Dear Stuff, Jewishness is more than fear and Israel.

Jewishness is more than fear and Israel

In the last two stories I’ve seen on the Jewish community, Stuff has twice re-posted a harmful image of antisemitism and elicited the same sad tale of Judaism: fear and Israel. Second time, they used my name to let a spokesperson of the NZ Jewish Council position that group in the comfy middle of the spectrum.

First time, I wrote a letter to the editor. Second time, I wrote twice to the journalist, Philip Matthews, asking for space in which they or I could explain the content of Jewishness in a more holistic and meaningful way. I also noted that it is harmful to re-circulate racist images. After two weeks, Stuff declined to print my response. So here it is.

Dear Stuff,

In his interview of Ben Kepes, who is a regular contributor to Stuff as well as a spokesperson for the NZ Jewish Council (NZJC), Philip Matthews proposed this:

How can we describe the range of Jewish opinion in New Zealand? Can we say there is pro-Palestinian Marilyn Garson, author of Jewish, Not Zionist, at one end, and Zionism at the other?

Not quite, Kepes says.

“You have Marilyn Garson at one end, but you don’t have Zionism at the other because I would say the absolute vast majority of Jews in New Zealand are Zionists, as in they believe the state of Israel has a right to exist as a homeland for the Jews. At the other end you probably have ultra right-wing Jews.”

Mr Matthews, I write ceaselessly about our equal human rights in this world, and the decisions of international law, and the dignity of every life. You have effectively placed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the far end of the Jewish spectrum. Can that really be the way you understand the Jewish community of Aotearoa?

I never use the word pro-Palestinian, because it imagines a false dichotomy. It overlooks the simple fact that two peoples will or will not find a way to live in justice. Neither people will vanquish the other and thrive alone. As I wrote to you, I reject identity-based politics and I pursue a future grounded in law and human rights; justice for two peoples.

Where shall we place the New Zealand Jewish Council (NZJC) on this spectrum? The NZJC calls for Aotearoa to defund universities which disagree with their definition of protest and “antisemitism”. They want to import Trump’s strategy to create a moral panic about protest; target Palestinians, dissenting Jews and friends; and override civil rights. To call for such anti-democratic politics in the name of the Jewish community is damaging and far from the middle of any spectrum.

The NZJC is unelected and has never sought to represent the whole of the community of which their constitution speaks. Last time the Regional Wellington Jewish Council met, it was roundly disavowed by the community and dissolved itself. Our media have never challenged this body. As they reveal their place in the Trumposphere, it becomes imperative that they not be allowed to drag the Jewish community into disrepute.

The media play into the Zionist framing of Jewishness each time they repeat that Jewish identity can be understood on a one-dimensional spectrum: pro- or anti-Zionist. That spectrum still pretends that being Jewish consists of one’s attitude toward Israel. That framing is a gift to Zionism, and it is an affront to the rich, plural inheritance of Jewishness.

Please oh please oh please, would any one of our media take note and stop reducing us to this flat, political existence?

II

Over and over, Stuff and others report on the Jewish community through antisemitism—or, more often, the “antisemitism” which labels anti-Zionism as a hatred of Jews. Those scare quotes refer to the blurring of protest into racism.

Lest anyone still doubt this, on July 1 2025, the Federal Court of Australia affirmed that anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism. Justice Angus Stewart wrote that:

“The ordinary, reasonable listener would understand that not all Jews are Zionists or support the actions of Israel in Gaza and that disparagement of Zionism constitutes disparagement of a philosophy or ideology and not a race or ethnic group…

“Political criticism of Israel, however inflammatory or adversarial, is not by its nature criticism of Jews in general or based on Jewish racial or ethnic identity… The conclusion that it is not antisemitic to criticise Israel is the corollary of the conclusion that to blame Jews for the actions of Israel is antisemitic; the one flows from the other.”

It’s not that hard to remember that Zionism is an ideology while Jewish people are an ethno-religious community. It is critical to make that distinction, while Israel’s leaders stand charged with crimes against humanity and its military carries out plausible genocide, starvation, displacement and unspeakable cruelties.

Israel’s crimes make it the object of anger. Alternative Jewish Voices and our Palestinian partners work hard to remind everyone that effective protest targets the structures which prop up Israel’s illegal occupation and imperial violence. Structures—not labels, not Jews or Muslims or Palestinians—are the proper object of protest. Yet we see the spillover of anger against Palestinians, Jews, Muslims and those assumed to be Muslim. That spillover is actively baited by the far Right and disinformation networks.

If we want others to understand Jewishness, to respect and protect my faith among all the faiths, we need the media to do better. These uncritical Jewish Council stories serve neither Judaism nor safety.

What is Jewishness? There is a fine new identity flowering around the Jewish world. We are politically alive, spiritual or secular or cultural. Our Jewishness is not afraid to inhabit this world with all of its hard questions. Our identity is unrelated to Israel; our sources are far older. Our Jewish identity is often the source of our principles, and right now our principles break our hearts and bring into the street.

Don’t call us anti; call us liberatory. Don’t call us tragic; call us Tangata Te Tiriti. Don’t call us fringe because we are the future.

Alternative Jewish Voices is an original member of Global Jews for Palestine. Read and sign to support our vision for ethical, inclusive Jewish community in our Global Jewish Manifesto for Collective Liberation.

Marilyn Garson

July 18, 2025