On Saturday, 2 November 2023, thousands of people rallied in Sydney’s Hyde Park to protest against Israel’s bloody war in Gaza. Among those, members of the recently reanimated Tzedek Collective stood behind our banner, stating that we are Jews in support of decolonisation, liberation, self-determination and peace. This was not the first protest we attended as a collective, and it wouldn’t be the last. Over 100 days into Israel’s bloody war in Gaza, the protests and marches continue with fervor and our once small Jewish anti-Zionist collective grows every week.

Tzedek Collective was formed in response to a growing need among Jews in so-called Australia for an anti-zionist space based on the principle of doikayt (hereness) and committed to anticolonial action for furthering Indigenous sovereignty. The Collective launched in 2021 with a series of events and actions focused on First Nations solidarity. After a period of dormancy, Tzedek Collective reactivated in 2023 in reaction to Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. The 7th of October 2023 was a turning point for our members who reject Zionist claims that Israel is representative of all Jews and is acting on our behalf. In the months since October, Tzedek Collective has focused on Palestinian solidarity actions while facilitating learning spaces for Jewish people, spaces in which Jews wishing to live their Judaism free of Zionism can express themselves and find collective support.

Tzedek Collective is not alone. We work alongside other non-Zionist Jewish collectives in ‘Australia’ to support and strengthen a non-Zionist Jewish community and stand in solidarity with allies and oppressed people everywhere.

Our members have come together to write the points of unity, outlined below. They pertain to: Jewish community, Jewish values, activism, and solidarity. While Tzedek Collective holds a range of opinions on many topics, these points of unity represent our shared values and priorities. If you would like to join us, please complete the contact form on our website.

Tzedek Collective points of unity 

Acknowledgment of Country

Tzedek Collective is based across unceded Aboriginal lands. We acknowledge the Dharug and Tharawal nations on whose countries we live and work, and note that we have members throughout so-called Australia. We pay our respects to Elders throughout time. As we expand our connections to our Jewish cultures and histories, we pay respect to the knowledge and wisdom embedded forever within Aboriginal custodianship of country.

Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.

Jewish community

We are a collective of Jewish people who are united in our desire to cultivate an anti-Zionist Jewish community that is rooted in the principle of ‘hereness’. Our goal is to develop a cultural, spiritual, inclusive and pluralistic Jewish community that has strong ties with the broader community, and can show up when needed. We act and make decisions with collectivist principles, provide opportunities to learn and grow together, and welcome the longstanding Jewish tradition of healthy, respectful disagreement. Within this collective, we act in accordance with these shared values.

Jewish values

Our collective’s radical principles are rooted in and guided by our Jewish identities, culture, customs, practices and religion. These include Jewish values such as tzedek, tikkun olam and v’ahavta. Our name, Tzedek, is often used in contexts of charity or righteousness, but more accurately describes justice work as a moral obligation. Tikkun olam, or repairing the world, refers to our obligation to heal the world by righting the wrongs we see around us, however we can. The Jewish value of v’ahavta comes from the phrase “v’ahavta l’reacha kamocha”, meaning “love your neighbour as yourself”. As Jewish activists, we interpret this phrase expansively — all people are our neighbours and loving is not just an emotion we feel, it is something we actively do. It is not enough to think well-meaning thoughts; we must act towards collective liberation.

Activism

Our community is one of action and activism, informed by histories and imaginings of Jewish and other resistance. Tzedek Collective commits itself to nonviolent anticolonial action, and recognises the participation of Jews (most of whom are not Indigenous) among other non-Indigenous people in the settler colonisation of the lands today known as Australia. We believe that justice and liberation require dismantling oppressive systems, including settler colonialism. In our anticolonial work, we are explicitly anti-Zionist and work for a free Palestine. We take on this work not to centre or salvage Judaism and Jewishness, but to oppose settler colonialism in all its forms, and to acknowledge the specific and necessary role of Jewish anti-Zionists in opposing violence done in our names.

Solidarity

Our community stands in solidarity with First Nations people on this continent and worldwide, Palestinians, refugees and other marginalised peoples, and centres their narratives and perspectives as we walk alongside them and are led by them in their struggle for self-determination. We take leadership and guidance from these communities in the movements to fight for their rights, and recognise their unique challenges along with our shared struggles.

Further points

Tzedek Collective is a space for Jews who align with these principles.

We do not maintain a set definition of “who is a Jew” or require any proof of Jewishness. Jews include those who are marginalised by Ashkenormativity and whose self-descriptions, identities, heritage, and/or lived experiences might include, but are not limited to, Mizrahi Jews, Arab Jews, Jews from Arab lands, Persian Jews, Asian Jews, Black Jews, Indigenous Jews, Jews of Colour, Jews who self-describe as being from specific region(s), heritage(s), and/or descent(s), patrilineal Jews, Jews by choice/converts, people who are in the process of converting, and many other descriptions.

Tzedek Collective is explicitly opposed to racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, cisheteropatriarchy, queerphobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism and any other form of bigotry.

We strive for continually enhancing inclusion across axes, including but not limited to diverse experiences of gender and sexuality, disabilities, neurodivergence, physical distance, and differing needs for anonymity.

Please use our contact form to ask questions or express interest in joining.