#notinourname

[naradreamscape]

Note: I wanted to reconstruct a very good post (former link; mirror referenced) that has been rendered unrebloggable ever since Tumblr suspended the original poster, bringmemyrocks. The post has otherwise been mirrored here, all text and formatting verbatim, for future resource use.

Original post follows, 8 Av 5784 / 12/8/2024:

Hi anon, 

I am glad you want to unlearn Zionism. Even in the liberal Jewish world, it has a real stranglehold over the religion. It might seem counterintuitive, but I think it’s better to learn the history first, and only then to rebuild your religious identity.

You’ll know what’s legit and what isn’t by that point, and you’ll know how to spot “soft” Zionism (general Jewish chauvinism, obsession over bloodlines, wanting to maintain ethnic majority, etc) Don’t build a house upon sand, as they say. 

Please know that you may feel lost, but you are not alone. Judaism has been anti-Zionist for most of its existence, and it will become the majority again soon, God-willing. 

Books that I have personally benefited from reading below. Most are either free online or available through Libby or your school library if you’re a student. Many have audiobooks, and ebooks can be read aloud with text to speech software, including old scans.) If you cannot find, I have copies of most works mentioned below. 

On Palestine

The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi (if you read only one thing on this list, read this one.)

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe 

Orientalism by Edward Said 

Justice for Some by Noura Erakat 

Poetry by Mahmoud Darwish, Mosab Abu Toha, Mohammed El Kurd, Refaat Alareer

All that Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948 ed. Walid Khalidi and Sharif ElMusa 

https://www.zochrot.org/welcome/index/en History of ethnic cleansing as well as info on villages destroyed in 1948 in website form

Palestinian left revolutionary history: https://learnpalestine.qeh.ox.ac.uk/ 

Films “Born in Gaza” (on kanopy, which most libraries have) and “Gaza Fights for Freedom” and “Angel of Gaza” (free on youtube) 

On Judaism/Zionism 

The Jewish Dilemma by Rabbi Elmer Berger

A Partisan History of Judaism by Rabbi Elmer Berger 

(Most of R. Berger’s work is free on the Internet Archive) 

The 1885 Pittsburgh Platform of Reform Judaism rejects Zionism

Duties of the Heart by Rabbi Bahya ibn Pekudah if you like dense personal theology 

I’ve heard from other anti-Zionist Jews that reading the writings of Zionists like Herzl and Jabotinsky was very enlightening re: Zionism’s colonial intentions. 

Film: Israelism, now available for screening. Shows liberal US jews unlearning Zionism. 

From a Reconstructionist/Renewal perspective specifically

Shomeret Shalom: Replanting the Seeds of Jewish Revolutionary Nonviolence by Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb

I also highly recommend reading Rabbi Brant Rosen’s work: Blog: https://rabbibrant.com/ 

Book: Wrestling in the Daylight: A Rabbi’s Path to Palestinian Solidarity 

Rabbi Rosen is the rabbi of Tzedek Chicago, a shul you can attend online (might need to ping their admin a few times to get the Zoom link) 

Further reading I recommend Decolonize Palestine’s website, as well as their reading list: https://decolonizepalestine.com/reading-list/ 

Adalah’s discriminatory laws database which clearly shows that even Palestinian citizens living in the 48 territories suffer terrible discrimination: 

The Discriminatory Laws Database - Adalah

Adalah’s Discriminatory Laws Database (DLD) is an online resource comprising a list of over 65 Israeli laws that discriminate directly or in

There’s also a whole online library about Palestine you can check out here, tons of books: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zqyxFMrGP3fFifjAC75wk5QjMMYC96eo 

[tmarshconnors]

History Repeats Itself

History has a cruel way of repeating itself, especially when those in power refuse to learn from the past. Sir Keir Starmer’s recent suggestion that British troops could be sent to Ukraine without a parliamentary vote is not just reckless it’s a direct betrayal of the democratic principles we hold dear. It echoes one of the most infamous moments in modern British history: the Iraq War debacle of 2003.

A War the People Never Wanted

Back in February 2003, an estimated 1.5 million people marched through the streets of London, voicing their opposition to the impending war in Iraq. This was one of the largest protests in British history, a clear and unequivocal message to the Blair government: “Not in our name.” And yet, despite overwhelming public opposition, Tony Blair took Britain to war alongside the United States. The result? Years of bloodshed, a destabilised Middle East, and the tragic loss of British servicemen and women for a cause that was later exposed as being based on lies.

Fast forward to 2025, and it seems Labour’s leadership has learned nothing. Once again, we see a Labour leader prepared to march Britain towards war this time, in Ukraine without the consent of the people or even Parliament. The sheer arrogance of Starmer’s position should alarm every Briton, regardless of political allegiance.

No Troops, No War—Not in Our Name

Britain has played a supportive role in aiding Ukraine against Russian aggression, providing financial and military assistance. But there is a world of difference between sending weapons and deploying British boots on the ground. The moment a single British soldier steps onto Ukrainian soil in an official capacity, we are no longer just supporting an ally we are at war. This would put our troops in direct confrontation with Russian forces, escalating the conflict in ways that could be catastrophic.

Let’s be absolutely clear: we, the British people, do not want to be dragged into this war. We do not want our troops deployed to a battlefield that is not ours. We do not want another generation of soldiers sent off to die in a conflict that should never have involved us directly. And we certainly do not want a government that ignores the will of its people and bypasses parliamentary debate in matters as grave as war.

Starmer’s Hypocrisy Exposed

Keir Starmer brands himself as a man of integrity, a leader who will restore trust in government after years of Tory mismanagement. Yet, in a move straight out of the Blair playbook, he is now floating the idea of committing Britain to war without the democratic process. This is not leadership it’s authoritarianism dressed up as “decisiveness.”

Had this been a Conservative Prime Minister attempting to bypass Parliament on military intervention, Labour would be screaming bloody murder about the erosion of democracy. But because it’s Starmer, we’re expected to sit quietly and nod along? Not a chance.

Britain First, Not Globalist Interests

The Labour government should be focusing on the crises at home our crumbling economy, failing NHS, uncontrolled immigration, and rising crime. Instead, Starmer is more concerned with playing international hero, bending over backwards to appease NATO and the EU, rather than prioritising British interests. His reckless warmongering only proves one thing: Labour still cannot be trusted with our national security.

We Must Speak Out Before It’s Too Late

If Iraq taught us anything, it’s that public pressure matters. The protests of 2003 did not stop the war, but they exposed the government’s lies and eroded Blair’s credibility forever. We cannot afford to wait until British coffins start coming home from Ukraine before we raise our voices. The time to oppose Starmer’s Ukraine gamble is now.

We must demand that any military deployment requires a full parliamentary vote. We must pressure our MPs to stand up for their constituents. And most importantly, we must remind Labour that Britain is not a pawn on the globalist chessboard.

No war. No troops. Not in our name.

[sliimehag]

NOT IN OUR NAME

For all the children whose lives have been shattered we say with united hearts: NOT IN OUR NAME. All the killing must stop. Download and sha

[balfyoddlyeager]

Old Article of Outspoken Cait...

Article about Cait in Irish America Magazine April/May 2003

This article came out soon after the US, under President George W. Bush , invaded Iraq in March, 2003. 

Other models wearing her shirt…

[calliegarp]

Watching the livestream from SFO and crying and raging. I signed up for recurring monthly donations to ACLU because I don't know what else to do right now. So horrified, so angry, so heart broken.⠀ Repost from @bettyreads :⠀ Been following what's happening at JFK and airports around the US for hours. Important to be aware and continue to share what's happening with the #MuslimBan Donate to the ACLU, if you can't: go protest, if not: just amplify the voices. Continue to speak out against what is happening. We must oppose this hate at all times. If too much, take time to rest and research and keep it up. Immigrants and refugees are being attacked right now and if you don't think this affects you, you're wrong. (Photo by mariacfrantz on twitter) ⠀ #resist #letthelawyersin #letthefamiliesout #sanctuaryforall #NotInOurName, #NeverAgain #MuslimBan #NoBanNoWall #muslimrights #peoplearenotillegal

[naradreamscape]

As requested by @hyperpotamianarch and @jewishgay4il, a follow-up to this post about unlearning zionism. I am writing on behalf of the now-suspended @/bringmemyrocks, who I am not personally familiar with, but it's only fair that I take responsibility for the content I share on my blog.

Before we go any further, it's important to define "zionism" exactly as it is regarded by anti-zionists: this is the rhetoric that all Jews, regardless of past or present locale, are inherently native to the Levant, and are in a constant state of transitioning back to our "homeland". All other Gentile occupants of the Levant are seen as land-stealing foreigners who are in need of going somewhere else.

Anti-zionist Jews find this ideology objectionable, not only because of the chain of human displacement this encourages, but because it erases our ancestries. It turns wherever we have made a home into "diaspora" territory (rather places our ancestors gave their lives to live in or lived defiantly as crypto-Jew communities, or even where we have historically been safe). When the settlement of Israel is treated as our inherent homeland, it causes {surges in judenhass internationally, because it it assumed that any unrelated Jewish person in the "diaspora" is inherently a foreigner or, worse yet, condones the actions of the IDF. People can be zionist for many reasons: well-intentioned Gentiles may want a "safe" place for us after the Shoah, while on the other end, virulent antisemites want a concrete destination for us to be barked at to "go back to".

Going forward, this is exactly how I am defining "zionism". This is how all other anti-zionists largely define "zionism". I know it's largely used as a term for Jewish independence within zionist circles, so it may seem as if I am moving the goalpost here, but I am simply giving you the perspective from which anti-zionist Jews like me are speaking.

You are saying that "Judaism has been anti-Zionist for most of its existence". Can you please elaborate on what exactly you mean by that?

This is followed by his reference to the period of time wherein the scriptures making up our Tanakh were being written. Quite frankly, zionism as a movement - as I described above, wherein we go to the Levant and stay there - has only existed since the late 1800s. Writers like Leo Pinsker, Moses Hess, and Theodor Herzl only begun to formulate the idea of mass "returns" less than 200 years ago, out of our nearly 6000 year history. I know quite well that feelings to return existed long, long before the first Zionist Congress meetings began, but it was within these meetings of the minds that the idea of Modern Israel begun to take shape. Therefore, anti-zionist Jews see it as a modern invention.

However, it's clear that the desire to return to our ancestral land has always been pervasive in Judaism, as can be seen by the constant mentions of it in the prayer. Many people consider such a desire to be a form of Zionism.

We can return there. We could always return there. However, if we had just moved in alongside the Palestinians instead of violently evicting them, regardless of their faith or status during what is now known as the 1948 Nakba, we could have had so many more allies this way. The fact that the League of Nations/United Nations decided Palestine was safe for Jews means the Palestinian populace was welcoming, if not at least open, to us moving in.

But that's the thing. We should have just moved in, not done a slapdash "landback decolonialism" operation. Our nationalism, xenophobia, and the ensuing decades of violence just made us a new league of enemies. I know various Palestinian factions have attacked Israelis. I know that. But what I wish I could make more people understand is that these factions would almost certainly never come to be if our emigration wasn't so violent, and the ensuing occupation so outright paranoid and racist. The 1967 borders weren't enough for the occupation - more had to be taken. With Netanyahu waving around a flag of the entire land mass turned into Israel a mere month before the Nova Festival Massacre, it was clear their far-right never had any intention of letting Palestine survive. Now, with Netanyahu using the 1967 term "Greater Israel" to refer to entire swaths of other countries, it is clear the occupation cares less about creating a welcoming home for us all, and more about erasing anyone deemed an "Arab" in the surrounding area. What about the Jews of Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, etc.? Will their ethnicities be validated before they are bombed or taken en masse?

For every Palestinian or "Arab" slap, there has been an Israeli curbstomp. This escalating retaliation may feel good and liberating in the moment, but it has brought us to this moment, wherein people are wondering if Israel will go the way of Pretoria or Rhodesia: a collapse of apartheid, and/or a land reclamation by those displaced by the 1948 and 2023 Nakbas. We see this as a gore-laden house of cards staged atop razed villages.

In addition, I would be curious to know to which parts of the Duties of the Heart are you referring to as helpful in unlearning Zionism and establishing Jewish theology outside of Zionism.

I believe bringmemyrocks was making reference to Duties of the Heart's focus on building an emotional connection to Gd, as wherever we and Torah are, there is Gd. Bahya ibn Paquda's objective was to create a guide for others to strengthen their spiritual connection within ourselves, rather than a centralized homebase.

It has been many years since I read through Duties of the Heart, so I apologize for my lack of diligence. However, I hope all this can provide some insight into where anti-zionists Jews are coming from when we contest the occupation.

[naradreamscape]

I found this openly anti-zionist book of essays from 1954 at a Little Free Library near my old shul. Here are some bangers from it

[naradreamscape]

I've always been a huge critic of others in the Western Judaic community pulling victim cards whenever one of them gets rightfully criticized, but it is getting supremely on my nerves how many people are doing that when they're criticized for enabling the colony's genocide and terrorism

Every time Bisan calls out the colony's offensive force for starting shit within neighbouring territories, she's rightfully called it terrorism and criminal behaviour...but then America's Next Top Reacher will show up and go "OMG.....SHE'S SAYING JEWS ARE TERRORISTS AND CRIMINALS!!" You think intercepting pagers and loading them with malware and incendiary materials so they fucking explode regardless of where or who they may be around is inherently Jewish? Do you seriously want this behaviour to be associated with Jewish identity? Detach yourself and your self-worth from the colony and embrace criticizing them too, or don't you dare ever say "Never Again" ever again