The following is a speech delivered by Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) Canada member Jesse Greener at a rally outside the American consulate in Québec City on October 7, 2024. It has been translated into English from French and reprinted with permission.
I would like to begin by thanking the organizers for their tireless efforts to keep the Palestinian solidarity movement going. It feels good to be here with you today. But those moments are rare. In that light, I thought I would share some personal feelings today. And to be honest, I must confess that in my darkest moments, I am ashamed.
But it is not for the reason you might suspect.
Yes, I am a Jewish man.
Yes, my identity and existence have been hijacked to justify Zionism and genocide against the Palestinians.
But, that is not why I am ashamed. In fact, many progressive Jews have always refused to be linked to the State of Israel, its apartheid and, now especially, its genocide. We do this through our organizations that are aptly named “Not in Our Name” and “Independent Jewish Voices.”
No, on this point, I do not think that a progressive Jew should be ashamed. In fact, we are clear about our own identity and refuse to let others define us. Of course, we are ignored by the mainstream media. Therefore, many people do not know that we exist, even though we are numerous and growing.
So, people are shocked to learn that there are Jews like myself who believe that as a country, Zionist Israel is a total failure and that progressive Jews want no part of this Western-backed colonial project. They are confused when we say that such a racist and ethno-religious state has no place in the modern world. But we do, continuously. And to that end, I wish to inform you that Independent Jewish Voices–Canada recently confirmed by a vote of our thousands of members that we will officially declare that our organization—our Jewish organization—is anti-Zionist.
This is something to be proud of.
But my shame still lingers, somewhere on a deeper, more human level. You may feel it too.
Sometimes I wonder how it is possible that a modern Holocaust is taking place in my lifetime? How could I let this happen, after all my family went through in the Second World War?
But it is worse than that. As suffering increases in the Middle East, including now in Lebanon and maybe soon in Iran, I feel a complacency growing within me. Sometimes I feel defeated. Maybe this is the same feeling that existed during the Second World War that allowed ghoulish Canadian politicians to implement a policy that sealed the fate of thousands of Jewish refugees that were turned away from Canada. In fact, it was openly declared at the time that, “One Jew is too many.”
While the effect is the same, today’s complacency is more shameful, because it is happening in my time. And instead of being occupied by a war against the Nazis, as Canadians and Quebecers were, our distractions today are now our own personal interests: work, rent, food, family, life. And instead of receiving indirect reports of death camps during World War II, today we are subjected to almost real-time footage on our cell phones from attack drones and even the war criminals’ own videos voluntarily posted on their social media pages. All the while knowing very concretely that Western governments are providing political and material support for this genocide.
And then I realize that even before the West consecrated it and the Israel colonial project was launched, these very lands—here beneath our feet—were the scene of genocide against Indigenous peoples on a scale that is rarely acknowledged. All of this, while we know that there have been and continue to be other modern-day atrocities in other places that pass invisibly. Even the Earth itself is under assault.
In the face of all this, sometimes I wonder about my own humanity. Have I lost it? Is there anything valuable in the human spirit if we can live through one atrocity after another?
I suspect I am not alone in asking myself these questions. But, I think it is useful to confront these feelings, even if they are pessimistic and infrequent.
We can draw wisdom from these somber moments.
I realize now that it is human nature to adapt to situations that we cannot change. And so it is that individual voices raging against the machine are often silenced with time by despair and eventually by complacency.
This is a bitter pill to swallow. But in doing so, a silver lining appears that draws out a path forward.
Our agency and our humanity can only be realized collectively.
Just think, my friends, of the motivation we would have if we combined our efforts and emotions with broad social movements pushing for change. Or if we started these movements where they do not exist. I realize now that we can only be the change we want to see in the world if we lock arms and do it together.
To this end, I thank the organizers once again for their efforts. I thank each and every one of you for your collective action today. I urge all of us—today—to join our efforts and our voices against capitalists’ wars and their tools of colonialism and genocide. If you are not yet a member of the Coalition pour la paix Québec or today’s rally organizers, find one and join them. I also tip my hat to Québec Solidaire, on behalf of whom I see several deputies. Also consider joining national organizations like Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East or Independent Jewish Voices, whether as a member or a non-Jewish supporter.
So, by whatever means available, let us organize together to sweep away what those in power have in store for us, and usher in a new era of human dignity based on our collective power. And in doing so, let us reclaim and affirm our humanity and our pride.
Did you like this article? Help us produce more like it by donating $1, $2, or $5. Donate
