Over 1,000 anti-Zionist Jews and non-Jews gathered in Vienna during three days of presentations and workshops at the Jewish Anti-Zionist Congress. While this was the first event of its kind in Europe, it has already set in motion the planning for a second congress in 2026.

We, speakers and organisers at the Congress, hereby issue this public call, reflecting the collective positions reached through the three days of deliberations.

As anti-Zionist Jews and allies, we stand together with all Palestinians—in Palestine and in exile—against Zionism and its crimes, including genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and occupation. We affirm the right of people under occupation to resist by any means, as is recognized by several UN provisions. It is vital that Jews of conscience everywhere unite in opposing Zionism, in collaboration and solidarity with the global movement for Palestinian liberation. We are committed to expanding our movement beyond its European roots to include anti-Zionist voices from around the world, including the global South.

We condemn without qualification all war crimes committed by Israel since October 7, 2023, including ethnic cleansing, militarised apartheid, urbicide, scholasticide, medicide, mass starvation as an instrument of forced expulsion of more than two million Gazans, as well as an extant genocide of hundreds of thousands—one of the worst war crimes of our time. These acts have already been recognised as such by the ICC and ICJ, though the State of Israel has rejected out of hand the demands of both courts. It has also rejected numerous calls from both the UN General Assembly and Security Council in the same manner. As a result, roughly two million civilians are now incarcerated in a tiny area of the Gaza Strip, without access to food, water, medicine, shelter, or medical care. These new crimes are but the latest additions to an impossibly long history of similar offences dating back to 1948. Despite repeated violations of UNGA and UNSC resolutions, as well as extensive reports by UN Special Rapporteurs, no sanctions have ever been imposed on Israel.

None of these war crimes and crimes against humanity could have been carried out or sustained without the active and enthusiastic support of Western powers—through military aid, financial backing, and political and diplomatic cover—led by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. By enabling and arming a criminal state committing genocide, these governments share legal and moral responsibility under the 1948 Genocide Convention. We call on all states and societies to fulfil their obligations under the Convention of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and to take all necessary measures to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Sanctions must include the suspension of Israel from the United Nations General Assembly, as was done in 1974 with South Africa for its practice of apartheid. Clearly, Israel’s crimes are even more horrific. While the UN has deployed international forces for decades to separate combatants between Israel and Egypt, and Israel and Lebanon, it has never established a protection force to protect Palestinian lives from systemic oppression and terror by the Israeli state. We concur that the time has come to enact such a humanitarian measure. Without it, Israel will continue its mass murder of Palestinians.

We further demand that the European Union abide by its own laws and adhere to Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which obligates it to cease business ties with Israel and end its associate membership status in EU-funded programmes.

We call on all international societies, associations and organisations to expel Israel from membership until it complies with all UN and UNGA resolutions, ends its ongoing genocide in Gaza, and removes its military forces from all territories acquired by force in 1948 and 1967, as well as from all Syrian and Lebanese territories occupied since 1967. Israel must immediately and completely withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip, lift the blockade that has been in place since 2006, and allow unrestricted access for all aid agencies to operate freely.

We call on all states, institutions, and civil society organisations to implement and uphold the demands of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) National Committee. This includes severing all financial, academic, military, cultural, and diplomatic ties with the genocidal state until it meets the conditions outlined above as well as fulfilling the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

We further call on the United Nations to impose immediate and comprehensive sanctions in response to Israel’s unprovoked and illegal attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities, and the mass killing of civilians. These sanctions must also extend to the Western governments that aid and abet—through military and political support—in Israel’s ongoing international crimes. The nuclear weapons of Israel—illegal as they are—must be decommissioned through a transparent process, supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

We categorically reject the claim that Israel acts in the name of Jews, or that its criminal activity is supported by all Jews. We call on Jews worldwide to rise against the Zionist state—to deny it legitimacy and demand an immediate end to its criminal and depraved actions. This includes supporting the BDS campaign and severing cultural, political, and institutional ties with Israel until it complies with the conditions outlined above. Israel and Zionism act illegally and immorally while insisting that they do so in the name of Jews—thereby placing all Jews everywhere in harm’s way. This insistence that Jews inherently support Zionism and the abhorrent Zionist state—that is real antisemitism.

We embrace all Israeli opponents of Zionism and call upon Israeli Jews to reconsider their allegiance to a regime which has denied Palestinian rights for over eight decades. Honouring the Jewish historical legacy and the principles of Judaism itself, we urge Jews of conscience all around the world to stand shoulder to shoulder with Palestinians in rejecting the racist ideology of Zionism and its inherent supremacy. Instead, we will act in collaboration, wherever we are, with the global movement for decolonization and liberation of Palestine. Let us unite and do all that we can to help build a future of equality, justice, and dignity for all who live in Palestine—a land where shared life and mutual respect can once again flourish.

Decolonize and de-Zionize. Freedom for Palestine and its people.

Signed,

Declaration of the Jewish Anti-Zionist Congress
Vienna, 13–15 June 2025

Haim Bresheeth-Žabner
Descendant of survivors, filmmaker, Israel/UK
Ronnie Barkan
Israeli dissident, activist, speaker
Dalia Sarig
Descendant of Nazi-expelled family, Liste Gaza, Austria
Ghada Karmi
Palestinian physician, academic, author, UK
Ramzy Baroud
Palestinian author, journalist, Palestine Chronicle, US
Ilan Pappe
Israeli historian and author
Camille Lévy Sarfati
Curator and author
Roger Waters
Musician, Pink Floyd co-founder, UK
Yakov Rabkin
Historian, author, Canada
Katie Halper
Political commentator, USA
Tarkan Tek
Social scientist, activist, Austria
Astrid Wagner
Lawyer, author, Austria

Roshan Dadoo
Human rights activist, BDS coordinator, South Africa
Rahma Zein
Journalist, Egypt
Wilhelm Langthaler
Author, activist, Austria
Stephen Kapos
Holocaust survivor, architect, UK
Irina Vana
Social scientist, Liste Gaza leading candidate, Austria
Marco Wanjura
Human rights advocate, BDS Austria co-founder, Austria
Naama Farjoun
Physiotherapist, Boycott from Within, Israel
Tony Greenstein
Author, activist, J-BIG co-founder, UK
Wieland Hoban
Composer, Jewish Voice for Just Peace, Germany
Donny Gluckstein
Historian, author, UK
Iris Hefets
Psychotherapist, Jewish Voice for Just Peace, Germany
Martin Weinberger
Germanist, candidate for Liste Gaza, Austria

Supporters,

1. Ronnie Kasrils – Former South African minister, BDS South Africa

2. Suzanne Weiss – Holocaust survivor, author, IJV, Canada

3. Andrew Feinstein – Former MP, anti-corruption activist, South Africa/UK

4. Ronit Lentin – Associate Professor Sociology (ret), Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

5. Abby Martin – Empire Files

6. Mike Prysner – Empire Files

7. Melanie Schweizer – Lawyer

8. Zachary Foster – Historian, Palestine Nexus

9. Max Blumenthal – The Grayzone

10. Dr. Nadia Bieler – IPPNW, MERA25/DiEM25

11. Ulrich Eckle – Retd UN and EU/EEAS official, Shut Elbit Down–German section

12. Yonatan Shapira

13. Yosefa Loshitzky

14. Vivien Cohen

15. Shelly Steinberg – German-Israeli, member of Jewish-Palestinian Dialogue Group Munich

16. David Cannon – Chair, Jewish Network for Palestine, UK

17. Zohar Chamberlain Regev

18. Elizabeth Morley – Aberystwyth Friends of Palestine

19. Anne Mitchell

20. Michael Srba-Deywicz – France/Austria

21. Dr. Mohsen Farkhani

22. Peter Jackson – Technical Director (ret), Palestine Solidarity Campaign

23. Mary Pampalk – Women in Black Vienna, USA/Austria

24. Michael Chanan – Professor emeritus, University of Roehampton, UK

25. Dr. Alex Wodak – Consultant emeritus, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, Australia

26. Richard Strachan – Independent Jewish Voices, Canada

27. Yuval Man

28. Amir Latif

29. Najib Rehman

30. Dr. Stavit Sinai

31. Ronit Chitayat Kashi

32. Glenn Bowman – Emeritus Professor, University of Kent

33. Penny Green – Professor of Law and Globalisation, Queen Mary University of London

34. Naomi Junnor – Jewish Network for Palestine

35. Katalin Balázs

36. Nir Hagigi – President of Independent Jewish Voices at Carleton University, Canada

37. Cory Greenless – Victoria Peace Coalition, Canada

38. Blake Alcott

39. Colleen Fuller

40. Neil Naiman – Independent Jewish Voices

41. Les Levidov – Jewish Network for Palestine, UK

42. Keren Tova Rubinstein

43. Rosalind Petchesky – Professor emerita of Political Science, Jewish Voice for Peace

44. Sid Shniad – Founding member, Independent Jewish Voices Canada

45. Vera Sharav – Founder of Alliance for Human Research Protection, USA

46. François Lazar – Contributor for Informations Ouvrières

47. Martin Kemp – Psychoanalyst, UK-Palestine Mental Health Network

48. Christine van Duuren – UK-Palestine Mental Health Network

49. David Bell – British Psychoanalytic Society

50. Dimitri Lascaris – Lawyer and journalist, Reason2Resist

51. Sarah Cooke – Psychoanalyst, Society of Analytical Psychology

52. Thomas Austin

53. Victoria Evans – Photographer, PSC, ICAHD, Green Party

54. Ruth Lass

55. Andrew Samuels – Former Prof. Psychosocial Studies, Former Chair UK Council for Psychotherapy

56. Daniel York Loh

57. Fionn Ó Loingsigh

58. Maureen Boerma

59. Diana Neslen

60. Penni Swinden – Psychoanalytic, psychotherapist

61. Billie Loebner

62. Denise Cullington

63. Christopher Gaynor

64. Gil Simhon

65. Rosemary Nash

66. Theodor Bughici

67. John Garrett – Associate Professor

68. Leon Maurice-Jones

69. Sylvia Marchant

70. Alison Brownlie Bojang

71. Nadav Finebooch

72. Chris Critchley – JVL & JNP assoc. member

73. George Thomson

74. John Rogers

75. Ron Naiweld

76. Malcolm Bradstock – Senior Lecturer, OU & Nottingham Trent, B.A., M.A., PGCE

77. Nicola Padel – Psychiatrist and psychoanalytic psychotherapist

78. Daniel Darby – Teacher

79. Martin Golding – Retired psychoanalytic psychotherapist; Emeritus Fellow, Peterhouse, Cambridge

80. Joan Hirschfeld

81. John Hall

82. E. G. Crichton – Artist, writer, UC Santa Cruz

83. Chantal Morgenbesser

84. Jackie Charbit-Middleton – Psychoanalytic psychotherapist, British Psychotherapy Foundation

85. Basheerah Soomar – South African coordinator, Global March to Gaza

86. Haifa Hammami

87. Ouarda Kamboua

88. Nihad Ben Salah – Materials Engineering consultant

89. Cata Schwarz

90. Anna Michali – Global March to Gaza and other Palestine movements

91. Michele Bayard

92. Shelley Rena Frydman – Organizer in Montréal

93. Fabian Schneider – Netzwerk Palästinasolidarität within Die Linke

94. Pilar Font Serrano – Activista, Aturem les Guerres

95. Austin Altman

96. Sofía Buchó

97. Christian König – MERA25 Bayern

98. Annie Sanchez Casuso

99. Haley Firkser

100. Melanie Berzon

101. Michelle Gabow

102. Adi Scholl

103. Paul Stewart

104. Nina Lyndon

105. Siti Noridah Ab Rahaman

106. Prof. Abdullah Ahsan

107. Fila Magnus

108. Jin Yee Lim – Retiree (UNHCR Resettlement Counsellor HK), BDS Malaysia

109. Esti Pal

110. Anaïs Rodriguez Artells – Global March to Gaza

111. Olga Schäfer

112. Juliana Garcia Salinero – Retired Nurse, Caravana Abriendo Fronteras and Marcha Global a Gaza

113. Jane Schumann – Editor

114. Nili Phillis – PhD candidate

115. Mariam Kassem

116. Nino Re

117. Teresa Bailey – Child Psychotherapist, Association of Child Psychotherapists

118. Bernard Spiegal – Jewish Network for Palestine

119. Alexandra Chasin – Professor, Literary Studies, The New School

120. Hassan Noah – Anti-colonial Activist

121. Mary Pampalk – Women in Black Vienna

122. Lorena Patino Gutierrez

123. Muhammad Muizzuddin

124. Jarrettia Adams – Rutgers University

125. Adriana Tovar Cascales – Student, Amnesty International

126. Veronica Leeke

127. Golshad Ghiaci – Psychotherapist

128. Rym Fairouz Bellouti – Psychologist, Palestine Vivra

129. Paul Chislett – Global March To Gaza

130. Linda Jacobs

131. Aaron Jacobs – Jewish Voice for Peace

132. Cynthia Jacobs – Jewish Voice for Peace

133. Mireille Coral

134. Alan Duggan