In this video
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Chapter 1: Intro
0:00what could be more dangerous to Jewish people right now than lumping us all in with this genocidal campaign of the Israeli government we want a world where
0:099 secondsperpetrators of war crimes are held accountable we want a world in which all people can live safely in their homes that is both because of the lessons that
0:1616 secondswe've taken from our own history and because of the world that we are fighting for today that we want for all people not just for Jews welcome to the
0:2424 secondsbig picture podcast my name is Muhammad Hassan and today we sit down with Jewish American activist Sone Zimmerman
0:3131 secondsZimmerman is the co-founder of if not now a Grassroots organization fighting to end the US Jewish community support
0:3838 secondsfor Israel's occupation of Gazza and the West Bank her experien challenging her beliefs about Israel and Zionism are
0:4646 secondsdocumented in a powerful new film called israelism I don't think I realize the extent to which what I would come to see
0:5454 secondson the ground would really Shock Me and horrify me you are a self-loathing Jew go kill
1:021 minute, 2 secondsyourself an anti-semitic Jew the way that we talk about anti-Semitism isn't about protecting Jews it's about protecting Israel how dangerous is that
1:101 minute, 10 secondssince October 7 and the start of the war in gazda hundreds of rallies have been led by Jewish Americans protesting
1:171 minute, 17 secondsIsrael's actions some risking arrest or their careers others being attacked and shunned by their own communities who
1:251 minute, 25 secondsquestion their very identity as Jews despite the intense critic ISM many of these voices have only grown Bolder
1:331 minute, 33 secondssignaling what could be a generational shift in the way many young Jews see Israel and the way many Young Americans
1:411 minute, 41 secondssee their government's relationship with
1:451 minute, 45 seconds[Music]
1:481 minute, 48 secondsit Simone Zimmerman welcome to the big picture it's a pleasure to have you with us today thank you for having me I want to talk to you about this film this
1:561 minute, 56 secondsgreat film israelism I want to talk to you about your own Journey your your own activism um and how everything is seen in the context of of what's been
2:052 minutes, 5 secondshappening over the last 6 months but let's start with you you are somebody who has become something of a uh public
2:142 minutes, 14 secondsface for a generation of young Jewish Americans who are publicly questioning critiquing Israel and
2:232 minutes, 23 secondsZionism when you were a teenager and you know we talk about some of your experiences in the film did you ever imagined that you'd be where you are
Chapter 2: Becoming a Jewish leader
2:322 minutes, 32 secondstoday I mean well I was definitely raised uh to think that I would be a Jewish leader of some kind um you know unfortunately for many
2:402 minutes, 40 secondsof the people who gave me that message uh they're probably not so happy with the type of leader I became but uh it's not quite how they imagined yeah but
2:472 minutes, 47 secondsit's it's definitely uh I'm jumping the gun here a little bit but I think one of the jokes that that we make but it's actually quite serious and a lot of the
2:562 minutes, 56 secondsJewish left organizing that I'm part of is that many of us have become people who have taken on the type of leadership who are you know so devoted to our
3:043 minutes, 4 secondscommunities who are working like tires tirelessly to build you know a Jewish life and a Jewish community that aligns
3:123 minutes, 12 secondswith our values which is actually exactly what so many of us were raised to to want to do um but unfortunately
3:193 minutes, 19 secondsfor the Old Guard of our community we're not doing it with the same political uh commitments or positions that they
3:263 minutes, 26 secondsperhaps wanted us to take and and that's one of the kind of great irony of some of this work there's a lot of panic in the American Jewish Community about
3:343 minutes, 34 secondsassimilation about young Jews staying involved and connected to the community and some of the most effective work to keep young Jews engaged in Jewish life
3:423 minutes, 42 secondsis actually uh left-wing anti-occupation anti-ap partite organizing tell me more about that
3:493 minutes, 49 secondsbecause I've heard you describe the work that you do in the way that you see it as a continuation of of a lineage of of
Chapter 3: Continuing a lineage of a Jewish fight for justice
3:573 minutes, 57 secondsa fight for justice so how do you see that and how do you see the way that you you know the role that you're playing right now fit into something that is
4:044 minutes, 4 secondsmuch greater much older yeah well you know first of all it's It's always important for me to say that even though
4:114 minutes, 11 secondswe're in a moment of like tremendous Revival and incredible um such a ground
4:194 minutes, 19 secondsswell right of growth of support for the movement for ceasefire against Israeli apartheid within the Jewish Community these
4:264 minutes, 26 secondsare you know these are not new ideas these are streams of thought and of activism that have always existed in
4:334 minutes, 33 secondsJewish communities there have always been Jews who have dissented against Zionism um these debates have been very
4:404 minutes, 40 secondsaggressively quashed and you know pushed out of the the center of kind of like mainstream Jewish conversations but
4:474 minutes, 47 secondsthey've always been there um there always been Jewish people who have been you know attacked as traitors to the
4:544 minutes, 54 secondscommunity for um dissenting against this position over many many decades and and
5:015 minutes, 1 secondum so there's there's a lot of ways in which right now I see the organizing you know with groups like if not now in Jewish voice for peace and mode here in
5:105 minutes, 10 secondsthe UK um that we are all very much like working in a in a lineage that already
5:175 minutes, 17 secondsexists and also as I was just saying before like actually living out values that
5:255 minutes, 25 secondsmany of us were raised in whether it's you know a tradition of critical inquiry and open debate you know the reason that
5:335 minutes, 33 secondsthere are so many young Jews fighting for Palestinian freedom is because we read the news and we see the horrors
5:425 minutes, 42 secondsthat are being committed against Palestinians and we're asking questions about the mythologies that we were raised with and also just like asking
5:515 minutes, 51 secondsquestions you know in the same way that other young people around the world are asking this is just like and and but but
5:595 minutes, 59 secondsdoing so at of like coming from um having been raised to to ask questions to want to learn to want to seek you know deeper meanings and answers and and
6:076 minutes, 7 secondsalso you know for many of us it's also because of the Holocaust Education that we were raised with learning about our own community's history of you know
6:166 minutes, 16 secondsdehumanization and discrimination and and violence and displacement and we see
6:236 minutes, 23 secondsEchoes of things that we have been taught to oppose our entire lives happening in Gaza right now it doesn't have to be ex the same doesn't have to
6:316 minutes, 31 secondsbe direct comparisons um we can still know dehumanization when we see it we can oppose State violence
6:396 minutes, 39 secondswhen we see it being committed on our phone screens every day um and and those things for me
6:466 minutes, 46 secondsare deeply Jewish values one of the really powerful things that this film does well and and part of it you know
6:546 minutes, 54 secondsthrough your own voice and your own journey is that it explains the relation ship that a lot of young Jews have with
Chapter 4: How Jewish Americans are raised to believe in Israel
7:017 minutes, 1 secondIsrael a lot of young Jewish Americans have with Israel um and that growing up there is a an intrical link that you
7:117 minutes, 11 secondsfeel uh with the state of Israel and and and you feel like you you are a part of this project um what does that feel like
7:197 minutes, 19 secondswhen you're when you're a young Jewish American um being taught about what Israel is and and why you should believe
7:277 minutes, 27 secondsin this project yeah I mean we're taught to see it as a home away from home as a
7:357 minutes, 35 secondssafe haven that we can always go to if something you know goes wrong um we're taught to you know many of us grow up in
7:457 minutes, 45 secondscommunities where Jews are a minority and you know going to a place in which
7:507 minutes, 50 secondsyou know your religious symbols and uh Traditions are
7:577 minutes, 57 secondsare visible and public and where they are the the hegemony um that's something that you know is is very meaningful for
8:068 minutes, 6 secondsa young person to get to see and connect with of course um as soon as you begin to learn what the cost is right of the
8:148 minutes, 14 secondsengineering of that space to have jewishness be um in a supremacist role and that that
8:238 minutes, 23 secondshas all been created at the expense of another society and is maintained by keeping pales Ians um by dispossessing
8:318 minutes, 31 secondsPalestinians expelling them dehumanizing them erasing them from that physical space and from the The Narrative of that
8:388 minutes, 38 secondsspace um it's obviously something that um very quickly shatters the
8:458 minutes, 45 secondsworldview that we were raised with um but yeah you know it's a really nice story to be raised with the idea that
8:528 minutes, 52 secondsyour people have been persecuted for thousands of years and um now there's this Redemption story
9:009 minutesthat you know after being persecuted for all this time you can have this Safe Haven and you can have this heroic Ending Story where you know your people
9:089 minutes, 8 secondshave triumphed over history um but of course no history is that simple and
9:159 minutes, 15 secondseasy and um in a lot of ways I I see the kind of like undoing of the indoctrination that you know I've had to
9:239 minutes, 23 secondsgo through and that many young Jews of my generation have had to go through it's something that like people all over the world you know have to face about
9:319 minutes, 31 secondsthe Horrible Histories in their own countries and um yeah simplistic narratives that they might have been raised with that actually ignore and
9:409 minutes, 40 secondserase deep Injustice and oppression what you mentioned about growing up in a in a minority in a
9:479 minutes, 47 secondssociet in a larger society I think is is really Rings true to me as somebody who grew up as a Muslim and and in the west you know Western Society
9:579 minutes, 57 secondsum there is something about growing up in a small community that is often you know becomes very tight-knit and very
Chapter 5: Challenging the asumptions within Jewish communities
10:0610 minutes, 6 secondskind of closed um off to sometimes you know internal criticism yeah
10:1310 minutes, 13 secondsum I can imagine it becomes very difficult to try and challenge the um
10:2010 minutes, 20 secondsthe uh assumptions the the the the beliefs that exists in these communities that are often you know uh people become
10:2710 minutes, 27 secondsvery protective over yes absolutely I mean I think for Jewish communities around the world especially in places where they are smaller and people do
10:3510 minutes, 35 secondsfeel the threats of anti-Semitism in their own communities the um you know this idea of like airing our dirty
10:4210 minutes, 42 secondslaundry in public um is something that feels very very threatening to people and I really understand that that's why
10:5110 minutes, 51 secondsI think it's so important that um we disentangle the fight against anti-Semitism from criticism of Israel
10:5810 minutes, 58 secondsand idea that the you know only and best way to keep Jewish Community safe is to
11:0711 minutes, 7 secondsdeepen pro-israel politics is so deeply dangerous and we're seeing you know I mean we talk about this a bit in the
11:1511 minutes, 15 secondsfilm but just this idea that basically the lead so many of the leading organizations that have been you know self-appointed guardians of our
11:2411 minutes, 24 secondscommunities the ones who kind of claim the fight against anti-Semitism who spend most of their resources on persecuting Palestinians and pro
Chapter 6: Dealing with personal attacks for her activism
11:3211 minutes, 32 secondsPalestinian activists including leftwing Jews actually further endangers our communities and you're one of those
11:4111 minutes, 41 secondspeople that have kind of been at the at the receiving end of some of that negative attention uh negative scrutiny there you know there are profiles of you
11:4911 minutes, 49 secondson certain you know uh pro-israeli websites that are accusing you of you know spreading hatred against Israel
11:5711 minutes, 57 secondsyeah that's a lot to to to be able to take yeah I mean it's incredibly painful
12:0412 minutes, 4 secondsto like continuously be doing this work as a deeply engaged and committed Jewish
12:1112 minutes, 11 secondsperson with you know hundreds and thousands of other Jews who are also doing this because we love our community
12:2012 minutes, 20 secondswe love ourselves you know they often call us self-hating Jews so it's always important to also say like you know I love myself as a Jewish person um and
12:2912 minutes, 29 secondsyou know we're doing it again like out of that deep commitment out of a a deep commitment to our own traditions and to
12:3712 minutes, 37 secondsa vision of a a different future for our community and I really think that right now as these Horrors are underway in
12:4512 minutes, 45 secondsGaza many of these groups have just like taken it a step too far and we're seeing right now you know attacking some of the
12:5212 minutes, 52 secondsleading Scholars of anti-Semitism and Jewish history and trying to keep them out of you know univers task forces and
13:0113 minutes, 1 secondyou know smear campaigns against anybody who just doesn't tow this really Hardline pro-israel position and I mean
13:1013 minutes, 10 secondswhat could be more dangerous to Jewish people right now than lumping us all in with this genocidal campaign of the Israeli government I mean that I hear
13:1813 minutes, 18 secondsall the time from people who see the film who are just so moved and so
13:2513 minutes, 25 secondsgrateful to like know that there are so many of us so many Jewish people who are speaking out against these Horrors I
13:3213 minutes, 32 secondsmean at every major protest for a ceasefire um around the world in cities where there are Jewish people there are
13:4013 minutes, 40 secondsgoing to be Jews at those rallies and um we've seen Jews turning out in record numbers um as part of the ceasefire
13:4813 minutes, 48 secondsmovement and I also see that as fighting anti-Semitism because it's publicly breaking this conflation between our
13:5513 minutes, 55 secondscommunity and the policies of the Israeli government if anything right now we need more of that we need people to
14:0314 minutes, 3 secondsunderstand that this is not being committed in the name of all Jews and you talked about that um being part of a of a community that also has a
14:1114 minutes, 11 secondshigh level of visibility um whether you know religiously or or otherwise or or politically um and taking part in these
14:2014 minutes, 20 secondsrallies and there you're right there's been such a large number of young Jewish activists young Jewish people um actually Jewish people of all ages that
14:2914 minutes, 29 secondshave been taking part very um intentionally in a lot of these actions there's been actions in the United States uh in Congress uh in you know in
14:3814 minutes, 38 secondsthis Grand Central Station in New York where a lot of it is framed around the idea of you know these are young Jewish
Chapter 7: Why it's important for Jewish activists to be part of the Pro-Palestine movement
14:4714 minutes, 47 secondsAmericans and these are actions being led by Young Jewish voices why is it so important for that visibility to be
14:5414 minutes, 54 secondsthere and especially at this time yeah I mean I mean in some ways it's like a
15:0215 minutes, 2 secondscontinuation of what I was just saying but I I think that I really do think that this you know of course like first
15:1115 minutes, 11 secondsand foremost the people who are most harmed by this campaign in Gaza are the Palestinian people I mean Israel is
15:1915 minutes, 19 secondsdecimating the Gaza Strip right now beyond anything that even I could have imagined that I would ever see even
15:2615 minutes, 26 secondsknowing the cruelty of the apartheid regime um this is we're in a new moment
15:3315 minutes, 33 secondsright now and they're doing it every single day saying they're doing this so that Jewish people in Israel and around
15:4115 minutes, 41 secondsthe world can be safe what could be more dangerous to Jewish people around the world than being associated with this genocidal campaign I
15:4915 minutes, 49 secondsmean I do not believe that killing almost 40,000 people now
15:5615 minutes, 56 secondsdisplacing 2 million people like in what world does that make me safer as a Jewish person in what world is anybody
16:0516 minutes, 5 secondssafer when a government can commit such heinous crimes with such impunity and and the idea I mean we're already seeing
16:1216 minutes, 12 secondsit like the that this campaign is fueling um not just anti-Semitism but
16:2016 minutes, 20 secondsislamophobia right an anti-arab sentiment all around the world and Jewish people and Muslims and Arabs
16:2816 minutes, 28 secondsaround the world who have nothing to do with this are becoming very visible targets for people who already hate our communities who already maybe you know
16:3716 minutes, 37 secondswant to inflame tensions against us or who want to commit violence against us but now they they have a so-called
16:4416 minutes, 44 secondsexcuse and they're using it and so I feel very afraid for Jews around the world who are um going to receive who
16:5316 minutes, 53 secondsare receiving the public um blowback from being associated with this campaign and
17:0117 minutes, 1 secondso I see speaking out against the Israeli government and being a visible Jew in this movement as also part of a
17:1017 minutes, 10 secondsway to keep my own Community safe and to say that you know not all of us are um we are not allowing ourselves to be
17:1917 minutes, 19 secondsconscripted into this we want a world where perpetrators of war crimes are held accountable we want a world in which all people can live safely in
17:2817 minutes, 28 secondstheir homes um and that is both because of the lessons that we've taken from our own history
17:3517 minutes, 35 secondsand because of the world that we are fighting for today that we want for all people not just for Jews October 7th was
Chapter 8: How Jewish people reacted to October 7
17:4317 minutes, 43 secondsI mean obviously an incredibly traumatic event not just for Israeli Jews but for Jews around the world and you saw in the
17:5217 minutes, 52 secondsaftermath of that a lot of people use it as a way to reaffirm their commitment to Israel their commit commment to
17:5917 minutes, 59 secondsZionism um and there's a part of that that is uh that is I mean it's it's easy to sympathize with right uh there's
18:0818 minutes, 8 secondsthere's a sort of kind of um level of of protection of his protectionism that that people want to
18:1618 minutes, 16 secondsbe able to exert on their lives and uh and and the world around them um but you mentioned that that you know there are people that have taken that too far and
18:2518 minutes, 25 secondsI wonder what the conversations that people like you and others have not on the front lines of of you know of in the
18:3318 minutes, 33 secondspickets but at home or in your communities among your friends among people that aren't on the same political Journey as you are who are also
18:4118 minutes, 41 secondsresponding to everything that's been happening and everything that happened on October 7th what are those conversations like yeah well I I guess
18:5018 minutes, 50 secondsthis is why I also feel that like so humbled that israelism has actually been a tool for people in this moment because I think part of what is so important
18:5918 minutes, 59 secondsto me about the film is that it it offers people kind of like um it offers context to this moment
19:0719 minutes, 7 secondsright and it offers um like a a conceptual bridge to help people understand what is the narrative I know
19:1419 minutes, 14 secondsabout Israel and what is the reality of Israel that I'm not seeing right I mean I have this line in the film you know what is so horrible that they can't bear
19:2119 minutes, 21 secondsto let me see it I mean right now right I mean we are just seeing Horrors upon horror that still
19:2919 minutes, 29 secondspeople in my community can't bear to look at head on um and you know I we've seen in so many um you know we we saw
19:3919 minutes, 39 secondsthis in the US I I'm pretty sure this has been the case here as well um just this idea that we can't talk about a context that that existed before October
19:4719 minutes, 47 seconds7th and um you know
19:5519 minutes, 55 secondsum there's there's so many pieces of context that I want to talk about but I I'm just thinking about you know the fact that like for the last year or I
20:0520 minutes, 5 secondsshould say I guess for all of 2023 right you had is Israel's most extremist right-wing government in
20:1320 minutes, 13 secondshistory which is saying a lot because many of the governments before had also been considered you know the most extreme right-wing governments um this
20:2020 minutes, 20 secondswas an openly fascist government many proud um
20:2720 minutes, 27 secondsyou know racist homophobic nationalist members of knesset who were openly calling for mass
20:3620 minutes, 36 secondsexposion of Palestinians some even overtly genocidal in their rhetoric and
20:4320 minutes, 43 secondsand and they were acting on those commitments right they were already um every single day in 2023 we saw someone
20:5120 minutes, 51 secondsshot in the West Bank um we saw the pagram in haara last M last um last February we saw that the pagram and
20:5920 minutes, 59 secondshaara where settlers you know hundreds of settlers rampaged through a Palestinian Village and the Army just kind of stood by and let it happen and
21:0721 minutes, 7 secondsat the same time we saw these you know save Israeli democracy protests where hundreds of
21:1521 minutes, 15 secondsthousands of people were in the streets and not saying anything about Palestinians and so you know I I heard
21:2321 minutes, 23 secondsfrom from friends and colleagues from Palestinians who who were watching these protests happen and saying where like where am I in this movement where are
21:3221 minutes, 32 secondsare my rights and my well-being and and like where are they accounting for me at
21:3921 minutes, 39 secondsall within this movement and so I think you know knowing how
21:4621 minutes, 46 secondsum fragile and tense and desperate things were already feeling on the ground this deep sense of Despair at the
21:5521 minutes, 55 secondsdeepening of Israeli apartheid and the the foreclosing of options for a path for Palestinian freedom I
22:0422 minutes, 4 secondsmean it's it's absolutely heartbreaking what the consequences of that have been but that is the context that we have to
22:1322 minutes, 13 secondsunderstand for taking into consideration this moment and I mean I have a lot of I I I that was a very long way of getting
22:2122 minutes, 21 secondsto your question about what are the conversations I've been having but I mean I have friends who just are like you know I was convenient L looking away
22:3022 minutes, 30 secondsfrom what is happening before now and I I just can't like you know they're having to do a lot of quick education right now about understanding like what
22:3822 minutes, 38 secondswas going on on the ground how is it that you know you have a society in Israel that lives next door on top of
22:4822 minutes, 48 secondsyou know next door to a millions of people who are denied basic freedom and dignity and live under such extreme
22:5622 minutes, 56 secondsoppression are those conversations do they do you feel like they are coming naturally um are are they are a lot of
Chapter 9: Is it easy to have conversations about Israel with Jewish people?
23:0623 minutes, 6 secondspeople that you know starting to have those conversations on their own or are you also finding people that are still shutting themselves off to them yeah I
23:1523 minutes, 15 secondsthink it's both I mean I think obviously look every like this is um once again this is not you know a unique Jewish
23:2223 minutes, 22 secondsexperience right this is like a a very human question about when you're faced with something that doesn't comport with your world view that makes you
23:2923 minutes, 29 secondsuncomfortable that challenges the um beliefs you might have about yourself or about your community do you double down
23:3623 minutes, 36 secondsdo you close you know do you shut out the rest of the world and double down in the worldview that you already have or do you ask hard questions do you allow
23:4423 minutes, 44 secondsyourself um to admit like something doesn't sit right with me I feel heartbroken right now I feel outraged I
23:5123 minutes, 51 secondsfeel ashamed and you know do you allow those those very painful and vulnerable experiences to take you somewhere where
23:5923 minutes, 59 secondsyou might be transformed and I think a lot of people um you know I don't want to make generalizing statements but I think we're have we're watching both of
24:0724 minutes, 7 secondsthose experiences happening right now right you see a lot of people who are doubling down in the denialism who are doing everything they can to tune out
24:1624 minutes, 16 secondswhat's happening in Gaza um to to dig even more deeply in their own you know
24:2324 minutes, 23 secondsfeelings of grievance and and um grievance and fear and victimhood and then you have a lot of people who
24:3024 minutes, 30 secondsare like you know this is not like this is not what I signed up for this is not
24:3824 minutes, 38 secondswhat I what I believe in and can stand for and I I see so many people who are having those really painful intimate
24:4524 minutes, 45 secondsconversations in their own families um and with loved ones who are you know coming to protest For the First Time In
24:5224 minutes, 52 secondsTheir Lives who are you know reading books and uncovering the history that's been shielded from us are entire lives
Chapter 10: An undeniable generational shift in how young people see Israel
25:0025 minutesand it's a real moment of transformation for a lot of people do you feel like there's a generational shift happening in the US right now I just think it's
25:0825 minutes, 8 secondsundeniable that like the experience of being a young person who on social media
25:1525 minutes, 15 secondsright now you you almost have to work quite hard to not know what's going on in Gaza right now because the the genocide is being live streamed onto our
25:2425 minutes, 24 secondsphones I mean we are seeing young people who who who you
25:3125 minutes, 31 secondsknow look like us have the same you know hopes and aspirations as we do who are
25:3825 minutes, 38 secondswho who want to just live a normal life to be safe and free you know these amazing like storytellers and content
25:4625 minutes, 46 secondscreators I'm just thinking about like ban who you know I mean was making these beautiful
25:5425 minutes, 54 secondsstorytelling videos and and now it's continuing to make beautiful storytelling videos but like from tents with displaced people
26:0226 minutes, 2 secondsyou know and like reporting on the horrific destruction happening all around them
26:0926 minutes, 9 secondsevery single day I mean the end I I mean what at this point it's almost
26:1626 minutes, 16 secondslike cliche it's not cliche like we should all be retelling like the the children the families like the things that we are all seeing right now you
26:2426 minutes, 24 secondscan't unsee those things and I I do think that there there many reasons that there is this generational divide um you know young people in America tend to be
26:3226 minutes, 32 secondsmuch more Progressive overall you know young Jews are just like we're not different than the rest of our
26:4026 minutes, 40 secondsgeneration in America that like have all these Progressive values that are part of movements for racial and economic Justice and see the fight for
26:4726 minutes, 47 secondsPalestinian freedom is deeply intertwined with these other commitments that we already have and I also think just the the experience of being in
26:5526 minutes, 55 secondsthese um the the way that we get information right now I mean you know many of our parents do not see the horrors that we are watching on our
27:0427 minutes, 4 secondsphones every day they don't see children you know like injured children like shaking
27:1127 minutes, 11 secondson hospital beds they don't see um these young people like what all you know young people who
27:1927 minutes, 19 secondsare just trying to get food for their families who are telling these stories of of just like the horrors that they're living through every day and they're also not seeing the videos of young
27:2927 minutes, 29 secondsIsraeli soldiers who are celebrating their war crimes and you know laughing and playing on the on the rubble of
27:3527 minutes, 35 secondsPalestinian homes um in Gaza and I think both of those experiences feel like it's like reality unfiltered and it's so
27:4427 minutes, 44 secondsradicalizing to see all of that happening on our on our phones and um yeah I think many people are really transformed by that yeah I mean I think
27:5227 minutes, 52 secondswhat you're describing is is true to the way that a lot of Western societies have tended to view um the conflict um in
28:0128 minutes, 1 secondIsrael and Palestine and how a younger generation of these societies is reacting and because it's social media
28:0828 minutes, 8 secondsand access to the immediacy of what's happening on the ground there has been a very clear
28:1428 minutes, 14 secondsum uh Gap uh between the way that the last six months have been portrayed
28:2128 minutes, 21 secondsthrough social media and the way that they've been portrayed through traditional media yeah I mean I maybe just to like put put an even finer point
28:2928 minutes, 29 secondson it you know like we're raised with these messages about Israel that like you know the the Israeli Army is the
28:3628 minutes, 36 secondsmost moral army in the world they do everything they can you know not to Target civilians we hear these talking points repeated even still not targeting
28:4428 minutes, 44 secondscivilians not targeting civilians and we're watching on our phones civilians being massacred we are seeing videos of
28:5128 minutes, 51 secondssoldiers celebrating their war crimes I mean these it's like the we the reality that is being
28:5928 minutes, 59 secondslike televised directly to us just like demolishes those talking points in an instant they just don't hold up when you actually are paying attention to what's
29:0729 minutes, 7 secondsgoing on because also I mean this is especially true in the in the US I think the the space for debate around Israel
Chapter 11: The mainstream focus on Netanyahu instead of the occupation
29:1529 minutes, 15 secondsis has been very narrow and you mentioned the the pro-democracy movement uh that took place last year and uh over
29:2429 minutes, 24 secondsthe you know the the judicial overhaul proposed by Netanyahu and his government and the fears that people were voicing
29:3129 minutes, 31 secondsaround the rise of you know the far right in Israel and now similarly you are starting to see criticism of Israel
29:3929 minutes, 39 secondsseeping into those public conversations but again a lot of it is around this is about Netanyahu if we get rid of Netanyahu and bring somebody else who's
29:4829 minutes, 48 secondsmore moderate then you know things will calm down and we can kind of go back to the way things are is that how how do
29:5629 minutes, 56 secondsyou see this debate and the way that it plays into people's understandings of what's going on yeah I mean I think there's a a very desperate attempt from
30:0430 minutes, 4 secondsan older Generation Um to to contain the rage that has been
30:1130 minutes, 11 secondsUnleashed right and to just say that you know if we get rid of this guy it'll be okay um but I
30:1930 minutes, 19 secondsmean we've heard these this genocidal incitement from across the leadership
30:2630 minutes, 26 secondsIsraeli Society we um you know we see the polling numbers we know that there's actually broad support for this war and that it's not just um the decision-
30:3730 minutes, 37 secondsmaking of one person so um I I I I feel like what I can just say is that
30:4430 minutes, 44 secondslike for me the message of this moment is that like the status quo is so fundamentally broken and the way things
30:5230 minutes, 52 secondshave been done for decades this isn't about you know the C the catastrophe that was you know Israel's security
31:0131 minutes, 1 secondfailure on October 7th it's not just about that it's about Decades of decision-making that have you know instilled instituted this regime of
31:1031 minutes, 10 secondsSupremacy that privileges Israeli Jews at the expense of Palestinians and it makes everyone who lives in that region
31:1631 minutes, 16 secondsless safe and um I I don't feel particularly hopeful right now that like you know I I know that one election is
31:2531 minutes, 25 secondsnot going to change that it's something that is something that's going to be probably many decades to until we get to a place
31:3431 minutes, 34 secondswhere all the people who live in that land can be genuinely safe and okay I mean even just imagining what it's going
31:4131 minutes, 41 secondsto take to rebuild Gaza right now right it's like kind of unfathomable how far we're
31:4831 minutes, 48 secondsgoing to have to go right now um to get to a place of of safety and well-being
31:5431 minutes, 54 secondsfor all people in that land but um yeah I don't I don't feel like
32:0332 minutes, 3 secondsum I I think many of my peers like understand that because we also you know part of what this moment is revealing is the extent to which so many of the
32:1132 minutes, 11 secondssystems that govern our world are so fundamentally broken you know we know in the US it's not just a question of one election that's going to fix this we can
32:1932 minutes, 19 secondssee how deeply broken and compromise our whole system is um and that's part of the work that you
Chapter 12: Challenging the pro-Israel lobby in the US
32:2632 minutes, 26 secondshave been doing as well with if now and and some of some other groups is challenging the relationship that the US has politically with Israel challenging
32:3432 minutes, 34 secondsthe role that pro-israeli groups have on the US political system yeah uh where do you see that going where do you see that
32:4232 minutes, 42 secondsfight going for for you for others like you yeah I mean I guess I can say two
32:5032 minutes, 50 secondsthings to that that just came to mind right now um you know the first is that you
32:5932 minutes, 59 secondsknow APAC the kind the pro-israel lobby uh in the US has you know pledged to
33:0633 minutes, 6 secondsspend uh hundred million to defeat uh Progressive you know Progressive uh
33:1333 minutes, 13 secondsmembers of Congress in this election which is terrifying to anybody who cares about the fight against climate change
33:2033 minutes, 20 secondsfor economic Justice like all these other issues racial Justice um and the idea that like as we have this you know
33:2833 minutes, 28 secondsRising uh you know right white Christian nationalist movement in the US that like the place that we're going to have to
33:3633 minutes, 36 secondsinvest our energy is just to protect our Champions and keep them in the house when there is um when there are real dangers to our
33:4533 minutes, 45 secondscommunity it also just like shows to what extent many of the kind of like leading pro-israel forces not just in the US but
33:5433 minutes, 54 secondsactually around the world have made common cause with the far right and are willing to kind of sell out any other
34:0134 minutes, 1 secondkind of commitment to principles of safety and well-being for anyone and to put this kind of pro-israel uh politics
34:0834 minutes, 8 secondsabove all else that's also how we see you know um Netanyahu making common cause with some of the leading you know
34:1634 minutes, 16 secondsracist authoritarian leaders around the world um who are also of course like many of them quite anti-semitic um
34:2334 minutes, 23 secondsthat's the same case in the US and so like you know that just highlights to what extent the fight against
34:3234 minutes, 32 secondsanti-Semitism and the fight for Jewish safety is so deeply intertwined with the fight for you know safety and well-being for all people because this is not
34:3934 minutes, 39 secondskeeping Jewish people safe to have our community um tied in with this farri agenda Le let's talk about the issue of
Chapter 13: How do you talk about antisemitism?
34:4634 minutes, 46 secondsanti-Semitism because it is undeniably on the rise given the the what is happening politically but also when you
34:5634 minutes, 56 secondslook at the United States yeah and going into an election SE season where Donald Trump is the favorite once again yeah um
35:0435 minutes, 4 secondsand the spike in anti-Semitism the last time he was elected uh president yeah how do you have a conversation about
35:1235 minutes, 12 secondsanti-Semitism where you are able to divide between the real and imminent concerns
35:1935 minutes, 19 secondsof anti-Semitism with the accusations of anti-Semitism that are used by some people to silence voices such as
35:2635 minutes, 26 secondsyourself that want talk about Israel you know I can just say like some of the attacks on on you know Jews in the ceasefire movement on the film we've
35:3535 minutes, 35 secondsreached a moment where like it's just become so laughably absurd if it weren't
35:4135 minutes, 41 secondsalso just so tragic um you know we're seeing these smears against Jewish
35:4835 minutes, 48 secondspeople I mean against a film that is made by American Jews about Jews for a
35:5535 minutes, 55 secondsJewish audience uh to call that anti-semitic right to have a film that actually tells the story of real conversations that are happening in our
36:0336 minutes, 3 secondscommunities to call that a threat to our own people is like it's so ridiculous and absurd and offensive
36:1236 minutes, 12 secondsum but the other thing about it is that um you
36:2036 minutes, 20 secondsknow I just think it's so first of all I'll just say that like we're seeing a kind of um like
36:2836 minutes, 28 secondsunprecedented escalation obviously in this attempt to kind of cancel uh Pro Palestinian voices to to smear people to
36:3536 minutes, 35 secondsget people fired from their jobs um to have events cancelled um all under the guise of fighting anti-Semitism um first
36:4536 minutes, 45 secondsof all I can say in the US that we're seeing just to connect to the point I was making before we're in the US we're
36:5136 minutes, 51 secondsseeing how that attempt has found a very deep parnership with this broader farri
36:5936 minutes, 59 secondsmovement that wants to you know ban the teaching of critical race Theory imra and yeah I mean it's it's this far-right
37:0837 minutes, 8 secondsagenda that wants to you know shut down universities as a site of learning not just because of Israel Palestine but
37:1537 minutes, 15 secondsbecause they don't want American universities to be teaching about the history of racism in our own country and
37:2337 minutes, 23 secondsthis is also something that's not just in the US right this is something happening around the world that we're seeing the way that the uh these pro-israel groups are finding partners
37:3137 minutes, 31 secondswith these very uh authoritarian and reactionary movements yeah I mean I think it's really dangerous to Jewish people to have us be associated with
37:4037 minutes, 40 secondsthese um or for us to be used as cover right for these like repressive authoritarian um movements and also you
37:4937 minutes, 49 secondsknow that Jews you know right now it it's also important for me to say that like the reason that the US is so so um
37:5937 minutes, 59 secondsdeeply um supporting Israel's campaign in Gaza is actually not about Jewish safety right it's about us Imperial
38:0838 minutes, 8 secondsinterests in the region it's about you know the interests of of weapons companies it's about the the Christian Zionist Lobby in America that has their
38:1538 minutes, 15 secondsown which is actually the largest pro-israel Lobby in America right which has their own interest in uh supporting a you
38:2338 minutes, 23 secondsknow very uh right-wing islamophobic National foreign policy and none of those things are actually about Jews and
38:3238 minutes, 32 secondsabout keeping Jews safe but once again when we are used as the cover for those things that fuels anti-Semitism and I
38:3938 minutes, 39 secondsthink In This Moment In which people are feeling such a deep um hopelessness about the possibility of
38:5038 minutes, 50 secondsgetting accountability from our governments I mean the fact that you have you know majorities in
38:5838 minutes, 58 secondsthis country in the US um that support a ceasefire and the fact that our politicians aren't willing to do
39:0539 minutes, 5 secondsanything about it and aren't listening it does give fuel to people who who then start to wonder why is it that our
39:1439 minutes, 14 secondsgovernments aren't listening to people maybe there's some other nefarious group that's controlling the government behind the scenes that you know is the real and
39:2339 minutes, 23 secondslike that fuels anti-Semitism and that endangers Jews because you don't want to have those conversations you you don't want to keep refuting conspiracy
39:3239 minutes, 32 secondstheories about about Jews that are fueling the the the these um this Rising anti-Semitism but you also want to
39:4039 minutes, 40 secondsengage in a real conversation about what is an isn't legitimate critique of Israel yeah absolutely and I think that
39:4939 minutes, 49 secondsagain like this environment that like fuels conspiratorial thinking is a one in
39:5539 minutes, 55 secondswhich Jews is very d ous for Jews and also this environment in which Jews but
40:0240 minutes, 2 secondsalso non-jews are like constantly using the smear of anti-Semitism to shut down criticism of of prop Palestinian voices
40:1140 minutes, 11 secondsand activism it then makes people doubt if anti-Semitism is even a real thing that we should care about or if it's just another one of these smears or the
40:1840 minutes, 18 secondssmear that is being used to shut down the public space and and and what is what is the consequence of of this being a reality you know getting to a point
40:2640 minutes, 26 secondswhere people are no longer taking the accusation of anti-Semitism seriously yeah again I think the the consequence
40:3440 minutes, 34 secondsis making it harder for people to actually understand anti-Semitism to want to take it seriously and it makes
40:4140 minutes, 41 secondsme it makes more people confused about where if and where anti-Semitism is
40:4740 minutes, 47 secondsactually real and um you know so much of the work that we do on the Jewish left is having to disentangle these things
40:5440 minutes, 54 secondsright to be teaching people about the real history of anti-Semitism to understand the places in which anti-Semitism can continue to crop up in
41:0241 minutes, 2 secondsour movements and in our societies and bending over backwards to distinguish that from critique of the Israeli government and opposition to this
Chapter 14: The positive reactions to the 'Israelism' film
41:1041 minutes, 10 secondscampaign in Gaza you've mentioned um some of the attacks and the negative reactions to to the film since it's come
41:1841 minutes, 18 secondsout um tell me about the positive reactions tell me how how what else people have been telling you yeah well the one thing I'll just say about the negative reactions is they're almost
41:2641 minutes, 26 secondsentirely from people who don't watch the film so that also kind of proves the point right that they don't actually want to engage in the conversation
41:3441 minutes, 34 secondsum I yeah it's been really amazing to have people around the world you know reaching out Jewish people first and
41:4241 minutes, 42 secondsforemost who are you know uh Thanking us for telling their stories um who are you know using the film as a tool to have
41:5141 minutes, 51 secondsthese painful conversations in their families for the first time um I've had many people say to me that this has been like the one way that they've been able
41:5941 minutes, 59 secondsto have a meaningful conversation with you know um a loved one that in this time in which things are so emotional
42:0842 minutes, 8 secondsand fraught um it's been an entry point for them so in some ways that's like my favorite thing to hear and I will say
42:1642 minutes, 16 secondslike the other thing that I've been getting a lot which is which is really powerful and meaningful and it also connects to this conversation about
42:2342 minutes, 23 secondsanti-Semitism is that I've I've heard from tons of people who aren't Jewish from on the world who are really grateful to hear um a
42:3242 minutes, 32 secondsdifferent narrative than what they you know usually see in in the media about Jews and to to understand how these
42:4042 minutes, 40 secondsdebates are happening in our community and um yeah who are just who see who who
42:4742 minutes, 47 secondswho are so moved by the presence of Jews in this movement right now um and
42:5442 minutes, 54 secondsappreciate that it's it's not easy um for those of us who come from communities where this stuff is still so
43:0243 minutes, 2 secondspainful um and and yet it's also important for me to say like it feels like the absolutely like the absolute
43:0943 minutes, 9 secondsleast thing that we can do right now um when you know the state of Israel is acting in my name and massacring tens of
43:1643 minutes, 16 secondsthousands of people um it feels yeah like the bare minimum so one of the things that the film does really well is
Chapter 15: The reason Jews believe in Zionism and how to challenge it
43:2443 minutes, 24 secondsthat it kind of presents almost a a very sympathetic lens on what it means to grow up in the communities that you've
43:3143 minutes, 31 secondsgrown up in and why you have this relationship with Israel and what it means on a very personal level yeah so I
43:4043 minutes, 40 secondswas watching the film with a couple of friends and and we we posed it after 15 minutes and um and we were just kind of
43:4743 minutes, 47 secondsjoking that the film was so convincing in its argument for Zionism in the first 15 minutes of the film that if you just
43:5443 minutes, 54 secondsturn it off there you could go away and be like all right I get it yeah I'm pro-
43:5843 minutes, 58 secondsIsraeli now and that was refreshing it but it was also surprising cuz I I didn't expect that going in but it ends up being such an important part of the
44:0644 minutes, 6 secondsstory of of how the film um presents voices such as yours why why is that aspect of it important do you
44:1444 minutes, 14 secondsthink yeah I mean there's a couple things I I want to say about that I think you know
44:2144 minutes, 21 secondslike there is a real reason that cism resonated so deep for so many Jews you
44:2844 minutes, 28 secondsknow it wasn't the majority position um like it's important to say there were always those debates and there's also a
44:3644 minutes, 36 secondsreason that so many Jews um you know saw the Zionist project as a as a genuine
44:4344 minutes, 43 secondsSafe Haven right um and why after the Holocaust it it the the idea of you know
44:5044 minutes, 50 secondshaving a home resonated for so many people and
44:5844 minutes, 58 secondsit's I guess important I think that we're in a moment right now in which like so many of the
45:0645 minutes, 6 secondsdecisions that were made by Imperial Powers after World War II um we're seeing right the costs we're seeing that
45:1345 minutes, 13 secondsInternational System that was set up after the Holocaust and its failures and hypocrisies you know turned up to a
45:2145 minutes, 21 secondsthousand um we're you know the system of international law that was created um
45:2845 minutes, 28 secondsostensibly to you know protect all people from Human Rights abuses and uphold rights for all people and we're seeing the way that like I mean the
45:3745 minutes, 37 secondsnakba happened in 1948 there's always been this exception for Palestine that was almost that was built into this world system um and we're seeing the
45:4645 minutes, 46 secondscost of that failure to or that that failure to consistently enforce these
45:5445 minutes, 54 secondsprinciples for people around the world um but I think that you know just on a personal level in our communities Jews
46:0246 minutes, 2 secondsare not you know we are not special I mean you know I was raised with a narrative that I was
46:1046 minutes, 10 secondsspecial had to unlearn that too um but you know we are not unique we are people
46:1846 minutes, 18 secondswho have you know come from histories of um oppression and persecution and also benefited from many systems of of of
46:2746 minutes, 27 secondsprivilege especially in the United States and um I think that this you know this
46:3546 minutes, 35 secondslearning and unlearning process is not there's obviously a unique experience that the Jewish communities have gone
46:4246 minutes, 42 secondsthrough but it's not um something that only we have to go through I'm just when when you asked that question it made me think about a a professor that I had in
46:5046 minutes, 50 secondscollege uh I had to read this article my sophomore year of college about uh it's this very famous interview between Benny
46:5846 minutes, 58 secondsMorris and AR shavit in her it's where Benny Morris talks about the knba the exposion of of Palestinians in 1948 um
47:0847 minutes, 8 secondsand says like basically yeah we did it and it was a good thing and we had to do it and I remember reading that interview
47:1447 minutes, 14 secondsit's just it's so uh blatant and and and simple and I read it and it was like so arresting to me to be like hold on a
47:2247 minutes, 22 secondssecond like first of all I didn't know about the nakba and also so just to hear somebody
47:2947 minutes, 29 secondsbe that um clear about supporting these crimes that were committed and I
47:3547 minutes, 35 secondsremember coming to um my professor who um and saying you know I just I can't believe that you know this that this
47:4447 minutes, 44 secondshappened and that this is something that people support and and I remember he said to me you know um he was from turkey and he said you know I had to
47:5347 minutes, 53 secondscome to terms with really horrible things that happened in my country as well and you know uh hearing that somebody else you know from a totally
48:0048 minutesdifferent context was also having to Grapple with like the really dark sides of his country's history was um you know a really important part for me in my own
48:0948 minutes, 9 secondsjourney and I think that's a that's a that's a really astute point right that every society has a story about itself that it likes to tell itself yes that
Chapter 16: Every society has a story it tells about itself
48:1848 minutes, 18 secondsallows it to feel like it has a special place in history um and almost no Society is an exception from that yeah
48:2648 minutes, 26 secondsno and I think it's like you know there's a story that that Israel likes to tell itself right about being
48:3348 minutes, 33 secondsuniquely moral um obviously that story is really crumbling before our eyes right now but I it's also important to
48:4048 minutes, 40 secondssay it's like all people have the capacity to be victims and all people have the capacity to be perpetrators and to commit um you
48:4948 minutes, 49 secondsknow horrible crimes and um the idea that experiencing oppression in the past EX exonerates you or makes you unable to
48:5948 minutes, 59 secondsdo those things you know that's where um I think we have this debate in the Jewish Community right is it like never
49:0649 minutes, 6 secondsagain for us or is it never again for anybody is the lesson of the Holocaust to circle the wagons and to you know um defend only our community at at the
49:1549 minutes, 15 secondsexpense of all else or is the lesson of experiencing anti-Semitism that we understand dehumanization and oppression
49:2349 minutes, 23 secondsand state violence and and the and that we fight for that for all people because that's the world in which we will be genuinely safe and it's very
49:3249 minutes, 32 secondsclear to me what the lesson is of this moment obviously um it's still very contested but I think that's
49:4049 minutes, 40 secondslike um yeah I mean in that way it feels like a very Universal message that you know many of us have to ask those questions
49:4749 minutes, 47 secondsin our communities yeah absolutely that's a great way uh to end our conversation um right that these are
49:5549 minutes, 55 secondsthis is a fight that you are fighting in your community but that there are other similar fights that a lot of people have to fight in their own families and yeah and I'll just say like that actually
Chapter 17: There are similar fights others are having in their communities
50:0350 minutes, 3 secondsanother really amazing and surprising thing that's happened to me like as I've been touring with this film is I've had people come up to me who say you know I
50:1150 minutes, 11 secondswant to have a conversation in my community about this thing totally disconnected right from Palestine Israel like you know I live in a country that
50:1850 minutes, 18 secondshas committed these crimes and and we can't talk about it and this film made me think about what does it look like to have those really painful conversations in my community so um
50:2750 minutes, 27 secondsthat's also just been really meaningful to like have those um to see so many people from different places like seeing themselves in this story as well are you
50:3550 minutes, 35 secondshopeful that those conversations are becoming easier for people in your community
50:4250 minutes, 42 secondsum yeah I am yeah I mean I think right now we have no choice right I mean I I
50:5050 minutes, 50 secondssay you know for me the story of the film it's not about my own um you know unique unque courage it's about this
50:5850 minutes, 58 secondsvery ordinary Human Experience of allowing yourself to be transformed when you're heartbroken when You Face these things that don't comport with your
51:0651 minutes, 6 secondsworldview and um I mean we should all like never be the same after what we've
51:1251 minutes, 12 secondswitnessed in Gaza and so I I hope you know it's like if there were ever a moment to like to take action to ask yourself questions to allow yourself to
51:2151 minutes, 21 secondstake a risk and step out it's like it is right now and yeah I hope that this is gives more people the another like tool
51:3051 minutes, 30 secondsin their toolbox to think about how to do that Simone Z it's been a real pleasure having you tonight thank you thank you so
Chapter 18: Outro
51:4151 minutes, 41 secondsmuch thank you for watching this episode of the big picture and a big thank you to Our Guest today Simone Zimmerman her film is israelism and you can check it
51:5051 minutes, 50 secondsout in theaters we always want to hear what you have to say about this conversation so please let us know in the comments below what you think or who
51:5851 minutes, 58 secondsyou'd like us to speak to next as always you can listen to this episode and all of our episodes wherever you get your podcast from and until next time Sal
52:0752 minutes, 7 seconds[Music]
2,964 Comments
Sejin Lifeforce 生命
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@jaygoldman1281
1 year ago
Bravo Simone!!! I'm a 66 year old Jewish American male who was indoctrinated since I was 5 with the same mythical stories you and some others of your generation speak of and now see through. 1) We are the "Chosen People". We're special. 2) Conflating antisemitism with anti Zionism. 3) We Jews must be perpetually afraid. VERY, very afraid because we are always the persecuted victim. Hence, the need for Israel as safe haven. 4) Conflating the Jewish diaspora experience with the Israeli experience. Thusly, we need to espouse unconditional support for the racist, ethno, apartheid state who has oppressed millions of Palestinians since the Nakba in 1948. I cannot summon the words to express my anger, revulsion, and utter disgust with the Israeli regime and their partners the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, and others in the genocide / ethnic cleansing operation featuring too many crimes against humanity to list here. To that I say.... NOT IN MY NAME!!! Lastly, I am actually afraid that we are experiencing in real time the utter breakdown of the world wide social order that has especially benefited the wealthy industrialized countries since the end of World War 2.
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@shahidkhan-kv9ds
1 year ago
What an incredible conscientious young lady. Massive respect.
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@mirzetdedic170
1 year ago
Big respect to all Jews who fight for human rights and against genocide in Gaza, 🙏❤❤
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@falsanomo
1 year ago
Proud of all the young people who are fighting against the occupation. But there are older people who stand with you.
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@KathyMathews
1 year ago
Simone is so humble, gentle with her words and still very outspoken. You can tell she is hurting from how much love she had for her upbringing and to learn everything she knows today. So proud of you Simone! ❤
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@Rose-yv8nt
1 year ago
Simone, you are an amazing human being.
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@miskakerdez3750
1 year ago
“So many of the systems that govern our world are so fundamentally broken.” Great observation from Simone Zimmerman. Brilliant and principled young woman. Excellent interview.
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@robinpettit7827
1 year ago
I met an IDF soldier over 44 years ago and was aware of what was going on. I have carried this knowledge knowing that I would be attacked as antisemitic if I voiced it too loud. Thank you for making the space for me, a non-Jew to let you know that should be proud of your actions.
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@litttoe
1 year ago
Simone, you are SPECIAL, but not because of being Jewish but because of being REAL. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
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@peterandjoycevanbreemen600
1 year ago
Solidarity.
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@Bobby0505
1 year ago
Thank god for people like this lady. We should watch her movie and support her work
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@soulmanmonk
1 year ago
“They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war.”
Howard Zinn
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@conmitchell3899
1 year ago
This young woman Simone Zimmerman is truly practical, intelligent and a bundle of , common sense. Truly, I would propose her for US president.
I’m a 74 year old Roman Catholic man I’m proud to believe everything she has said in this video squares totally with what I believe myself.
I’m am so proud of this young person and aline my thoughts with her. 15:26 UK
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@Mona2121-e3d
1 year ago
Beautiful to c people standing up for justice from South Africa 🇿🇦
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@Kenrom369
1 year ago
Watching this interview as a Palestinian American brought tears to my eyes, and fills my heart with love for such people as Simone Zimmerman. I fight for the same world they want to create and stand for the same human values: to make the world safe for all humanity! ❤
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@hayatraja7360
1 year ago
Great interview , thanks 🇵🇸
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@mmaximk
1 year ago
Thank you both, very much.
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@abdollahgilani4119
1 year ago
Great and brave Jewish young lady !
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@kristelt6787
11 months ago
Merci Simone pour votre engagement et pour retablir la verité. 🙏
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@pacificbob24
1 year ago
Simon, I am a 77-year-old Canadian born and raised in a very fundamentalist evangelical Christian environment. I was indoctrinated by 'end times' theology, which stated that Jesus was going to return to earth very soon (since 1970). We were continually told to keep our eyes on Israel because the Battle of Armeggeden would take place soon. I am appalled by the lack of concern of evangelical people for Palestinians. Evangelicals in the USA do not care at all about Palestinians. Your humanity and the determination you show fighting against the genocide taking place in Gaza give me hope for the future. You may be young, but I believe you are wise beyond your years.
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@jj_1962
1 year ago
It's not about Jews, Muslims etc. It's about humanity and decency!
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@den264
1 year ago
If it had been Belgium's who invaded and occupied Palestine in 1948 most Palestinians would hate Belgium 's It matters not who did the invasion and the subsequent occupation, the resistance would still have happened.
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@igloozoo3771
1 year ago
@den264 Belgium has no historical reason to call Israel their homeland. Even if it is true that many Jews are European and have no DNA lineage to Israel, they still have a religious one as Jews inhabited that land before Muslims. Of course, religion is a huge part of this conflict especially when over 95% of Palestine identify as Muslim and Israel is the only nation that describes themselves as a Jewish State and Democracy. Ignoring that Jihadists and Secularists want to wipe out Jewish/Christian history is very naive.
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@Harry-Storm
1 year ago
@den264 Nobody "invaded and occupied Palestine in 1948. Writing something that stupid disqualifies you from actually talking about 1948 or Israel in general. Where did they invade from 'in 1948'. or anytime. Some Jews were indigenous, others immigrated legally during the Ottoman period and then during the British Mandate. That's it. Residents. No invasion. Get it?
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@kylewatson5133
1 year ago
It's actually a story about taxation. About how taking money by force on one side of the planet could end up fueling treachery and misery on another.
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@TheMarlinlask
1 year ago
This is about Qatar proganda network.
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@manuelamartinelli1904
1 year ago
Do you remember Sabra and Shatila?
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@stemill1569
1 year ago
what about the decency that the Gazan People do their citizen duty and stop the terrorists performing attacks on Israel?
I understand that out of fear they don't want to do that. But with not acting they force someone else to act for them.
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@thomasbumbles9397
1 year ago
October 7 was so decent...
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@andrew_owens7680
1 year ago (edited)
I am a student of history and I looked back to parallel moments in history. They follow a pattern:
Boudica, who was raped in front of her father who was then killed by the Romans. Her tribe revolted and killed 70,000 Romans.
Spartacus
Nat Turner
The Warsaw Ghetto Rebellion
History didn't start on October 7th.
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@lori3456oooo
1 year ago
@thomasbumbles9397 did you listen to any of this?
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@Calina4truth
1 year ago
Excellent interview! I loved watching Simone’s compassion for her fellow human beings, her knowledge of the issues she stands for/against, her gift of communication, and her leadership abilities. The interviewer did a great job, too - he asked good questions, gave her the opportunity to express her thoughts, and did not interrupt her.
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@RG91977
1 year ago
Bravo Simone, I’m an American Jew and I’m with you !!!
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@jennykelso7418
1 year ago
I agree that it is wonderful to see the courage of Jewish people all over the world standing up and speaking out against these atrocities against the people of Palestine. It is shameful that you are being persecuted and harassed for speaking up in support of human rights and against genocide. The whole world really should be doing this. May all the people of the World live in peace and harmony and safety and happiness. ❤🙏
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@liamgilmour8555
1 year ago
Of all the commentaries and podcasts I have read or heard on the subject , this is the most eloquent, informed, educated, objective, humane and inspiring that I have so far encountered. My deepest appreciation and thanks go out to you Simone, and to your excellent host.
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@NaieemAli-gd2hq
1 year ago
From Gaza to Simone , we love you , we appreciate you, you are indeed one of our heroes. May Allah guide and protect you.
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@JudeRevolution-c1l
1 year ago
Simone Zimmerman I've only found your voice and organisation today I'm sad to say . I'm so incredibly inspired by you and your intellect,humanity and activism for all ppl as well as your Jewish community. ✊️🇵🇸🇦🇺✊️🇵🇸🇦🇺✊️🇵🇸🇦🇺
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@aeubanks0
1 year ago
God bless you Simone!!! You've given me some hope for the future!! Im 63, and its truly up to you and YOUR generation to make a better world for yourselves!! 🙏✨
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@benmita7369
1 year ago
“Is it ‘never again for us’ or ‘never again for anyone ‘“? Amazing quote. Basta!
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@TruthSeeker-z1t
1 year ago
What a refreshing conversation. Most people who are protesting are just asking for honest, open dialogues such as this one. So many mic-drop moments. "When Jews say 'never again' do we mean never again just for us or for all humans" I loved that.
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@cinlou5804
1 year ago
I came out of Christian Zionism in 2014. So thankful I asked the hard questions. Thank you for your story, fighting for the truth and freedom for Palestine.
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@moore7577
1 year ago
Simone gives real Jews a reason to be proud of their heritage because she values wisdom and compassion, not oppression and genocide.
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@aries8910
1 year ago
Ngl it gives me the ick when I see people say “real Jews” or “real - whatever.” I think the point is no group of people are ever a monolith. The people in the Israeli government are no less Jewish than someone in this group. The white people against slavery weren’t “the real whites” - there’s always going to be people who critically consider and empathize versus those who don’t. I don’t think any group of people has any more or less split in those factions.
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@trimetrodon
1 year ago
Amen.
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@Antonia-bt1mb
1 year ago
She’s not brainwashed by Hasbara like Noa Tishby for example. Look up Hasbara and realize how powerful it used to be. We’re seeing it crack. And now the voices of reasonable and kind Jewish people are coming through.
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@jahidhosssin54456
1 year ago
Of course.As a Muslim,I respect Jews like her.
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@Badgerbeard
1 year ago
Simone represents the difference between Ju da ism and Zeeonism and gives me hope.
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@makeroftoys
1 year ago
Idealism is the hallmark of youth. The enemy is not the majority of Palestinians, who are peaceful.
The enemy is the Palestinians in power.
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@thomaskalbfus2005
1 year ago
@makeroftoys You can't separate the wheat from the chafe, just as we couldn't separate the innocent Germans from the Nazis during World War II.
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@leilahmanson
1 year ago
When I hear a Jewish person speak out against Israel I always listen and as always it's powerful stiff,thank goodness for these people who are determined to do the RIGHT thing!
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@annelorebutler8254
1 year ago
Thank you, for this important conversation! I was born in Austria in 1941 and have been looking for such a conversation; I am delighted to see a young person, so engaged in one of the major problems we all should be engaged in. Willingness to confront the dark sides of your heritage is the beginning of a better future.
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@bahidjamajiet5581
1 year ago
The youth of the era will set the world free ❤❤❤
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@ummshams8954
1 year ago
Bravo! Kudos for standing and speaking out courageously in the struggle for justice, for truth, and for goodwill for all. As a representative and a leader of the younger generation, you give us hope for a better future. God willing. Keep up the good work!
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@Haruto---遼人
1 year ago
This day and age isn't for genocides, apartheid and any kind of discriminations.
as humans we should be past that, and thrive to live all equally and happily.
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@ThisThatAndTheOther123
1 year ago (edited)
The interviewer - Muhammad Hassan - is also great. He's asking really good questions and is being very empathetic.
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@richardmaynard4942
1 year ago
I am not Jewish and am really encouraged by such a thoughtful and humane analysis by Simone. Left wing Jewish activists have a long and proud history of fighting for social justice here in the UK and around the world. Their contribution to science, music and art is very impressive.
We should not allow our self- serving, immoral politicians and media use misinformation and repression to protect the genocidal extremists of the Israeli government.
It has never been more important for those with moral, humanitarian values, whatever their religion or ethnicity, to stand together. Authoritarian, fascist movements are gaining strength throughout the world and endanger the freedom of all of us.
United we stand, divided we fall, keep fighting and organising Simone❤️👏
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@BrokenHill56
1 year ago
Great reporting MEE
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@halifaxeh
1 year ago
Intelligent, well spoken young woman! Kudos to her! Especially here: 23:21 I wish more people were willing to engage in critical thinking when faced with info that doesn’t fit their prior understanding.
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@timtam3691
1 year ago
I have no one I respect more than Jews against Palestinian genocide....you are more than a human. As a Muslim I owe you great respect. Keep being truthful. May Allah bless you all.
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@YogaladyToronto
1 year ago (edited)
We should all be able to relate; in any area of life or society it’s HARD to face the truth, and especially any ugly/shameful/negative truths.
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@intbydes
1 year ago
Gratitude for this conversation.
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@lordazlan237
1 year ago
Thank you. "We are asking questions about Israel because we were raised to read the news and ask questions". Something like that.
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@achillemassoma5944
1 year ago
Simone Zimmerman, Noami Klein and million of other Jews who have the moral courage to resist injustice whichever form it takes.
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@leannepouremad6215
1 year ago
What a joy to hear her speak! Thank You Simone and MEE..
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@andrewscanlon7823
1 year ago
I saw Israelism and I've heard Simone speak a few times and her and people like her have really been eye opening as someone who grew up completely outside of knowing anything about what is really going on. Keep it up
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@ingridhildebrandt8053
1 year ago
I am a grandma and you and other young people like you are my hope.❤
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@道德经-q9g
1 year ago
Thank you Simone for for your stance toward injustice in the middle East. We are all grateful for your bravery. Your compassion and thoughfulness create hope for humanity all around the globe. Please keep up the good work.
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@doggieclaude
1 year ago
Simone is an incredible young woman. Smart, likeable, wise and brave. Hats off to you Simone, I'm a huge fan
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@royalspin
1 year ago
Beautiful on the inside and out .❤ Keep pushing and spreading the word and by all means stay safe.👏✌️
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@MikeXwolf
1 year ago
You are a hero. Public opinion matters and even if nothing will change tomorrow, the future is shaped by those voices and we need to hear more of you. I am an Israeli Jew and still hold Israeli citizenship. And even though I've left the country, I still feel profoundly ashamed for what they are doing. Not In My Name.
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@DocZom
1 year ago
Simone reminds me of the Jewish students I met in the new-left movement of the 60s. I never knew any Jews until my freshman year in college. Those Jewish students were brought up with strong humanist values, like me though I was raised RC. We immediately became close friends and fellow "campus radicals."
The one message I would share with Simone is to keep fighting for what is right; you will ultimately prevail. And thank you for inspiring an old hippie radical.
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@terilynnnelson572
1 year ago (edited)
People like Simone Zimmerman, her organization, the student protestors, Jewish Voices for Peace and others represent the best of humanity, and the moral leadership of the world at this terribly fraught moment. I have to say that if you are at all intellectually curious, you know what is going on, so I do not buy into this idea that "older" people just don't know any better. I am "older" and I know. If you want to know the truth about something you will work to find it.
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@elaine5953
1 year ago
Listening to discussion and dialogue like this... no wonder TV networks with shouting heads are failing and loosing viewership.
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@blancalex8119
1 year ago
Young, smart, courageous , we need many of the Simone kind. A serious, balanced search , then a very humble voice to expose the facts and only the facts .Keep on the good job and be safe .Congratulations
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@colleenfuller1367
1 year ago
Wonderful and thoughtful interview. I saw Israelism and was powerfully moved.
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@haiderabbas7938
1 year ago
Absolutely brilliant
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@noellealexander9991
1 year ago
Way to go Simone Zimmerman. you are not just gorgeous ,you are a smart Genius and confident with the Purist Jewish activist Heart I've ever seen. God Bless you and protect you from all evil. I love watching your shows.
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@SaeedKhan-kq1zr
1 year ago
I Applaud from the bottom of my heart for Jews like her and many many more who are standing with Palestine 🇵🇸 Against Israeli Genocide. THANKYOU
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@pinaywanderer2986
1 year ago
Respect to you Miss ❤❤❤
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@geetavadukul
1 year ago
Humbled at your courage and actions. Thank you 💐
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@deanmetz1965
1 year ago
We'll said by Simone. Thank you for your advocacy of truth and justice. You're part of a great change for better in the world.
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@upendasana7857
1 year ago
Simone is such an example not only because she is so articulate and knowledgeable and has such strength of passion to do right by Palestininas but also because she had to do a full 180 on the beliefs and conditioning she was brought up with as a zionist and ina very zionist family and community and to go against that and question that instead of doubling down or going into denial is such an admirable thing to do.Many of us tend to not question such fundamental beliefs that we are brought up with and which can be uncomfortable truth to face when we begin to unpick them and realise that we may not have been taught or edcuated in the most honest or truthful ways.
She is brave to have done this and to become such a force for Palestinians libaration whislt still honouring her Jewish roots and culture.
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@Daniel-w5t9v
1 year ago
As a Muslim, I have really loved the immense wisdom in Judaism. It has helped free me from the dogmatic angle I had as a Christian evangelist. Keep up the good work and following the Golden Rule.
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@shifrafreewoman174
1 year ago
I am 62 and i applaud the activism and ethics of young Jews and I am with you. i know statistically there are many more young people standing with Gaza and i also see lots and lots of older people including those in their 90s!! Some of us many of us older folks are with you.
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@csalsera
1 year ago
Thank you Simone Zimmerman for your brilliant leadership and work. Thank you to all Jews especially, but all humans who stand up for humanity over state agendas & corporate BS & propaganda. Thank you to all who open their eyes and hearts to the value of human life, who see beyond the lies, and thank you to those who help us to do that. Beautiful job - timely and insightful prompts & questions, & her eloquent responses were spot on.
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@corrie-m2l
1 year ago
thanks for being you and thanks for mentioning Bisan. I hope one day you can meet!
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@vanessac1965
1 year ago
Please know that in the Muslim (and Arab Christian) world people like you are seen as heroes ❤ Judaism and Islam are the two most similar religions in the world, the Torah, the prophets, one God. Big love and respect to you ❤️
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@Naturedrawn
1 year ago
She is an inspiration.
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@halifaxeh
1 year ago
Simone, I’m more and more impressed with your knowledge, courage, empathy, and humanity as the interview goes on. Keep up the great and incredibly important work!
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@GuyCruls
1 year ago
It was a privilege to listen to Simone Zimmerman - can’t wait to watch the documentary.
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@nadiaa5036
1 year ago
Kudos to this young woman. Very refreshing to see some decency.
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@martiwaterman1437
1 year ago
Simone, hope you know how impactful this interview, your work and that of your peers is at this time. The courage it takes to bear the criticism of your own community must be overwhelming. Please persevere. You are needed and appreciated!
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@HabibThought
1 year ago
She is so brave. I pray for her.
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@patrickfarrell5092
1 year ago
When I visited Israel in 2000 I met so many Israelis like Simone with beautiful souls.
She's wonderful 🙏
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@djvincekline7338
1 year ago
God bless you and your beautiful soul @Simone Zimmerman. The world needs more people like you :-) Greetings from a Catholic brother :-)
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@FSDStories
1 year ago
A person who does not know and see where they came from will never reach where they want to go.
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@BlackLife360
1 year ago
Imagine people hating your people so much they’re basically willing to disown their children from seeing you as a human being.
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@lisha2122
1 year ago
I watched her video, "Israelism," and it helped me to understand how the cruelty towards and dehumanization of Palestinians originated and how it came to be normalized in Israel. My sister visited the West Bank a few years ago, and her stories about the apartheid and settler attacks were so disturbing. I recommend that everyone watch this.
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@christinebiancarelli126
1 year ago
I really like the way you interview people. Simone is an incredible young lady. I have hope when I hear her.
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@lisadixon5886
1 year ago
I would love you to come to Australia and talk to our Prime Minister and then all our news outletsto share your message- it is greatly needed over here!
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@MQB-dz8wr
1 year ago
God bless this brave young woman. She is a treasure ❤
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@panpandesbois9924
1 year ago
Support from France Simone! I got to see Israelism, it was packed. Thank you for your work and courage.
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@EowynsResolve
1 year ago
I can still see that toddler Palestinian girl shaking uncontrollably in shock at what she witnessed and experienced.
She'll never be right in the head ever again and was maybe 6 years old. I thought it was a seizure it was so jarring to witness, I'll never forget her so long as I live.
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@StateOfPurgatory
1 year ago
Excellant wise insight
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@MB.77
1 year ago
Wonderful and brilliant young woman. This is what humanity is about. We must praise and encourage each brave person speaking up and educating others. This was very inspiring and insightful.
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@seafox9620
1 year ago
Another wonderful interview - thank you both for your thoughtfulness, courage and honesty. This is a hugely important conversation.
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@JohnBeerschoten
1 year ago
Read: Jimmy Carter: Palestine, Peace not Apartheid; Shlomo Sand: The Invention of The jewish People, How I Stopped Being a Jew, and The Invention of the Land of Israel; Rashid Khalidi: The Hundred Year's War on Palestine; Yahya Sinwar, The Thorn and The Carnation; Ilan Pappe: The History of Modern Palestine; Dries van Agt: Palestine in Agony and A Cry for Justice.
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@Olie109
1 year ago
I’m not Jewish. But Simone gets recommended on my YouTube quite often. And I must say, Simone what a wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, brave woman you are!!! Your parents should be so proud of their daughter! You are amazing. I hope there are so many more Jews like you!!! But you are right that this genocide doesn’t make Jews any safer, but the opposite. I don’t discriminate any religion or race, but now after everything that is happening in Gaza everytime I see Jewish person I cringe to be honest, and have to remind myself that there are so many more Jews like you - with the very kind heart❤️
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@m.j.golden4522
1 year ago
I am not Jewish and my friends are not all Jewish, but we hold the same values you do so they're not Jewish values. They are human values, morals, ethics that everybody should strive for because a happy world is a peaceful and safe world. Some of my Jewish friends had those values before October 7 and now they are anti-Palestinian.. I still want to be friends with them, but we do not talk about that subject or else. I'm sure our friendship would fall apart. I don't really know what to make of it. Because I know them and I respect them, I accept them with their faults, but I wouldn't accept other Jews that I wasn't friends with if they had the same faults. How flexible we are.
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@tamhunt5928
1 year ago
Amazing interview, such courage, such eloquence, actually gives me some hope that this generation of Jewish activists may in fact achieve some change -- finally.
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@nowellsukkar1521
1 year ago (edited)
Love, Respect and Gratitude for Standing for Humanity, for JUSTICE, for Freedom 💛💛💛
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@EvaDeli
1 year ago
Simone Zimmerman, I hope to hear more of her thoughtful and humanistic insights.
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@maitlen4021
1 year ago
Brilliant, shining young woman, extraordinarily thoughtful interview. Thank you.
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@nai792
1 year ago
At 67 years old, I am half Arab and was raised in Syria amidst the ongoing Jewish-Arab conflict. I commend the bravery of the young lady mentioned in the prompt and deeply respect her efforts. My hope is for Jewish people to coexist with Palestinians in dignity, putting an end to the violence that has claimed too many lives. It is time for the minority Jewish community to lead the way towards peace, halting the senseless bloodshed that has plagued both sides for far too long. The innocent casualties must cease, as the cycle of violence in Palestine has persisted for the past seven months….!
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@GianfreeZ
1 year ago
Thanks Simone!
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@magspies
1 year ago
This was great - good questions and then letting there be space for answers.
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@LURX-TheSodaJerk
1 year ago
The Mainstream media is surprisingly mute when it comes to addressing the existence of passionate and courageous Jewish citizens like this. Perhaps they avoid interviewing them because they are quite adept in explaining their views and how they relate to their Jewish beliefs. It has usually been the agenda to try to discredit the protests as being Anti-Semitic and a potential threat to the other Jewish students. Engaging with these students undermines this narrative.
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@panagenesis2695
1 year ago (edited)
Respect to those fighting for justice. God bless, keep and help them. God save Palestine.
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@aminawood1737
1 year ago
Wonderful young woman
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@Seanontube1
1 year ago
Listening to the intelligence and integrity of both the interviewer and interviewee fills me with a sense of hope. This is a model of how we might be able to move forward. A rare ray of light...
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@GudrunKrueger-vk8ky
9 months ago
Thank you, I did not know about this- you give me hope.
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@ziyadb2526
1 year ago
An eye opening interview. ❤
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@stigmatafan09
1 year ago
I'm a 43 year old atheist that wants peace and safety for Israelis and Jewish people around the world and Palestinians, Christians and Muslims, and Christians and Muslims around the world. I follow Jewish Voice for Peace on Facebook and strongly believe in their cause
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@fredwang6354
1 year ago (edited)
Thank you very much Simone Zimmerman for speaking out and for reflecting exactly my sentiment and how I feel. You are a courageous and brave woman and I hug and embrace you for what your engagement in this matter thank you very much and enjoy your day 😊😊
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@marieuzes
1 year ago
Yes! The context is hugely important. This did not start on October 7th!!
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@safooranejrabi6613
1 year ago
But those are standing with truth and right side of history! They love you girl , including myself ❤ keep up beautiful girl, bravo
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@jurekprzychodzen6454
1 year ago (edited)
No nonsense, yet thoughtful approach. She‘s right on the money. Genocide fans must hate her. Respect!
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@bernadettesheehy5463
1 year ago
Well done,You give us Hope!
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@TomHawk640
1 year ago
Great Interview!
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@muhammadh2864
1 year ago
Amazing interview! I wish I had the millionth of the courage she has! Thank you!
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@erpthompsonqueen9130
1 year ago
Thank you. Watching from Alaska. 🤔
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@maries9446
1 year ago
My parents and family lived in Tunisia.Ordinary of many nationalites and religions all just lived together. Everyone could speak 5 or 6 languages,. Looked after each other and respected each other. Three generations later and now living in many differnt countries we are still friends call each other cousins and consider each other family . We have different religions .we respect and love each other.I have 4chidren I am married to a Greek and thekids have extended ithe family to welcome Irish, danish, Malaysian and a Lithuanian into our lives.Many religions,nationalities and Lots of Love. We can all live together it's politicians that divide people .Everyone wants the same inn life,a job,a home ,a family ,heath ,love and PEACE which I wish for all️
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@suziekadi6490
1 year ago
Massive respect and love to this conscientious young woman.I applaud her for been brave and telling the truth ❤❤
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@nneely613
1 year ago
I had to cringe when she said protect the good ones in congress. She's on the right path but young lady there are no champions in congress.
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@jeremyhodge6216
1 year ago
The reason why is that they see what's truly going on by their own. Causing all this havoc and stuff 🤨
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@abdulazizalkhouri
1 year ago
Simone, I watched your documentary and I just hope to meet you in person one day. You’re such an inspiration
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@kylietodd9136
1 year ago
R
This world needs you and your voice
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@JohnBeerschoten
1 year ago
The Palestinian people are the descendants of the inhabitants of the area known as 'Historic Palestine'. The Palestinians have a fascinating Arab culture.
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@ClaySanford-e8o
1 year ago
Thanks for this honest and real discussion . My goal is to share this with everyone I know. It is difficult and painful to explain to friends and families the horrors of 1948 , and to put it in to the historical context that can be understood. It is the only way forward to achieve peace. Thanks again
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@ashleynose8834
1 year ago
Amazing 👏🏼 Much respect for this SuperWoman. Wow x
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@pearljennings3241
7 months ago
Thankyou for a terrific conversation! I stand with you both.
Pearl.🌻
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@moosa004
1 year ago
Thanks Simone for your honesty and decency
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@drprofessorsoso208
1 year ago (edited)
What's more dangerous is the normalisation of all this. During the apartheid era in South Africa within the white community, there were individuals who opposed the apartheid regime and its narrative of racial superiority. These dissenting voices faced various challenges and consequences for their opposition. White South Africans who spoke out against apartheid often faced ostracism from their own community. They were labeled as traitors or sympathizers with the black majority, leading to social isolation and sometimes even harassment. Those who openly opposed apartheid risked facing legal repercussions, including arrest, detention without trial, and even torture. The apartheid government used harsh laws to suppress dissent, and white activists were not exempt from these measures. Speaking out against apartheid often meant challenging the privileges that came with being white in South Africa. Some individuals faced economic repercussions, such as losing their jobs or being denied opportunities for advancement. Many white South Africans who opposed apartheid faced pressure from their families and peers to conform to the prevailing racist ideology. This could strain relationships and lead to personal conflicts within families and social circles. Some white anti-apartheid activists chose to leave South Africa rather than continue to live under the oppressive regime. They sought refuge in other countries where they could continue their activism without fear of persecution. Despite the risks, some white South Africans actively collaborated with black activists and organizations in the struggle against apartheid. They formed alliances and worked together to challenge the discriminatory policies of the government. Within the white community, there were also internal struggles and divisions over the issue of apartheid. While some supported the regime's policies, others questioned its morality and effectiveness, leading to debates and conflicts within white society. Overall, white South Africans who opposed apartheid faced significant challenges and risks, but their activism played a crucial role in the eventual dismantling of the apartheid system and the establishment of a democratic South Africa.The complexity of activism against war involves grappling with ethical dilemmas and nuanced understanding of societal dynamics. While it's crucial to oppose violence and prevent the suffering of innocent people, navigating the ideologies and motivations behind conflicts can be challenging. Activists often strive to promote peace while also addressing underlying issues such as oppressive ideologies or systems contributing to conflict. It's a balancing act between immediate humanitarian concerns and the broader goals of promoting justice and stability. Ultimately, the worth of activism against war lies in its potential to foster dialogue, raise awareness, and advocate for positive change, even in the face of complex societal realities.
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@lananasir8221
1 year ago
Wonderful conversation brought me peace and comfort. ☮️
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@gmeka2772
1 year ago
This interview made me cry. I have told Christians in my community that the people who govern Israel right now have the same spirit of those who killed JESUS and they would do the same now if JESUS would appear in Jerusalem to ask for a cease fire and stop the killing. Thank you Simone for the truth told. I am praying for you.
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@rmleighton1
1 year ago
Thank you for work.
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@lllovesss
1 year ago
Thank you, that was a wonderful interview.
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@brucechun1648
1 year ago
I'm left wing and being anti aparteid is not left wing it is being Human.You are not an extremist. You are not weird. You are only expressing your humanity and having the courage to do the New right thing. You are correct. Do not listen to those who say that you're wrong. Even when it's you're family, father and Mother, brother etc. You will have time to heal from this decade later and continue to carry the light.
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@shelleychadwick4336
1 year ago
I think it would be helpful to distinguish anti-Zionists from anti-Semites, in a similar way to how the Vatican excommunicates Catholics.
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@Trdundee
1 year ago
The young Jews have a living conscience. This is something you can never dampen ❤
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@padmaborrego
1 year ago
What a beautiful conversation. Thank you Mohamed and Simone and I look forward to seeing the film.
Your voice is so clear and focused.
The opposition is so loud and confusing and obviously trying to deflect from simple principles most of us want.
It is our work to sort out the mud and stay clear in our desire for connection rather than dominance.
The leaders appear to be the sickest part of our societies. They are self absorbed addicted to power because they are ultimately weak.
❤❤
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@StopSettlerViolence
1 year ago
Antisemitism is not what is being exposed, HYPOCRISY is!!
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@N8TiVNewYorker
1 year ago
As a man, with a family, no matter how much pride I may have in my country, I could not see moving my family to Israel to live in, its just not safe. why would I live in a country that has checkpoints everywhere, the constant presence of the military everywhere, how is this acceptable to its citizens??? Why do they find this okay and are they just desensitized? I don't believe the current Israeli government truly cares about its citizens, it is not interested in true peace with the Palestinians. Instead they want to build walls, give citizens AR15s, and constantly deprive Palestinians of any rights and treat them like animals over and over and over. How is this creating a safe living space for ANY citizens of Israel. In my opinion, Israel seems to have an economy based on a business model where they never come to peace with Palestinians, and just keeping that threat alive allows them to consistently receive money from the U.S. to just keep the cycle going. The cycle needs to stop, and the citizens of Israel need to demand a better government that allows them to live without walls, guns, or any threat from its neighbors, until then, this pattern never ends.
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@rachelduncan1501
1 year ago
This was an incredible conversation. In such a seemingly hopeless situation, this has given me some hope.
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@amaddin3817
1 year ago
Candid, insightful and truthful discussion ; thank you so much for bringing on; keep up the good work; much love and respect ❤🎉❤🎉😂🎉❤🎉😂🎉😂🎉😂🎉😂❤
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@scrappylor
1 year ago
Great and inspiring interview .
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@antonio667
1 year ago
The "Awakening," a moment when the whole truth with its sel-realization finally bloom and to move forward and change for the better. Thank you, Simone Zimmerman for sharing everything truthful from being a fanatical jew defending "ANTI-SEMITISM🇮🇱😡🗡️⚔️🚀💣💥" to becoming defender of today's most oppressed Palestinian people.⚖️🇵🇸🤗💖🏞️🌄🌅 More power, Simone.
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