A while ago, I read an account by an Israel anti-zionist where they reflected on their journey from being raised heavily Zionist, through the cognitive dissonance, to where they are now. Something that’s stuck with me is how she described the dread she felt when she was beginning to recognise the injustices being done unto Palestinians. Her “Oh God, are we the baddies?” moment came with a fear that almost pushed her back into ignorance and Zionism — the fear that if the atrocities committed in the name of Zionism weren’t necessary and justified, as she had been taught, then so many people were justified in hating her and people like her. For a brief flash, she almost doubled down on the zionism in a sort of “well, it’s too late to right the wrongs of the past, and now there really is a group of people who hate us, so now we really are fighting to stay alive”
Absolutely. It sounds like the stories I’ve read about kids who outgrew the KKK. It’s hard to understand how all the people who treat you with love are able to be so wrong about hate.
Not all Israeli families are like that. I worked with two Israeli Jews with dual citizenship in the US, and we’ve remained friends since. One attended the pro-Palestine protest at NYU. They both grew up in liberal homes in Israel. They were raised with the belief that Palestinians should have access to their holy land, and vote for one-state advocates. They are very much against Netanyahu’s actions toward the Palestinians, and his use of antisemitism as a defense, but are also very much against Hamas.
A while ago, I read an account by an Israel anti-zionist where they reflected on their journey from being raised heavily Zionist, through the cognitive dissonance, to where they are now. Something that’s stuck with me is how she described the dread she felt when she was beginning to recognise the injustices being done unto Palestinians. Her “Oh God, are we the baddies?” moment came with a fear that almost pushed her back into ignorance and Zionism — the fear that if the atrocities committed in the name of Zionism weren’t necessary and justified, as she had been taught, then so many people were justified in hating her and people like her. For a brief flash, she almost doubled down on the zionism in a sort of “well, it’s too late to right the wrongs of the past, and now there really is a group of people who hate us, so now we really are fighting to stay alive”
Hatred and fear are scary things.
Absolutely. It sounds like the stories I’ve read about kids who outgrew the KKK. It’s hard to understand how all the people who treat you with love are able to be so wrong about hate.
Not all Israeli families are like that. I worked with two Israeli Jews with dual citizenship in the US, and we’ve remained friends since. One attended the pro-Palestine protest at NYU. They both grew up in liberal homes in Israel. They were raised with the belief that Palestinians should have access to their holy land, and vote for one-state advocates. They are very much against Netanyahu’s actions toward the Palestinians, and his use of antisemitism as a defense, but are also very much against Hamas.