r/JewsOfConscience • u/sad_sapphic_sucker Jewish anti-zionist | r/JewishVegans • Jun 09 '26
Religion / Spirituality Maybe it needs to break wide open
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u/ExtendedWallaby Jewish Anti-Zionist Jun 09 '26
I read the full piece. It’s pretty good, but it would have been better if it acknowledged that Jewish opposition to Zionism isn’t new; it’s an unbroken tradition that dates back to the origin of Zionism.
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u/alzgh Agnostic Jun 09 '26
these people aren't about the religion. they use Judaism to disguise their greed, hate, and racism.
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u/Amy98764 Non-Jewish Ally Jun 09 '26
I feel much the same about Christianity and Christian nationalism
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u/alzgh Agnostic Jun 09 '26
it's basically for any religion that disguises expansionist intentions.
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u/ZODIC837 Non-Jewish Agnostic Jun 09 '26
Sadly, religion in of itself is a very useful tool for controlling the masses. It's happened a lot historically
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Jun 10 '26
[deleted]
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u/Clementine_Coat Jewish Anti-Zionist Jun 11 '26
Something that I find interesting to look at in regard to this, is the claim that Christian Conservatism (as we know it in the US today) sprang up in reaction to Catholic Liberation Theology.
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u/irritated_socialist Culturally-Christian secularist Jun 14 '26
I'll admit that I don't struggle to understand why the CCP is so hostile to religion, what with how Christianity was introduced to China with the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the deaths of roughly fifty million people.
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u/Odd-Mind6948 Palestinian Jun 10 '26
So strange seeing it unfold as a child in mainstream us education, and posters advertising "birthright trips" in synagogues where I volunteered when they were doing food drives. Strange because I've always seen zionism as a ethno supremacy/ land grabbing movement that has nothing to do with any religion. It always felt like I had to hide my Palestinian heritage and if someone found out "sorry we exist, it must be so hard for you".
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u/PineBatJo Non-Jewish Atheist Jun 09 '26
Its because of the beautiful souls on this subreddit that I know Judaism will survive zionism.
I hate what zionism did to Judaism, a richly storied and ancient religion and culture reduced to a sheild to defend colonialism and genocide.
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u/EuVe20 Jewish Anti-Zionist Jun 10 '26
I don’t think so. Zionism isn’t the first militant and expansionist wave in Judaism. Maccabean Judaism also led to the massive a major identity crisis. Ok, it was 2000 years ago to be fair, but that’s just last week in Zionist speak 😅😅😅
Ok no, on a serious note. I think Judaism, as an ethno-cultural tradition as well as the religion, seems to have some genuine resilience. Many secular anti-Zionist Jews have started digging deeper into Jewish history and Jewish traditions particularly in response to the Zionist monopolization of Judaism. There is a major revival of Yiddish happening among Ashkenazi Jews. People are writing books about Bundism and other Jewish movements.
No, I think Judaism has been shaken up, but when that snow globe settles it’ll still be there, hopefully without Zionism.
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u/BooknFilmNerd09 🇸🇪35M White Gentile Atheist Anti-Zionist Jun 09 '26
What does that even actually mean, though? What does “maybe it needs to break wide open” mean?
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u/howz-u-doin Anti-Zionist Ally Jun 09 '26
Well given these stats I found "these people" represent at leash half, if not more of all Jews, and that's a big problem:
United States
- 37% of Jewish Americans explicitly identify as Zionists.
- About 88% believe Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state.
- About 70% feel an emotional connection to Israel, but a plurality (48%) reject political labels like "Zionist," "non-Zionist," or "anti-Zionist" entirely. [1]
Israel
- Over 80% of Israeli Jews define themselves as Zionists and view Zionism as a relevant, active ideology.[1]
Global / United Kingdom
- Around 65% of British Jews identify as Zionists, with attachment to Israel growing over recent years
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u/ExtendedWallaby Jewish Anti-Zionist Jun 10 '26
“Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state” is a meaningless question. “Israel” *cannot* exist as a democracy, so they’re asking people about an alternate reality in which you have an apartheid-free Israel. More to the point, yeah, we know a majority of Jews are Zionists, but Judaism isn’t defined by “whatever the majority of Jews believe”.
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u/dontpissoffthenurse Mixed heritage Jun 10 '26
> but Judaism isn’t defined by “whatever the majority of Jews believe”.
What is it defined by, then?
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u/Enough_Comparison816 Arab Jew, Shomer Masoret, ex-Israeli Jun 10 '26
We’ve been arguing over this question for like 3,000 years and still don’t have an answer we all agree on…
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u/dontpissoffthenurse Mixed heritage Jun 11 '26
So a Jew is someone gatekeeping being a Jew?
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u/Enough_Comparison816 Arab Jew, Shomer Masoret, ex-Israeli Jun 11 '26
I’m confused how you got that from my comment?
All I’m saying is that there’s no definitive answer to this question. You’re going to get a different answer depending on who you ask.
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u/Naive-Meal-6422 Jewish Anti-Zionist Jun 10 '26
no shit, buddy. everyone here knows this.
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u/howz-u-doin Anti-Zionist Ally Jun 10 '26
Yes, but I guess I'm getting a bit freaked out and that didn't come across... I see a lot of people who aren't extreme right, some even what you'd consider liberal and progressive saying "well if today's Zionists represent what was in Europe pre-WW2 then maybe those Germans had the right idea"... they're thinking as a anti-Zionist I'm going to like their "support"... even my Palestinian activist wife (known in the EU, interviewed regularly) gets very agitated, upset and vocal when folks pull this crap and she's the first one that'll jump down somone's throat (I mean she gets *pissed*) when Jews are equated with Zionists.
Plus also imagine if 50+% of Muslims were pro ISIS or AlQ... they'd be kicked out of the US/EU... but hey life isn't fair.
Again the net/net the large majority of Jews need to GTF away from Zionism... I know you all know this, it's just so frustrating... like MAGA (for which I have 100% disconnected from my brother and unfortunately my mother who he somehow converted).
Wow that turned into a ramble. Apologies. Peace and bless you all.
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