The left-wing activist group Jewish Voice for Peace published a July 4 post on Facebook urging its followers to "remember parallels between the colonization of Turtle Island ('North America') and Palestine," including "land theft," "ethnic cleansing" and "violent repression of resistance."
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The post also claimed that "if you support Palestinians' right to return, […] you should also support Indigenous people's demand for #LandBack."
"This July 4th, remember parallels between the colonization of Turtle Island ("North America") and Palestine: Land theft. Ethnic cleansing. Environmental destruction. Forced displacement of people from their homes, and sequestration into isolated areas with (artificially) scarce resources. Criminalization and surveillance. Violent repression of resistance. Colonial control over lives, and denial of self-determination and sovereignty. Erasure of native history and culture. Ideologies (Manifest Destiny, Zionism) of entitlement to, and justification for, these atrocities," the post reads.
"Of course, there are also major distinctions. It's inappropriate to even discuss the colonization of Turtle Island as a monolith, since the various peoples here endured it in different ways and at different points in time. Still, if you support Palestinians' right to return and right to self-determination in their homeland, you should also support Indigenous people's demand for #LandBack — for restoration of Indigenous sovereignty and stewardship, and respect for their deep connection to and knowledge of their lands.
"As NDNCollective writes, although Palestinians and people indigenous to Turtle Island "come from different nations and geographies, the struggles against settler colonialism are the same… because settler-colonists share playbooks," and "Zionism, white supremacy, and imperialism… act as one to oppress and eliminate us." And both groups of native people are working toward a similar vision of liberation. In NDNCollective's words: "Just as we fight and organize to reclaim land on Turtle Island, our Palestinian relatives fight and organize to return the land and for the land to return to the people," it concluded.
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Jewish Voice for Peace supports the BDS movement against Israel and has previously posted critical material about the Jewish state.
The organization came under fire in 2020 for a since-deleted tweet that appeared to glorify the First Intifada.
The Dec. 8 tweet featured a poster from a member stating "where there is oppression, may there thrive resistance" and "L'Chaim Intifada."
JNS.org contributed to this report.
