5 Zionist Myths & Further Reading on Palestine - Democratic Socialists of America

We recognize the immense human suffering both historically and currently in the land of Palestine and wish to see a just conclusion to the violence. We understand that this conflict is rooted in the attempt to establish the neo-colonial state of Israel by driving out the indigenous Palestinians from their own land. This is not a war – it is an ethnic cleansing, a genocide.

Here are some of the common Zionist myths we encounter.

5 Common Zionist Myths

1. “Israel is the only democracy in the middle east.”

What democracy can exist on a land being ethnically cleansed, where some can return to their homes and others cannot? Where some are under military rule and others are not?

Rights are determined by ethnicity rather than nationality. This means that despite having Israeli citizenship, if you aren’t Jewish, you are a second class citizen.

2. “Hamas isn’t willing to negotiate with Israel (Palestinians sabotaged the ‘peace process’).”

Until 1992, Israel literally did refuse to negotiate with the PLO. When Israel finally came to the negotiating table, they demanded de-facto control over this proposed “official” Palestinian state.

Terms proposed by Israel have also included the right to invade at any time.

3. “Israel is not an Apartheid state.”

There is a formal definition for an apartheid state in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The definition outlines specific policies such as: deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment and severe deprivation of liberty, persecution based on ethnic, religious or national origins, etc. Numerous human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as well as the International Court of Justice in a recent ruling all agree that Israel has met these definitions.

4. “The IDF is the most ‘moral’ army in the world.”

Announcing when the IDF is about to bomb a village doesn’t prove concern for civilian lives when they have cut off any viable routes for escape, just a concern for how they’re perceived. There have been a number of massacres either directly perpetrated or supported by the IDF historically such as Khan Yunis in 1956, Sabra and Shatila in 1982, as well as recently such as the Shadia Abu Ghazala School massacre in 2023 and the Flour massacre in 2024.

5. “Queer people shouldn’t advocate for Palestinian Liberation.”

Israel uses dehumanizing false dichotomies of social progress to garner support from Western governments for its colonial project.

Additionally, Israel has no problem killing all people, including queer Palestinians, that stand in the way of colonization.