# The Anti-Zionist Idea: History, Theory, & Politics (Nasser Abourahme and Daniel Boyarin)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTZ-W6iMIR0
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/zTZ-W6iMIR0

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## Quick Overview

The anti-Zionist idea does not exist; only anti-Zionist practice, which emerges as both the effect and condition of the anti-colonial subject and must be anti-imperialist. This practice necessitates a concrete struggle to defeat Zionism, not reform it, and must originate from the terrain of colonized land and the lived experiences of those in struggle, rather than from Zionism's own genealogies or European intellectual frameworks.

**Key Points:**
- Anti-Zionism is fundamentally a practice, not merely an idea, and it must be anti-imperialist, emerging from the concrete struggle to defeat Zionism as a political project.
- Meaningful anti-Zionist knowledge is "abolitional," rooted in the "terrain of struggle on colonized land," and must be "imminent to the actually existing concrete forces of struggle and combat."
- Beginning anti-Zionist thought with Europe's Jewish question or an "ethics of the other" is a "dead end," as it ensnares the critique in Europe's epistemic world and imposes "impossible symbolic demands" on Palestinians.
- Ghassan Kanafani's "Returning to Haifa" illustrates that the homeland is "the future" found only in "action and struggle," not in restoring the past or individual acts of memory.
- Zionism functions as the "ideological alibi" and "moral absolution" for the post-war imperial West, enabling its self-perception as a "white civilizational moral order" after the Holocaust and colonialism.
- Daniel Boyarin asserts that anti-Zionism is primarily a "Jewish movement" of resistance against the Zionist idea, viewing "any form of possible support for the Palestinian struggle" as the practice stemming from this Jewish anti-Zionist theory.
- The Palestinian subject, by refusing Zionism, "opposes the world itself," representing the "last inimitable remainder in the West" and offering a path to rebel against the "intolerability of the world today."

**Context:** This panel discussion features Nasser Abourahme, an assistant professor of Middle Eastern and North African studies, and Daniel Boyarin, a professor emeritus of Talmudic culture and rhetoric, both authors of recent books on related topics. The session, titled "Anti-Zionist Theory and Practice," explores the historical, theoretical, and political dimensions of anti-Zionism, particularly emphasizing its nature as a form of practice rooted in anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles, and its relationship to Jewish anti-Zionism.

## Detailed Analysis

Nasser Abourahme argues that anti-Zionism is not an abstract idea but a concrete practice, intrinsically linked to anti-colonial and anti-imperialist movements. He asserts that any meaningful critique of Zionism must arise from the direct struggle to defeat it, not to reform its ideological claims. This "abolitional" knowledge must originate from the lived experiences and struggles on colonized land, rather than from Zionism's own intellectual history or European philosophical traditions like the "Jewish question" or an "ethics of the other." Abourahme critiques approaches that seek "mutual recognition of suffering" between the Holocaust and the Nakba, deeming them a "dead end" that imposes undue symbolic demands on Palestinians and keeps the discourse centered on Europe. He advocates for a "radical forgetting of Europe" in this context, emphasizing that the colonizers' Jewish identity is irrelevant to the Palestinian struggle. Drawing on Ghassan Kanafani's novel "Returning to Haifa," Abourahme illustrates that the Palestinian homeland is a future to be forged through "action and struggle," not a past to be recovered. He connects this to contemporary Palestinian prison literature, where acts of refusal and self-study constitute revolutionary practice. Abourahme concludes that Zionism is not merely a military outpost but a core ideological component of the post-war imperial West, serving as its "moral absolution" and enabling its self-perception as a humane order. The Palestinian subject, in refusing Zionism, fundamentally opposes this global order. Daniel Boyarin complements this by defining anti-Zionism as a historical and ongoing "Jewish movement" of resistance against the Zionist idea, viewing "any form of possible support for the Palestinian struggle" as the practice stemming from this Jewish anti-Zionist theory. He highlights the long history of Jewish opposition to Zionism and expresses unequivocal support for Palestinian liberation, warning against a superficial "liberal anti-Zionism." Boyarin also draws parallels to Albert Memmi's concept of "comprador" groups, suggesting that the rehabilitation of Jews in the West serves a broader European project of marginalizing Muslims and Arabs. The discussion further explores how Palestinian practice can inspire broader regional anti-imperialist movements, noting that the current Gaza genocide has re-crystallized the imperial question as inseparable from regional political freedom and social justice.

### The Nature of Anti-Zionism (Nasser Abourahme)

- Anti-Zionism is solely a practice, not an idea, serving as both the effect and condition of the anti-colonial subject
- It must be anti-imperialist, and any anti-imperialism today must be anti-Zionist
- Meaningful critique of Zionism emerges from the concrete struggle to defeat it, not to reform its ideological claims.

### Critique of European-Centric Anti-Zionism

- Anti-Zionist knowledge must be "abolitional," rooted in the "terrain of struggle on colonized land"
- Starting anti-Zionism from Zionism's genealogies, Europe's Jewish question, or an "ethics of the other" is a "dead end" that ensnares thought in Europe's epistemic world
- The approach of "mutual recognition of suffering" (Holocaust and Nakba side-by-side) imposes "impossible symbolic demands" on Palestinians and yields only ethical, not political, outcomes.

### Anti-Colonial Practice and Palestinian Subjectivity

- A "radical forgetting of Europe" is necessary, as the colonizers' Jewish identity is "irrelevant" to the Palestinian struggle
- Ghassan Kanafani's "Returning to Haifa" illustrates that the homeland is "the future," achievable only through "action and struggle," not individual acts or memory
- The Palestinian subject emerges from revolutionary acts and is "imminent to the fight," as seen in Kanafani's work and contemporary Palestinian prison literature.

### Zionism's Global Imperial Function

- Zionism is not just a US-led imperial outpost but also "at the core of the ideological order that is the post-war imperial West"
- It serves as the West's "ideological alibi" and "moral absolution" after the Holocaust and colonialism, enabling its self-perception as a "white civilizational moral order"
- The Palestinian subject, in refusing Zionism, "opposes the world itself," representing the "last inimitable remainder in the West."

### Jewish Anti-Zionism (Daniel Boyarin)

- Anti-Zionism is a significant "Jewish movement" of resistance against the Zionist idea, existing since Zionism's conception
- Jewish anti-Zionism is the "theory" from which "any form of possible support for the Palestinian struggle is the practice"
- There is a commitment to maintaining a vibrant Jewish existence that strives for an "ethical existence in the world" and "doi kite" (here and now), with unequivocal support for Palestinian liberation.

### Regional and Global Implications

- The current Gaza genocide has "recrystallized the imperial question" (US-led imperialism, Zionism, House of Saud) as inseparable from regional political freedom and social justice
- A "new internationalist consciousness" in the West connects ongoing settler colonialism, climate change, and policing, understanding these as interconnected struggles.