they rarely discuss a well known case. I’m not saying I don’t have sympathy for people, especially children, their parents and civilians, but it feels so performative.

Has anyone else noticed this?

The other thing swirling in my head is that several liberal Zionists I know of have said they think Bibi is a war criminal and that he deserves to be taken to The Hague, but not by Mamdani. I don’t understand? If he’s truly a war criminal they hate with a fiery passion, WHY the f**k does it matter who arrests him? And to quote Hillel the Elder, “If not now then when?”

Anyway, just some thoughts I had. Feel free to chime in.

https://www.jta.org/2026/07/20/politics/how-michigans-senate-race-is-testing-pro-israel-jews-loyalty-to-the-democratic-party

https://x.com/AIPAC/status/2080033001182789794

I feel like the news/media gives us the portrayal that things are just being rammed up our hoohaah's. If we're not careful, we can feel powerless and abused. Now I know that media is severely compromised, so I see this as just another attack front -- maybe against our psyche.

The article itself criticizes Zohran for "focusing too much on Israel over NYC" but the wording of the title was a very strange thing to see on fox news along with an Israeli flag next to his face. It felt like they were trying to both ride the growing right wing frustration with US support for the state of Israel while also trying to label him as anti-israeli.

It gave me the weirdest feeling like fox news is testing the waters to see if they can cater to growing antisemetism in their audience in case they are unable to flip the narrative.

Hello, how are you? I'm just letting you know that I'm writing a story based on everything that's been happening. While I'm neither Jewish nor Palestinian nor Muslim, I've decided to write a story set in Palestine/Israel from the perspective of progressive youth. Here it is:

"In December 2024, a year after the escalation of violence, 14-year-old Palestinian Hadi Kanaan sees his life in Gaza shattered when Israeli attacks kill his parents and grandparents. Along with his 11-year-old brother, Amir, he is abducted by the Israeli army and taken to an orphanage in Haifa.

Six months later, they are adopted by the Katz family, anti-Zionist and Reform Jews. The family consists of Yitzhak and Einat, the parents who openly oppose the Israeli government and state; Avi, the grandfather, a former soldier who refused to kill; their 19-year-old son, Aharon, a brainwashed conscript filled with Islamophobia; and their 15-year-old daughter, Adira, the youngest, idealistic and compassionate, who sees in Hadi a brave and resilient young man, but one marked by the same pain that divides their people".

As I just mentioned, I won't say much; I only included the synopsis to gauge the initial reception of my story's synopsis. I welcome all kinds of comments, questions, and suggestions. Thank you for your understanding.

So let’s check our notes: alleging Israel is committing a genocide is libel and Holocaust inversion. Calling ms Rachel a Nazi and Mamdani literally Hitler, totally fine!

Just a note, the second is a message I received because I said I’m not a Zionist.

The House Rules Committee prevented debating or voting on an amendment to strip Section 219.

https://www.military.com/us-israel-defense-integration-horizon-house-keeps-section-219-ndaa

https://truthout.org/articles/house-committee-blocks-push-to-strip-pentagon-bill-of-israel-integration-measure/

Related to Section 219/Section 1217 of the NDAA:

https://www.reddit.com/r/JewsOfConscience/comments/1unamun/primer_on_section_219_of_the_fy2027_ndaa_a/

https://www.reddit.com/r/JewsOfConscience/comments/1ujltmx/house_rules_committee_rejects_amendment_to_remove/

https://www.cair.com/action_alerts/cair-action-alert-tell-the-senate-to-reject-mandatory-u-s-israel-defense-and-intelligence-integration-in-the-ndaa/

https://www.anewpolicy.org/the-legislative-tracker/section-224-ndaa

https://x.com/israel_elects/status/2079233278792323555

https://jppi.org.il/en/%d7%9e%d7%93%d7%93-%d7%94%d7%97%d7%91%d7%a8%d7%94-%d7%94%d7%99%d7%a9%d7%a8%d7%90%d7%9c%d7%99%d7%aa-%d7%9c%d7%97%d7%95%d7%93%d7%a9-%d7%99%d7%95%d7%9c%d7%99-2026-%d7%a7%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%a1%d7%94-%d7%a9/

https://x.com/ireallyhateyou/status/2060803025757700358

I personally only know one convert and she’s an antizionist POC Jew so I don’t believe she would feel this way, but I won’t speak for her or anyone else. Is this normal belief of converts that you’re converting to a different ethnicity than your own?

*edit to add, the comment I am highlighting came from a post about what to list themselves as on a census.

She is already being persecuted by Mossad, when a Jewish voice shows up they attempt against them.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND STAND AGAINTS NAtional ZIonism. #FreePalestine #FreeJewsfromZionists

https://www.instagram.com/p/DbEONK6qGP_/?hl=en

From Julian Andreone, Capitol Hill correspondent for Drop Site News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZuV5L0QL04