What’s Happened to the Israeli Left

mutual aid work is. And yeah, so we run a mutual aid It runs in many forms, but mostly it's we have a food security program that supports kind of the people that fall in between the cracks of the systems within Israeli and Palestine. Well, obviously the systems within Israel and in Palestine. We work mainly in Area C

in the West Bank in Massapalieta. Yeah, so we do food security, like food packs that are culturally appropriate for each community, receiving them based off of what they are asking, whether it's diapers, baby formula, you know, fit to each holiday. Now we just finished or we're still in the midst of a Romandan annual campaign where they're all going to be boxes fit for the holiday and we host well, well, we had a community center for the past five years.

We've been a collective, I guess since March twenty twenty

when COVID hit. So basically when that started, it was kind of like we saw that there was going to be a lot of food waste, like an obscene amounts of food waste because all the restaurants, offices, hotels, la la la who would be closing, And we thought we'd kind of rescue that food and redistribute it to communities that were in need until the government kind of got on their feet and understood what their virus was that was kind of the beginning of our deep, deep political

awakening of this place, thinking that there would be a system that would come and serve the vulnerable communities around us. So that's when it started. I think only like a few months into that when we thought we were kind of just like, yeah, good citizens doing the work and not understanding how politically charged it is to serve your community when they're actively being oppressed by the systems that

are supposed to care for them. And I think in that moment, we understood that we want to not only serve our neighbors or community, we also need to learn about these root causes of oppression and what brought them to this position in the first place. You know, people often say like, oh, you know, someone's poor. They don't have food in their fridge, like in their ways of

trying to raise funds or whatever. And it's it's an atrocity almost to kind of depict it that way, because all of these communities are actively being abandoned, Yeah, being abandoned in a nice way. You know, they didn't wake up one morning and didn't have food in their fridge, right, they don't have food in their fridge because of a policy that preserves that status, and so that is they mutual aid that we run. We had a community center for five years where we hosted weekly events or daily

events every evening. All the events would be under that umbrella of learning as a community about these injustices. And they could also be you know, shows, and they could be debates, and they could be lecturers or workshops, and all of the proceeds would go to our food security program. And in that way we are one hundred percent community funded.

No one has salaries. We made a conscious decision back in the beginning when we realized all the injustices around us, that we didn't want to institutionalize and become part of a system that is responsible for that. And that is not to say that NGOs aren't amazing. That is not to say that you know, there aren't ENGOs doing God's work here.

Yeah yeah, it said an app meant to be deleted, and I just thought about that, like, oh my god, that is the essence of it all, Like we're not supposed to be doing this, isn't like, I mean, we should be caring for our community and our neighbors. That should go without saying. But also our taxes should be directed to serving our neighbors that are in vulnerable states.

entire identity. And you know, post October seventh, you just see everything, like everything has become so much more pornographic, Like you know, it's the amount of death murder, the genocide, the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. You know, just this week, six communities have been pushed out of their homes by the army, by settlers Paris, And it's become much more immediate. Whereas I think before October seventh, I mean, there didn't go a week in which we didn't have

an event talking about the occupation and learning. But I think after October seventh it became this like huge divide of like this kind of like protection over one's identity. So we did a lot of work to kind of dismantle that notion that to empathize with another people comes on the expense of your own pain and trying to you know, mirror the power dynamic to people like, yes, we all had family and friends and people that we knew that were murdered. That we're taken, that we're like abducted.

And with that being said, Israel has been committing a genocide in Gaza for the past still it's ongoing two in something years. The other day, I got a message on our Instagram basically being like I love the work you do. You do really important things, and you know there is racism and there is poverty. But from there to say that there's ethnic cleansing, come on, like, I don't know if I can support your work anymore, and basically also meet that with love as well to be

like I hear you. This is the policies that people in our government are advancing, this is who our army is protecting, this is what ethnic cleansing means. And in that situation, I can also turn to my community and my friends, like I have a friend that what he does for work is kind of gathering all this information

of articles and everything that's coming out to educate. So all right, cool, I can use those articles to help teach this person that yes, there is in fact ethnic cleansing happening in the West Bank, like and you know it's not even like this like oh, how do I say? It's like no, actually, are like our government officials are saying this like smoothly said it the other day, right, so yeah, but yeah, it is this kind of like open door.

let's have a conversation about this. At least they're asking, yeah, and they're wanting to learn, they're questioning something. That's that's the way forward. And with that being said, you know, the past two enough years have also been excruciating living in this society, like you're living in a genocidal society and you're around people that could justify certain, you know, acts,

certain war crimes. Yeah, you kind of find yourself not wanting to engage, not wanting to love, not wanting to teach, not wanting not that I'm the one teaching, like we're all learning together about this and hosting, but obviously not wanting to have conversations sometimes because you're just like, well, you see what's been happening online over the past two years, and you still can't comprehend what is going on, and God, I don't know what I can do to help that.

But then I have to remind myself that if I am here, if I'm living here, I have a responsibility and that is to, yeah, facilitate more meetings conversations in which people will be exposed to the injustice is being committed in our name. And that's a problem with liberal Zionism as well, because liberal Zionists will be like, oh my god, yeah, it's terrible, what's happening in the West Bank settlers, blah blah, blah, but like they'll still send their you know, their boys to go be pilots in

the army and you know, bob children. And it's kind of like finding the way to kind of be like no, no, you can't, like you can't be against that.

This guy money in our group, he runs these tours and he will do with Breaking the Silence and Missus. They'll do one with the Zoo, which I'm sure, yeah, you can probably link all of these in the definitely will. Yeah, it was Maia, which is the Charles Kloramuncia, which is literally down the street from where I'm at right now, and it's the beach of Yafa and the village that once existed there, or even with a woman named Hilaharel to go through a tour within the half abandoned Israeli

new bus station, and they're all tied to injustices. They're all tied to something that was or was there and isn't anymore, or atrocities currently happening. Obviously also when in the negative to learn about the different Bedouin communities and the injustices that they're experiencing. And then so that's yeah, it's called touring and solidarity. And then we'll have I mean, honestly, probably any left radical left organization that you could probably

think of. We collaborate with them in some way or another. It's a pretty tight knit community and this has been a beautiful thing of like trying to you know, always there's always a knits and grits of blah blah blah, but I mean uplifting each other and collaborating with each other is so important to not feel alone as Israelis against the occupation, Yeah, and for an actual true democracy in the land or liberation. Yeah.

But we do work with different groups within Palestine. One of the people that was you know, the main receiver and distributor of these boxes was Adadarin, who was murdered in July by settler, you know, on Levy. So yeah, it's working directly with communities. Second question was what role do you left this Israelis have right now? Is that the question?

to get there. I think that our responsibility as Israeli left is to keep fighting for that, is to keep fighting for that within Israel and within Palestine. So, whether it's protective presence in the West Bank, protective presence is a kind of program where you sleep at different Palestinian homes every night just in case settlers come in the middle of the night to attack, or the army comes in the middle of the night to attack, and you're

there serving as protective presence. You obviously have a privilege. You have an Israeli passport, you're Jewish, that is a privilege on this land, and to be there, you know, obviously you don't decide what goes down. You ask each family how they want to deal with this, and you serve that. So I think protective presence is one of the most important things Israeli Israeli leftists can do, because yeah, like I said earlier, it's just getting worse and worse,

and it's at a high. It's always been bad, but the past honestly, I think since no other land came out, I think it's gotten a lot of attention on them. Essentially. Well, there's always been attacked by settlers, of course, yeah, but I think that, Yeah, in the past year, it's gotten to an all time high.

I feel like so many people in Israel are in just like this constant victimhood of like the whole world is against us, like everyone's anti Semitic, blah blah blah blah blah, and like from that to what actually, I mean, obviously there's anti Semitism, Obviously there are people not saying that there isn't of course, but without any accountability for what we have turned our backs to over the past

two and a half years. Like, there's so much work to be done, and I think, you know, the easy way, whether it's a Western or abroad telling you like, well, why do you live in Palestine? You should leave blah blah blah, or whether it's a Palestinian in the West Bank being like you can't leave, like you have, we need you here. Obviously, it's an unnatural ecosystem to have, you know, leftist activist running through villages and the West.

I mean, but that's the reality of things. So as long as I am here, living on this land and where I'm from, I'm going to do everything in my power to resist what is happening and to learn together with other people. It's hard because we're not We're a really tiny community like that. You know, there's people that again are against you know, all the war blah blah blah, like but yeah, but not seeing how that is like

interconnected with the entire premise of the state. There's a lot of work to be done, and it's hard because you're also bitter, like you know, and you want to have compassion with them.

Anymore to have so many people around you telling you that you're wrong, but you know that this is the right thing to do. And I get that, and I have compassion for that. But then there's also just like sometimes you're just like, yeah, no, I can't, I can't imagine.

happening here, it's like two different worlds. Yeah, it's funny for me to even like be like, oh yeah, like to even try to explain that, because I'm sure people will be listening to this and be like, oh, like,

you know, why are they complaining? Like, but then you know your society, and you know what they have or haven't been exposed to, and you know what they've chosen not to look at to not necessarily at this point what they have or haven't been exposed, because I think that's also a bit of a kind of forgiving card, because I think at this point you still call it ai. If you still call it like, there's some deep reckoning

to do there. Yeah. But anyways, I just feel like it's such two different worlds and I think that I think, as Israeli leftists that live here, you know, paid taxes in this lan, we have a huge responsibility, if not the number one responsibility, to posts any in liberation. And yeah, I think that's the very long answer to your questions.

turn their back. But at the same time, it's like systems have led them to a point where they dehumanize to this extent that they can see the videos and either make excuses or pretend they're not real, you know. And so it's like the work is to disrupt the systems, you know. I think in that way, I think about like structural constraints that is more worthwhile in my effort.

If I was in Israel leftist, I'm not, But if I was in your shoes, like, that's more worthwhile and my effort then to be like kind of demoralized by individuals, if you know, if you understand what I mean, I guess that kind of leads me to my next question. I mean, I know that October seventh was such kind of like a breaking point. But obviously the Israeli left

like was in the minority before as well. But what would you say, kind of like in the last two years and kind of to think about moving forward, what are the biggest challenges that the Israeli left faces to continue in its effort whether it's to educate or to be a type of protective presence, whether physically in the West Bank or in their presence in Israel.

mobilizing just letting this happen. And I think on paper, the biggest obstacle would probably be our government that are you know, acting in such a fascist, fanatic, Nazi manner. And I think, yeah, as an individual being a part of grassroots communities and seeing, you know, at the end of the day, there are people that are going out there and actively like murdering Palestinians, that are you know, pushing for policies to deport children, Filipino children or children

of migrant workers. There's so many injustices towards different people, and there are people that are like actively going out and like fighting for these like terrible, terrible fanatic ideologies.

And I think whenever we people don't. I said this in a podcast recently, and someone told me, like, wait, you have to take out that part because it sounds like you're like voting, like you'rely grooting for the bashes to active and like, no, no, no. The fact is that there are people that are doing these really really bad things, and when we're not countering them, when we are just letting them happen and be like, oh yeah, it sucks, but not doing anything about it, not using our privilege

or our voice or a microphone to resist that, then we're conforming with it. And I know that's not fun to think. That's not fun. It's not fun to like go or organize protests. It's not fun to do a lot, even though actually there's a lot of things that are really beautiful as well. Being in the West Bank, being with people, playing with children, like these are beautiful things.

It's not like we're doing that. But I think when it's within Israeli society, when it's organizing protests, when it's joining a protest as a number, when it's you know, learning and doing unlearning. It's not always easy and it's not always someone's first yeah decision to make. But I think that when you don't do that, I think that

is the biggest threat. You know, In the Holocaust and many different atrocities over the years, the thing that like stood out most was people that were silent and people that yeah, didn't resist in one way or another, Like that movie Zone of Interest, Like, oh my god, that movie. That movie just shaped these past two and a half years. Like I saw it a few months after October seventh, and I just every moment that life just existed in Israel and you saw warplanes flying above you, and you

know what's going happen. You hear too, like you hear bombs falling, you hear and everyone it's just like gotten used to it, and you're just like, we're living in Zone of Interest. Yeah, that's wild. And yeah, I think it's like a constant question of do I want to be a part of the society? Do I want to fight? Life would be much easier if I moved away and I was just like fuck this place, which is not a bad thing to do. I have many friends that have done this, and I understand it. It's really hard.

You know, life would be easier if I just left. It's not the I don't want to say, it's not the sexy narrative to be like like, look we can both, you know, Look, you know, let's learn. It's not fun to be talking and trying to reason with fascists like or people that are in deep denial of reality. You're really well intertwined with. But I think it's my moral responsibility as an Israeli to be here and as long as I can and help create platforms for our society to learn and resist. Yeah.

the left fell off, you know, after October seventh. Do you feel like, now we're twenty twenty six for recording February twenty second, twenty twenty sixth do you feel like people are starting.

about a democracy within an apartheid state. They are, like I said earlier, sending their sons to war. I'm not saying that's an easy thing, but at the same time opposing the war and not acknowledging Palestinian suffering. And I think there's become many people and this is from my personal experience that just are like, like I said, apathetic, kind of like looking forward with their hands on the side of each of their eyes. Trying not to see

what's happening. You know there are people thousands, tens of thousands in the streets protesting. You know they'll be waving Israeli flags. That's hard for me. I don't feel like I'm in the group that would ever wave a flag. And I think they see themselves as left. Yeah again, like I said, like, you can't be fighting for human rights, liberal ideologies within an apartheid state. You can't fight for

democracy in an apartheid state. Like we have to touch the root of this, all every injustice happening on this land or in Israel in forty eight, Like, in my opinion, the root of it is the occupation. We've planted roots on rotten soil. We've pushed people out of their homes and took them as our own, and we're not really willing to reconcile what we've become, what we've done. And I think only when that starts to happen, there could be some sort of future here on this land for

both people. But as long as we're not acknowledging the atrocities we are committing, and the atrocities are silence is allowing to perpetuate, then the left here is very very tiny. And I say that not to toot our own horn.

You know, it's not in a way of like we're not on a moral high ground, Like maybe there was a moment where I did feel that way in a sense of like I know and you don't know, it's like, but then you know very quickly in order to turn your activism into something sustainable, you have to remind yourself

this is what I believe in. This is love, and it's not from bitterness, and it's not from being on a moral high ground, like I'm doing this because I believe in it as me as d D. And I really hope other people join and other people also open their hearts to these injustices, and really in order for everyone to have a just reality of just future, then you have to fight for everyone to have those rights as well.

of course, but also self interest. Dahlia Schenlin has an interesting article about this and an interesting argument about this that I'll link in the show notes. And I would say she's a believer in maybe a confederation or something like that, but her analysis is the occupation ruined the potential of Israeli democracy. Like I said, she comes at it from a very kind of different angle I think than you do, but still is a reasonable argument at the end of it.