The young woman most despised in Israel after (and perhaps even before) Greta Thunberg is back. Ahed Tamimi, the blonde militant with the Swedish look who has been fighting IDF soldiers since age 11, appeared in an Arabic podcast earlier this month and revealed the harsh truth about her worldview, and apparently that of many other Palestinians as well, which pulls the rug out from under claims that war against Israel isn't motivated by Jew-hatred.
Tamimi was released on November 29, 2024, as part of an agreement for the release of hostages captured by Hamas on October 7.
"My definition of Judaism, since my childhood, was that it and Zionism are one and the same. There's no difference between the two," Tamimi said, according to translation by the MEMRI Institute. "To this day, I continue to say that we don't need to defend Judaism. If a Jew doesn't want his religion defined this way (as occupation), he can join me in the fight against Zionism."
Palestinian Activist Ahed Tamimi: We Are Fighting the Jews, Not Just Zionism; Westerners Patronize Us with Their Aid, They should Shut Up When We Talk; They Will Give Us Aid, Whether They Like It Or Not, and We Will Not Thank Them; I Wish for a Nuclear WWIII, So the Whole World… pic.twitter.com/NNn5Jf7TD6
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 15, 2025
She continues, "I was raised to believe that Judaism is occupation. Today, and tomorrow, and in a million years, I will continue to say that Judaism should be presented to Palestinian children – children my age and younger – as occupation, and that we are fighting Jews, not Zionism."
Regarding the global media, which is actually known to lean toward the Palestinians, Tamimi had only negative things to say. "What's the point of talking about the Western perspective of my suffering in the media? Sorry, but I need to express my opinion about the world, not have the world express its opinion about me. The Western media – or any media in the world – shouldn't come and present their positions. No! The entire world needs to shut up when a Palestinian speaks. We are above the entire world, because we are the only ones in the world fighting injustice, at the cost of our lives and humanity."
Her international preaching doesn't stop there. "You will give aid to Palestinians whether you want to or not. I'm paying the price for your mistakes and those of your countries and your political and economic systems in my land. We suffer from genocide because of your countries. So no one should say they're helping Palestinians. You must give aid to Palestinians, and we won't thank you."
Along the way, she even prays for World War III. "I've reached a point where I long for World War III. Whoever dies will die, and whoever lives will live. The most important thing is that we finish with this. Let the world be destroyed, I don't care. Let them drop nuclear bombs and destroy the world, and then it won't be just Palestinians (who are dying)."
