Europe’s first ever anti-Zionist Jewish Congress is to be held in Austria to platform prominent Jews who denounce Zionism, the weaponisation of anti-Semitism, and Israel’s appalling crimes against the Palestinians.
The congress, planned to go ahead in Vienna seeks to prove that criticising Zionism is not anti-Semitism and to ensure anti-Zionist Jewish voices are heard globally on the issue of Palestine.
The congress, set to take place from June 13 to 15, will feature internationally recognised academics and activists known for their work on Palestine and Israel.
Notable speakers include Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, Palestinian researcher Salman Abu Sitta, American comedian and commentator Katie Halper, UK-based retired professor Haim Bresheeth, and Canadian academic Jacob Rapkin.
Dalia Sarig-Fellner, an activist and organiser of the event told 5Pillars: “This congress brings together people from diverse backgrounds – united in their opposition to Zionism and in their commitment to justice and liberation in Palestine. Many Jews around the world oppose Zionism because we reject the idea that the Zionist state speaks in our name. ‘Never again’ means never again for anyone.
It is especially significant that this congress is taking place in Vienna – the city where Theodor Herzl wrote Der Judenstaat, and where his legacy continues to be officially commemorated.”
Sarig-Fellner also said that the congress intends to send a strong message to the Austria government over its support for Israel.
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“In this very place, we reject the ideology of Zionism and call also on the Austrian government to finally take responsibility and end its support for Israel. In Austria, the government, all parties, and the mainstream media are complicit in the genocide unfolding in Gaza before our eyes. Once again, they stand on the wrong side of history – and history will judge them.”
Vienna was chosen as the location because it is the birthplace of Zionism, making it a symbolic place for Jews to take a stand against it.
The ongoing genocide in Gaza is one of the main driving force behind the congress.
At least 54,084 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war since October 2023 as the onslaught entered its 600th day, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
A ministry statement said that 28 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, while 179 people were injured, taking the number of injuries to 123,308 in the Israeli onslaught.
Besides confronting Zionism, a primary focus of the congress will also be on how Jewish organisations can support the push for Palestinian freedom.
According to the organisers, there has been a “visible” effort in Austria to block pro-Palestinian events. The first venue the group rented from a civil society organisation was canceled without explanation within a day.
The Austrian Anti-Zionist group is part of an umbrella organisation called Jews for Justice for Palestinians, which collaborates with anti-Zionist Jewish networks worldwide.
Vienna’s Zionist history
While Zionism as a political movement originated in various locations, including eastern and central Europe, Vienna played a significant role in its development, particularly through the work of Theodor Herzl.
Herzl established the central office of the movement in Vienna and published his official Zionist weekly newspaper, “Die Welt,” from there.
Herzl, a key figure in the Zionist movement, is credited with popularising the term “Zionism” and advocating for a Jewish state. He also convened the first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland.
Born in 1860 in Budapest to a family of assimilated, non-religious European Jews, Herzl was raised in a culturally Jewish but largely secular environment.
Herzl was a secular European atheist Jew with no attachment to religious Judaism.
Zionism is the root cause of the conflict in Palestine, as it encourages European Jews during and after WW2 to travel to Arab populated Palestine and settle the land.
When the Arabs eventually fought back against illegal Jewish settler expansionism and terrorism, the Zionist settlers forces engaged in ethnic cleansing.
In 1948 Zionists gangs expelled over 700,000 Palestinians from Palestine by stealing their land and ethnically cleansing them. This is known as the Nakba, or the Catastrophe – the dispossession of the Palestinian nation.
