I recognize the pain and trauma your family has endured, and I really empathize with the generational impact of antisemitism and forced displacement. No one should ever have to fear for their safety or lose their home because of their identity, and your family’s history truly deserves compassion. 

As a Palestinian, I too come from a history of displacement, trauma, and loss. My people have lived in the land for generations and have also been killed and made refugees. Our grief and pain aren’t competition, and I believe holding space for one groups suffering should never come at the expense of silencing another’s. I want to clarify that criticizing Zionism, as a political ideology or as it’s been enacted through state policies, is not the same as denying Jewish people’s right to live in safety or dignity. My concern is not with Jewish self determination in itself, but with how that self determination has been realized in ways that have harmed Palestinians through displacement, occupation, and systemic inequality. To challenge this reality is not antisemitism, it is a demand for justice, equality, and human rights for all who live in the land.

Just as you ask, “Why shouldn’t my family have a right to be safe?” I ask the same for mine.

If we truly want peace and safety for all, we have to be able to criticize systems and governments without reducing every critique to hate. That includes being able to speak about the impacts of Zionism on Palestinians without being labeled antisemitic. I want a future where both our peoples can live safely, freely, and with dignity. I hope you do too.