The Liberal Zionism Blind Spot (And Why You Should Know About It) 🎭🇮🇱😤

A FriedReads Rant About the Thing Nobody Talks About

October 2026

I saw a video.

It was long. It was dense. It was the kind of video you put on in the background while you're doing something else, expecting to absorb maybe half of it.

I absorbed all of it. And I couldn't stop thinking about it.

The video touched on the topic of liberal Zionism. I had never heard that term before. I didn't know it was a thing. I didn't know it was a concept. I didn't know it was an ideology that has shaped the way so many people think about Palestine and Israel.

Now I can't unsee it.

This article is me getting it off my chest. This isn't a lecture. I'm not an expert. I'm not a historian. I'm not a politician. I'm just a guy who watched a video and had his eyes opened. And now I need to write about it.

The Protesters and the Traitor

Let me start with something that happened recently.

Zohran Mamdani attended an event. It was an event that celebrated the victims of October 7th. That alone is worth noting. A democratic socialist. A man who has been critical of Israel. A man who has said he would arrest Netanyahu if he came to New York. Attending an event commemorating the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust.

I didn't think much of it. I thought it was a gesture. A way of showing solidarity. A way of saying, "I see your pain too."

Then the protesters showed up.

They called him a traitor.

At first, I thought they were nuts. Calling Mamdani a traitor? That's absurd. The man is a democratic socialist. He's anti-Zionist. He's pro-Palestine. He's everything the protesters claim to want. How can you call him a traitor?

Then I started thinking. And then I watched the video. And then I realized something.

They weren't calling him a traitor because he supported Israel. They were calling him a traitor because he wasn't doing enough. He wasn't doing enough to fight antisemitism. He wasn't doing enough to protect Jewish people. He wasn't doing enough to prove that he wasn't on the other side.

And then I remembered something else.

He gave $30 million to fight antisemitism.

For the Palestinians? A tree planted.

What Is Liberal Zionism?

I had never heard this term before.

I knew about Zionism. I knew about the belief that Jewish people deserve a homeland. I knew about the founding of Israel. I knew about the occupation. I knew about the settlements. I knew about the apartheid.

But I didn't know about liberal Zionism.

Liberal Zionism is the belief that Israel should exist as a Jewish state, but with liberal values. It supports a "two-state solution." Israel and Palestine side by side. Both sides get a state. Both sides get to exist.

On the surface, it sounds reasonable. It sounds fair. It sounds like peace.

But here's the problem.

It treats the oppressor and the oppressed as equals. It treats the colonizer and the colonized as equals. It says both sides are worthy of criticism. Both sides are responsible for the conflict. Both sides need to compromise.

And that's not justice. That's a lie.

The Analogy That Made It Click

Let me try to explain this in a way that made sense to me.

Imagine China decides to colonize Canada.

They move people in. They set up a military presence. They create a proxy state. Let's call it Xelvaris. They take over the political system. They build institutions for Chinese settlers. Canadians start to lose their identity. Their land. Their country.

Now imagine "liberals" in China say:

"Canada and Xelvaris are both evil. Both sides need to work toward a two-state solution."

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

That's what liberal Zionism sounds like.

It's the normalization of colonialism. But it's done with a "kind" lens. It's done with a "reasonable" tone. It's done with a "both sides are bad" framework.

Both sides are not bad.

One side is the oppressor. One side is the oppressed. One side is colonizing. One side is being colonized. One side has power. One side has nothing.

And when you pretend otherwise, you're not being fair. You're being complicit.

The Bernie Sanders Connection

I'm going to say something that might make some people uncomfortable.

Bernie Sanders is a strong force of liberal Zionism.

I know. I know. He's a hero to so many people. He's the guy who fought for Medicare for All. He's the guy who fought for workers' rights. He's the guy who fought for a better America.

But on Palestine, he's a liberal Zionist.

He's normalized the view that both sides are worthy of criticism. He's normalized the view that both sides are responsible. He's normalized the view that the only solution is a two-state solution.

He's connected to J Street. J Street promotes the two-state solution. J Street positions itself as the "reasonable" alternative to AIPAC. But it's still Zionism. It still supports a Jewish state. It still normalizes the idea that Palestine should be divided, that Palestinians should accept less, that the solution is separation rather than justice.

And Zohran Mamdani? He's connected to Bernie Sanders. He's part of the same ecosystem.

He may be more progressive on domestic policy. He may be more critical of Israel than most politicians. But on Palestine, he's still a liberal Zionist.

And that's why the protesters were there.

The $30 Million and the Tree

Let me talk about the money.

Mamdani gave $30 million to fight antisemitism.

That's a lot of money. That's a serious commitment.

But here's the thing.

To fight antisemitism, you need $30 million. That's not going to stop antisemitism. It's going to enforce it more. It's going to make people feel like they're being watched, like they're being silenced, like they're being punished for saying the wrong thing.

And for the Palestinians? A tree planted.

A tree.

For the people who are being bombed. For the people who are being displaced. For the people who are being murdered. For the people who are losing their homes, their families, their lives.

A tree.

Wow. What nice justice.

This is the liberal Zionist approach. You give money to fight antisemitism. You plant a tree for the Palestinians. And you call it even. You call it fair. You call it balanced.

It's not balanced. It's not fair. It's not even close.

The Blind Spot

Here's what I don't understand.

Why don't more people know about this?

Why don't more liberals know about liberal Zionism?

Why don't they know that their heroes are promoting it? Why don't they know that the "reasonable" solution is just colonialism with a nicer name? Why don't they know that the two-state solution is a way of avoiding the real issue?

I think it's because it's scary.

I think it's because it's hard to talk about. I think it's because when you criticize Israel, you're called an antisemite. When you criticize Zionism if you're Jewish, you're called a self-hating Jew. When you question the narrative, you're called a traitor.

And that's the point. That's the whole point. You're supposed to be scared. You're supposed to stay silent. You're supposed to accept the "reasonable" solution and not ask questions.

This article entry may get me kicked off the internet 😨.

The Liberal Zionism Blind Spot

The lack of awareness about liberal Zionism is shocking.

Many liberals don't even know it exists. They don't know that their heroes are promoting it. They don't know that the "reasonable" solution is just colonialism with a nicer name. They don't know that the two-state solution is a way of avoiding the real issue.

They don't know that when they call protesters "right-wing agitators," they're missing the point. The protesters aren't right-wing. They're not agitators. They're people who understand what liberal Zionism is. They're people who understand that the "reasonable" solution is not reasonable.

And they're being silenced. They're being dismissed. They're being called traitors.

The criticism is strong. That's why it needs to be suppressed.

That's what scares me. That's what keeps me up at night. The idea that you can't even talk about this without being labeled. Without being dismissed. Without being silenced.

I don't have a solution. I don't have an answer. I just have a rant. A rant about the thing that nobody talks about. A rant about the thing that everybody should know.

Liberal Zionism is a blind spot. And it's time we opened our eyes.

The Final Line

I have zero readers. Basically zero fans. This site is a ghost town. And that's fine.

This site is therapy for me. It's where I come when I need to get something off my chest. When something is bothering me and I can't sleep. When I see something that makes me angry or confused or scared, and I need to put it into words.

That's what this is. That's all this is.

I don't know if liberal Zionism will ever be a mainstream topic. I don't know if people will ever wake up to it. I don't know if anything I write will ever change anything.

But I needed to say it. I needed to get it out of my head and onto the page.

So here it is.

🎭🇮🇱😤

Allen

FriedReads.com | Still thinking. Still ranting. Lover of coffee.

October 2026