George Monbiot

georgemonbiot.bsky.social

14 October 2026 12:09

I just recognise that there's a very deep sensitivity here. It can be hard for non-Jews to understand the intergenerational trauma and terror of people who have been subject to centuries of extermination attempts, merely for being who they are. Please try to bear the context in mind. Thank you.

George Monbiot

georgemonbiot.bsky.social

14 October 2026 12:09

I don't expect to convince many people. I've been stunned by the response those of us who objected to the Green Party motion have received. I've been called a “genocide lover” a “warmonger”, a “colonialist” etc. I'm none of these things. The very opposite in fact.

George Monbiot

georgemonbiot.bsky.social

14 October 2026 12:08

Many people seem to be passionately attached to the statement “Zionism is racism”. But it seems unnecessary, even gratuitous, to me. We can say all the things we need about successive governments of Israel and their horrific policies without having to make this generalisation.

George Monbiot

georgemonbiot.bsky.social

14 October 2026 12:08

I don’t identify as Jewish – I have a very mixed ancestry: French, Belgian, Spanish, Swedish, Peruvian and West African as well as Ashkenazi. But I know enough to recognise how ignorant, ahistorical, insulting and threatening this crude compression of a long and complex history feels to many Jews.

George Monbiot

georgemonbiot.bsky.social

14 October 2026 12:08

You can also rightly note that the Israeli government is both Zionist and racist (as well as murderous and genocidal). But to extend that conjunction to all Zionists is a syllogism - a logical fallacy. It becomes even worse when “Zionist” is used by some people as code for Jew.