Suffering is not a competition. Compassion is not a zero-sum game.

This post is part of my 3DR newsletter where I share what I’m (un)learning to build just futures. It centres around my 3DR approach to equity: Decolonize. Disrupt. Dismantle. Rebuild. If you approach the world with curiosity and you’re looking for courageous and compassionate conversations around social justice and collective liberation, subscribe to my newsletter.

Let me begin by naming two irrefutable facts – neither of which takes precedence over the other, but rather sit together side by side.

I stand, in no uncertain terms, in support of a free and liberated Palestine.

I stand, unequivocally, against antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Contrary to the terribly biased reporting that has been coming out of mainstream media these days, these two facts are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I believe that we cannot have one without the other.

But alas, many of my words have been warped and twisted in ways that do not reflect my values, my work, and my commitment to equity, justice, and liberation.

As many of you who have been reading for months now know, I have been organizing with my local communities to advocate for a permanent and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, a complete and immediate arms embargo against Israel, and an end to Israel’s siege in Gaza and illegal occupation of Palestine. At the same time, I have been working with the vibrant community at Living Hyphen to amplify the voices of both Palestinian and Jewish storytellers who are speaking up in solidarity with each other for our shared liberation.

Naming My Positionality

It is important for me to name my history and lineage here – not biological, but rather both the accidental and chosen influences that have deeply shaped my approach to living, working, and being.

I started my career working at a small nonprofit organization dedicated to educating youth on intersecting social justice issues around the globe. The organization was founded and led by young Jewish leaders in the city who are some of the fiercest, wisest, and most intelligent people that I have had the privilege of learning from and the deep honour of calling my friends.

As I continue to march on the streets of Tkaronto and to organize with my local riding to demand that our elected officials represent their constituents and citizens, it is important for me to emphasize the fact that so much of what I have learned about social justice and liberation has come from these Jewish friends of mine.

They designed and facilitated peulot1 for youth to learn about global politics, the intricate dynamics of power and oppression, how to hold circle and propel dialogue forward, and how to struggle for justice in community. They taught me how to call people into conversation with kindness, generosity, and deep, deep empathy.

I spent seven years in my 20s learning and facilitating experiential education programs focused on various social justice issues alongside these leaders, and it has made all the difference in my life. I am who I am because of the teachings of radical Jewish progressives.

The Silencing of Pro-Palestinian Voices

It is always important for me to name this history, this lineage, and my positionality for others to better understand my work. I shared this on my LinkedIn a few months ago along with a photo of me at a protest with a sign that reads, “Free Palestine”.

What I thought was a gentle way of inviting people into conversation was quickly met by infuriating comments.

I shared a photo on Facebook of my friend and me at another protest and received this message.

I am filled with grief when I hear people conflating the calls for an end to this genocide and the critique of the Israeli colonial state for antisemitism. Israeli and other Western governments weaponize and inflate the very legitimate fears of Jewish people creating a more dangerous environment while also silencing Palestinian and pro-Palestinian voices at the same time.

I am filled with rage when I see people equating my calls for a free Palestine as a call for the destruction of all Jewish people. That is the essence of the colonial mentality’s tactic of binary thinking in its most dangerous and menacing form.

The idea that a liberated Palestine would require the complete destruction of Israel is such a narrow, punitive, and frankly, colonial vision. I support the Land Back movement and calls for Indigenous sovereignty here in Canada, and I do not believe, the way I’m certain most Indigenous peoples do not believe, that “Land Back” means the literal destruction and the mass displacement/violence against all the people who are now on this land. I do not believe that any one people’s freedom requires the destruction of another people. 

The comments and backlash that I share here are only a snapshot of the kind of dangerous responses that people who are choosing to speak up for a free Palestine are experiencing – and they are quite tame by comparison. Take a look at just a few examples here:

I could keep going with the links and examples, but I hope you get the gist of just how widespread and alarming this all is.

All Systems of Oppression Reinforce One Another.

All systems of oppression reinforce one another and cannot be fought in isolation.

Suffering is not a competition. Violence against one people does not negate or justify violence against another. Most importantly, compassion is not a zero-sum game. 

It is possible to grieve the persistent, historic, and ongoing suffering of Palestinians who are under siege in Gaza, as well as the victims of Hamas’s brutal attacks. It is possible to condemn the violence against civilians in Israel, as well as the daily violence, complete dehumanization, and humiliation experienced by Palestinian civilians under Israeli occupation. Most importantly, it is possible to advocate for the freedom and dignity of one people, while affirming the freedom and dignity of another.

It is possible to hold multiple truths at once and I refuse to give in to the limited and limiting binary thinking that colonial systems have so deeply ingrained into us as the only way of making sense of our world. Good or bad, black or white, girl or boy, right or wrong. This either/or mentality is a dangerous fallacy. Our world does not exist in such absolutist terms and it is imperative that we actively practice holding complexity with grace and compassion in our increasingly complex world. I hope you will join me in cultivating this challenging but and urgently necessary work.

May we reach and stretch across racial and religious lines to dismantle the systems that seek to rob us all of our humanity.

Resources for discerning antisemitism with legitimate critiques of the Israeli colonial state