Students for Justice in Palestine promoted webinar comparing Zionism’s alleged connection to white supremacy, fascism
The event’s description states that ‘Zionist organizations… have deep alliances with antisemitic forces.’
IJAN says that it protests Zionism’s supposed ‘exploitation and debasement of histories of Jewish persecution and genocide.’
The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) hosted a webinar entitled “Exposing White Nationalist & Zionist Alliances amid Rising Authoritarianism,” which was promoted by National Students for Justice in Palestine.
The Monday event description framed Zionism as a point of common agreement between a number of distinct political groups, including white supremacists and Christian nationalists, alleging that the state of Israel has a history of “weaponizing” anti-Semitism. The webinar was promoted by National Students for Justice in Palestine on Instagram.
“A growing coalition that unites christian nationalism, white supremacy, and zionism in the United States is a reflection of the ideology and goals of Zionism, as well as the policies and practices of the State of Israel,” the description reads. “Despite the ways in which Zionist organizations and Israel weaponizes antisemitism, in reality, they have deep alliances with antisemitic forces, including white nationalists and Christian supremacists.”
The event advertisement also alleges that Israel practices authoritarian foreign policy and works closely with fascist political organizations.
“Furthermore, Israel arms and collaborates with authoritarian regimes globally against their own civilians and people’s movements,” the description says. “The Islamophobic alliance between Zionists and Hindutva (Hindu-fascist) groups in the US is, similarly, a reflection of their shared interests. This webinar will share the historical and current nature and agendas of these alliances.”
The webinar features a number of speakers, including Jennifer Kelly, an associate professor of “Critical Race and Ethnic Studies” in the Feminist Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Kelly is the author of “Invited to Witness: Solidarity Tourism across Occupied Palestine,” which makes the case that “solidarity tourism in Palestine functions as a localized political strategy, and an emergent industry, through which Palestinian organizers refashion conventional tourism to the region by extending deliberately truncated invitations to international tourists to come to Palestine and witness the effects of Israeli state practice on Palestinian land and lives.”
IJAN is a self-described network of Jews who advocate for the “liberation of the Palestinian people” by opposing “Zionist militarism and repression.”
“The State of Israel betrays the long histories of Jewish struggles for liberation and traditions of participation in collective struggles for liberation more broadly,” the group states. “We protest Zionism’s exploitation and debasement of histories of Jewish persecution and genocide to justify the unjustifiable – the colonization of Palestine and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, the theft of their land and destruction of their families, communities and way of life.”
Campus Reform has reached out to IJAN for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.