It’s not complicated, it’s colonialism

{ "article": { "title" : "An Antidote to Zionism", "author" : "EIP Editors", "category" : "", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/an-antidote-to-zionism", "date" : "2025-03-31 12:01:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/christian-zionists.jpg", "excerpt" : "Zionism is a political philosophy first espoused by British Christian fundamentalists between the 16th and 19th centuries, and an explicitly colonial project founded by Theodore Herzl, an avowed atheist, in 1897, who wrote:", "content" : "Zionism is a political philosophy first espoused by British Christian fundamentalists between the 16th and 19th centuries, and an explicitly colonial project founded by Theodore Herzl, an avowed atheist, in 1897, who wrote: “The anti-Semites will become our most dependable friends, the anti-Semitic countries our allies”— Theodore HerzlSo clearly, anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitic; in fact, it is in line with international law, and our duty to fight genocidal ethno-states propped up by white supremacy and Euro-American Imperialism. Arguing against the genocide, apartheid, “ethnic cleansing” and land theft committed by this movement for over 100 years should not be controversial, but over 80 years of intense propaganda have made it challenging.If you speak out against the genocidal Zionist regime, you will get pushback. But this pushback will only come in a few simple, disprovable forms. Let this guide help with some rebuttals to standard zionist talking points.When they bring up the following:Here are some informed responses.AntisemitismZionism is not the same as Judaism. Zionism is a political ideology that uses Jewish culture to fuel ethno-supremacist apartheid and genocide. We can love Jewish people, and hate Zionists. Most Zionists are not Jewish. Most Zionists are Christian white supremacists. Zionism began as a British Christian fundamentalist dogma aiming to concentrate “the Jews” in Palestine as a step towards triggering the apocalypse, where a Euro-Aryan Jesus will send them all to hell. That is the dogma.Antisemitism is part of white supremacy. Any discussion of antisemitism must focus on neo-nazi and white supremacist groups, not bypass actual nazis to focus on anyone supporting Palestine. “Free Palestine” is not antisemitic. A Free Palestine is about equal rights for ALL PEOPLE, not a supremacist ideology.Jewish People Indigenous to PalestineJewishness is not a single, monolithic ethnicity. Jewish Palestinians are Indigenous to Palestine. Jewish Ethiopians are Indigenous to Ethiopia. Jewish Europeans are Indigenous to Europe. The Judaic tradition has a link to Palestine, but so does the Christian tradition, and it would be just as absurd to say that all Christians are Indigenous to Palestine.Even Jewish people who are truly Indigenous to Palestine are not the ONLY Indigenous people. There is no excuse for ethno-supremacy, apartheid, and genocide.Terrorists / terrorism“Terrorist”, is a label that oppressive governments use to smear anyone who resists them. But if we want to talk about wanton terror:Zionists invented modern terrorism. The first modern terrorist attack was by zionists against the British in 1946, the famous King David Hotel bombing, before “Israel” was created.The “IDF” was formed by the merger of terrorist militias Haganah, Irgun and Lehi (Stern Gang) — all classified as terrorist organizations by the British for carrying out massacres against Palestinians of all faiths.HamasThere was massacre and annexation before Hamas. There was Apartheid before Hamas. Apartheid is wrong. Whether against Black South Africans, Black Americans (Jim Crow) or Palestinians, apartheid must be resisted.Hamas Charter: the often-cited original 1987 version describes the invading colonizers by the term they used to describe themselves: “the Jews”. The next and current charter clearly separates “Jews” from “Zionists”, since they are clearly different.Israel’s “right to defend itself”No, “Israel”, as an occupying power, does not have the right to defend itself when it streals land by force. All international law condemns Israel invading and stealing Palestinian land, and supports Palestinian fight for liberation.Palestinians have the right to defend themselves. The United Nations “Reaffirms the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial domination, apartheid and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle;”Israel’s “right to exist”States don’t have inherent rights — people do. The real issue is Palestinians’ right to exist, return, and live in freedom and equality.The HolocaustNot one Palestinian committed the Holocaust. White supremacist Europeans committed the Holocaust. Palestine never had anything to do with the Holocaust. If Jews are not safe in Europe or America, that is a problem to solve in Europe or America.After the Holocaust, the Allies denied Jewish people the right to return to their homes in Germany and France and Poland. That is the Right of Return that we must talk about. It is the Euro-American anti-Semitism of post-WW2 that has created the “Jewish problem” that a “Jewish State” far away is purported to solve.Mizrahi / Jews “kicked out” of Arab countriesFrom the 1950’s to the 1960’s, Zionist operatives actively used fear, manipulation, and covert tactics — and in many cases, false flag terrorist operations — to drive migration and reinforce the narrative that Jews could only be safe in Israel. The term “Mizrahi Jew” (meaning Oriental or Eastern) is a modern, Zionist-era invention that began to take shape primarily after 1948.“Mizrahi Jew” is not an organic identity — it was constructed in Israel to categorize diverse Jewish communities from Arab, Persian, Kurdish, and other non-European backgrounds. It reflects a power structure and settler colonial context, not a shared pre-1948 heritage.Palestinians Rejected PeaceNo sovereignty = no peace. Palestinians have never been offered a deal that offers them sovereignty in their own lands, period.At no point during any “peace” talks has “Israel” stopped actively annexing (stealing) land. Not during the 1947 UN Partition plan, 1993-95 Oslo Accords, 2000 Camp David, 2005 Gaza “disengagement”, 2008 Olmert proposal, 2014 Kerry talks — In every case, Palestinians were offered fragmented sovereignty, no real control over borders, and no justice for refugees to return — while “Israel” expanded settlements and maintained military dominance.Most zionist propaganda points fall into one of the above categories. There are infinite ways to respond to these points, and a long history behind each of the issues brought up, but don’t be fooled:It’s not complicated, it’s colonialism" } , "relatedposts": [ { "title" : "Black Liberation Views on Palestine", "author" : "EIP Editors", "category" : "essays", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/black-liberation-on-palestine", "date" : "2025-10-17 09:01:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/mandela-keffiyeh.jpg", "excerpt" : "", "content" : "In understanding global politics, it is important to look at Black liberation struggles as one important source of moral perspective. So, when looking at Palestine, we look to Black leaders to see how they perceived the Palestinian struggle in relation to theirs, from the 1960’s to today.Why must we understand where the injustice lies? Because, as Desmond Tutu famously said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”{% for person in site.data.quotes-black-liberation-palestine %}{{ person.name }}{% for quote in person.quotes %}“{{ quote.text }}”{% if quote.source %}— {{ quote.source }}{% endif %}{% endfor %}{% endfor %}" } , { "title" : "First Anniversary Celebration of EIP", "author" : "EIP Editors", "category" : "events", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/1st-anniversary-of-eip", "date" : "2025-10-14 18:01:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/WSA_EIP_Launch_Cover.jpg", "excerpt" : "Celebrating One Year of Independent Publishing", "content" : "Celebrating One Year of Independent PublishingJoin Everything is Political on November 21st for the launch of our End-of-Year Special Edition Magazine.This members-only evening will feature a benefit dinner, cocktails, and live performances in celebration of a year of independent media, critical voices, and collective resistance.The EventNovember 21, 2025, 7-11pmLower Manhattan, New YorkLaunching our End-of-Year Special Edition MagazineSpecial appearances and performancesFood & Drink includedTickets are extremely limited, reserve yours now!Become an annual print member: get x back issues of EIP, receive the End-of-Year Special Edition Magazine, and come to the Anniversary Celebration.$470Already a member? Sign in to get your special offer. Buy Ticket $150 Just $50 ! and get the End-of-Year Special Edition Magazine Buy ticket $150 and get the End-of-Year Special Edition Magazine " } , { "title" : "Miu Miu Transforms the Apron From Trad Wife to Boss Lady: The sexiest thing in Paris was a work garment", "author" : "Khaoula Ghanem", "category" : "", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/miu-miu-transforms-the-apron-from-trad-wife-to-boss-lady", "date" : "2025-10-14 13:05:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/Cover_EIP_MiuMiu_Apron.jpg", "excerpt" : "Miuccia Prada has a habit of taking the least “fashion” thing in the room and making it the argument. For Spring 2026 at Miu Miu, the argument is the apron; staged not as a coy retro flourish but as a total system. The show’s mise-en-scène read like a canteen or factory floor with melamine-like tables, rationalist severity, a whiff of cleaning fluid. In other words, a runway designed to force a conversation about labor before any sparkle could distract us.", "content" : "Miuccia Prada has a habit of taking the least “fashion” thing in the room and making it the argument. For Spring 2026 at Miu Miu, the argument is the apron; staged not as a coy retro flourish but as a total system. The show’s mise-en-scène read like a canteen or factory floor with melamine-like tables, rationalist severity, a whiff of cleaning fluid. In other words, a runway designed to force a conversation about labor before any sparkle could distract us.From the opening look—German actress Sandra Hüller in a utilitarian deep-blue apron layered over a barn jacket and neat blue shirting—the thesis was loud: the “cover” becomes the thing itself. As silhouettes marched on, aprons multiplied and mutated—industrial drill cotton with front pockets, raw canvas, taffeta and cloqué silk, lace-edged versions that flirted with lingerie, even black leather and crystal-studded incarnations that reframed function as ornament. What the apron traditionally shields (clothes, bodies, “the good dress”) was inverted; the protection became the prized surface. Prada herself spelled it out: “The apron is my favorite piece of clothing… it symbolizes women, from factories through to serving to the home.”Miu Miu Spring 2026 Ready-to-Wear. SuppliedThis inversion matters historically. The apron’s earliest fashion-adjacent life was industrial. It served as a barrier against grease, heat, stain. It was a token of paid and unpaid care. Miu Miu tapped that lineage directly (canvas, work belts, D-ring hardware), then sliced it against domestic codes (florals, ruffles, crochet), and finally pushed into nightlife with bejeweled and leather bibs. The garment’s migration across materials made its social migrations visible. It is a kitchen apron, yes, but also one for labs, hospitals, and factories; the set and styling insisted on that plurality.What makes the apron such a loaded emblem is not just what it covers, but what it reveals about who has always been working. Before industrialization formalized labor into factory shifts and wages, women were already performing invisible labour, the kind that doesn’t exist on payrolls but sits at the foundation of every functioning society. They were cooking, cleaning, raising children, nursing the ill. These tasks were foundational to every economy and yet absent from every ledger. Even when women entered the industrial workforce, from textile plants to wartime assembly lines, their domestic responsibilities did not disappear, they doubled. In that context, the apron here is a quiet manifesto for the strength that goes unrecorded, unthanked, and yet keeps civilization running.The algorithmic rise of the “tradwife,” the influencer economy that packages domesticity as soft power, is the contemporary cultural shadow here. Miu Miu’s apron refuses that rehearsal. In fact, it’s intentionally awkward—oversized, undone, worn over bikinis or with sturdy shoes—so the viewer can’t flatten it into Pinterest-ready nostalgia. Critics noted the collection as a reclamation, a rebuttal to the flattening forces of the feed: the apron as a uniform for endurance rather than submission. The show notes framed it simply as “a consideration of the work of women,” a reminder that the invisible economies of effort—paid, unpaid, emotional—still structure daily life.If that sounds unusually explicit for a luxury runway, consider the designer. Prada trained as a mime at Milan’s Piccolo Teatro, earned a PhD in political science, joined the Italian Communist Party, and was active in the women’s rights movement in 1970s Milan. Those facts are not trivia; they are the grammar of her clothes. Decades of “ugly chic” were, essentially, a slow campaign against easy consumption and default beauty. In 2026, the apron becomes the newest dialect. An emblem drawn from leftist feminist history, recoded into a product that still has to sell. That tension—belief versus business—is the Miuccia paradox, and it’s precisely why these aprons read as statements, not trends.The runway narrative traced a journey from function to fetish. Early looks were squarely utilitarian—thick cottons, pocketed bibs—before migrating toward fragility and sparkle. Lace aprons laid transparently over swimmers; crystal-studded aprons slipped across cocktail territory; leather apron-dresses stiffened posture into armor. The sequencing proposed the same silhouette can encode labor, intimacy, and spectacle depending on fabrication. If most brands smuggle “workwear” in as set dressing, Miu Miu forced it onto the body as the central garment and an unmissable reminder that the feminine is often asked to be both shield and display at once.It’s instructive to read this collection against the house’s last mega-viral object: the micro-mini of Spring 2022, a pleated, raw-hem wafer that colonized timelines and magazine covers. That skirt’s thesis was exposure—hip bones and hemlines as post-lockdown spectacle, Y2K nostalgia framed as liberation-lite. The apron, ironically, covers. Where the micro-mini trafficked in the optics of freedom (and the speed of virality), the apron asks about the conditions that make freedom possible: who launders, who cooks, who cares? To move from “look at me” to “who is working here?” is a pivot from optics to ethics, without abandoning desire. (The aprons are, after all, deeply covetable.) In a platform economy that still rewards the shortest hemline with the biggest click-through, this is a sophisticated counter-program.Yet the designer is not romanticizing toil. There’s wit in the ruffles and perversity in the crystals; neither negate labor, they metabolize it. The most striking image is the apron treated as couture-adjacent. Traditionally, an apron protects the precious thing beneath; here, the apron is the precious thing. You could call that hypocrisy—luxurizing the uniform of workers. Or, strategy, insisting that the symbols of care and effort deserve visibility and investment.Of course, none of this exists in a vacuum. The “tradwife” script thrives because it is aesthetically legible and commercially scalable. It packages gender ideology as moodboard. Miu Miu counters with garments whose legibility flickers. The collection’s best looks ask viewers to reconcile tenderness with toughness, convenience with care, which is exactly the mental choreography demanded of women in every context from office to home to online.If you wanted a season-defining “It” item, you’ll still find it. The apron is poised to proliferate across fast-fashion and luxury alike. But the deeper success is structural: Miu Miu re-centered labor as an aesthetic category. That’s rarer than a viral skirt. It’s a reminder that clothes don’t merely decorate life, they describe and negotiate it. In making the apron the subject rather than the prop, Prada turned a garment of service into a platform for agency. It’s precisely the kind of cultural recursion you’d expect from a designer shaped by feminist politics, who never stopped treating fashion as an instrument of thought as much as style.The last image to hold onto is deceptively simple: a woman in an apron, neither fetishized nor infantilized, striding, hands free. Not a costume for nostalgia, not a meme for the feed, but a working uniform reframed, respected, and suddenly, undeniably beautiful. That is Miu Miu’s provocation for Spring 2026: the work behind the work, made visible at last." } ] }