The terms anti-Semitism, Zionism, anti-Zionism, pro-Israeli, and pro-Palestinian have been at the forefront of heated debate in Cambridge these last few weeks and there is a pressing need to have these discussions and clarify the key distinctions behind these concepts.

As someone who has been involved in campaigning for Palestinian rights over the last 14 years, I have seen how protest against the policies of Israel towards the Palestinians and against the political doctrine which informs them can sometimes be wrongfully conflated with anti-Semitism. I firmly believe that the principles underpinning the campaign for ending the Israeli occupation should be framed around a rejection of racism in all forms and a commitment to the respect and humanity of all peoples. I also believe that one’s method of campaigning and advocacy must reflect these key principles. Informed by these beliefs, I submitted my article to Varsity against NUS disaffiliation in Cambridge with great trepidation, only to find myself accused of being “inadvertently [...] anti-Semitic”.

The article making this allegation offers a definition of Zionism, which I believe is heartfelt but dangerously incomplete. Zionism is not merely the desire for Jewish national self-determination. If it were this simple then the article would be right in its equation that to deny this basic right is equivalent to anti-Semitism. Zionism means the right of the Jewish people to achieve self-determination via the establishment of a state in Palestine. The problem with this, of course, is that Palestine, at the time of the creation of the modern state of Israel, was already occupied by Palestinians. And so for Palestinians the achievement of the Zionist goal as it was manifested meant the destruction of over 400 villages and towns and the expulsion of 750,000 people including my great grandparents.

Many of those expelled continue to this day to live in refugee camps with a stateless identity. Those who ignore this fail to acknowledge that the achievement of Jewish self-determination came at the expense of Palestinian self-determination. Many effectively and wilfully write the Palestinians and Palestine out of the picture and the debate.

Since the establishment of Israel, Zionism has meant the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish State; that is to maintain a majority of Jewish citizens and preserve their rights over the rights of Palestinian citizens, who comprise 20 per cent of the population. The Israeli human rights group Adalah identifies more than 50 laws, which specifically discriminate against Palestinian citizens.

Therefore, I oppose a political philosophy which believes that it is acceptable to privilege the rights of one group over another, and the policies associated with that philosophy. I do not deny Israel’s existence and in answer to the question so often directed at activists for Palestinian rights, ‘do you believe Israel has a right to exist?', my answer is that states do not have rights, but peoples do. To be clear, I believe that both Jewish Israelis and Palestinians have the right to self-determination and to enjoy the full range of civil, political and social rights that belong inherently to all people. The solution to the conflict must rest in the hands of both peoples, who must determine through democratic means whether they wish to achieve these rights through a two-state solution or a single bi-national democratic state.

If these beliefs and principles render me anti-Semitic then the concept has been drained of all meaning. To thus conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism and to accuse those advocating the former of the latter demeans public debate and undermines the fight against racism, including anti-Semitism, in which we should all be involved. In campaigning for Palestine I am clear that what I say and how I campaign must reflect the anti-racist principles which are central to my politics. 

Those who know me will make their own judgements as to my character. Those who don’t will have to judge my words on their own merits. I will continue to assert my right to advocate these views and to campaign for justice and peace for a people from whom it has been too long denied.