Monday, October 7, 2024 marked the one year anniversary of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in Israel-Palestine, which was followed by Israel's ongoing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Over the past year, activist organizations, groups and citizens worldwide have done their part to call for an end to this genocide. One such organization is Independent Jewish Voices (IJV).

Today, Louise Smith from IJV sits down with rabble editor Nick Seebruch to talk about the work IJV does to promote peace in the Middle East, how solidarity with Palestine does not equal antisemitism, and how all forms of oppression are connected.

"There are a lot of really strong voices in the Jewish community that are invested in confusing people about anti-semitism and anti-zionism. And the Israel Lobby and funders of the Israeli state, they really want people to be so afraid of being accused of anti-semitism that they stop protesting any of the humanitarian violations committed by the state of Israel.

And we really need to make a distinction between people who are critical of Jews for being Jewish or Jewish conspiracy theories that are focused on Jewish people or perceived Jewish traits and separate that from legitimate criticism of state decisions. It is very normal for people to criticize state actions, state policies; and that shouldn't be any different for the state of Israel."

– Louise Smith

About our guest and Independent Jewish Voices

Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV) is a grassroots organization grounded in Jewish tradition that opposes all forms of racism and advocates for justice and peace for all in Israel-Palestine. IJV has active chapters in cities and on university campuses across Canada. Learn more about IJV here.

Louise Smith grew up in and lives in Toronto, on Dish with One Spoon territory. She is proudly Jewish and organizes in solidarity with Palestinians as part of Independent Jewish Voices and the Jews Say No to Genocide coalition.

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