matzpen

Matzpen co-founder Moshé Machover, London, July 11, 2008. (Hossam el-Hamalawy/CC BY 2.0)

The last first Israeli anti-Zionist

Sixty years after co-founding the radical leftist group Matzpen, Moshé Machover reflects on the organization’s enduring legacy, the internal splits that led to its demise, and its lessons for today's anti-Zionist left.

By Ben Reiff November 24, 2022

A Palestinian woman climbs the fence separating Israel from Gaza, during the 27th "Great March of Return" Friday protest, Gaza Strip, September 28, 2018. (Mohammed Zaanoun/Activestills)

The siege is only a symptom

To confront Israel’s violence against Palestinians, progressive Jews in Israel and around the world must reckon with the ideology that lies at its root.

By Ben Reiff August 11, 2022

Israeli soldiers hold down an Israeli activist during a demonstration in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. (photo: Activestills)

The untold story of Jewish anti-Zionists in Israel

For nearly as long as Palestinians have resisted their displacement, small groups of Jews have joined them. Ran Greenstein’s ‘Zionism and Its Discontents’ brings to life the complex, often contradictory story of those Israelis who saw Palestinian and Jewish liberation as one and the same. Zionism and Its Discontents: A Century of Radical Dissent in Israel/Palestine (Pluto…

By Joshua Leifer April 8, 2018

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‘How can this monkey be talking about an ideology that developed in Europe?’

‘We are progress and modernization, freedom and equality, ‘peace and love.’ And they, what are they?’ On the history of the painful relationship between the Israeli Left and Mizrahim. By Ron Cahlili (Translated from Hebrew by Orit Friedland) The common wisdom is that Mizrahim and the Left are like oil and water, and that the two…

By Haokets April 17, 2013

Matzpen ad in Haaretz, 22.9.1967

Matzpen and the story of two ads

A strange historical coincidence had it that on the same day, September 22, 1967 – three months after the Six-Day War, with most of the Israeli public still intoxicated with euphoria – two very different political ads were published in Israeli dailies. One came from the most radical and demonized group in the political fringes, while…

By Noam Sheizaf February 11, 2013

Akiva Orr, political activist, writer and founder of Matzpen, posing for a journalistic interview. (photo: Sergio Yahni)

Saying goodbye to Akiva Orr

We have very few role models in the Israeli Left – few that we can follow their footsteps, few torches to light a dark and lonely path, few lights to pave the way. Aki was one of those, and now with him gone, the road seems a little darker. By Leehee Rothschild I’ve been sitting…

By +972 Magazine February 10, 2013

Akiva Orr, 'Matzpen' documentary. (screenshot: YouTube)

Akiva Orr, co-founder of Israeli radical left Matzpen party, passes away

Akiva Orr, an activist and writer, who helped form the Israeli anti-Zionist socialist party ‘Matzpen,’ passed away this week. His ideas, which can be viewed in the documentary on the history of Matzpen (below), challenged Israeli society and influenced generations of activists. This post has been updated and expanded. Akiva Orr, author, co-founder of the Israeli…

By +972 Magazine February 9, 2013

Early Matzpen Protest: Photo: Matzpen

Akiva Orr on J14: ‘The longest journey starts with one small step’

Over the years of writing and wrestling with Israel/Palestine, Akiva Orr has become a supportive figure. Born in 1930’s Berlin, Orr has lived the entirety of Israel’s existence. From Eric Fried to Joe Slovo, Akiva can speak for days about his personal relationships with some of the most interesting revolutionary leaders of the late twentieth century. It is…

By Joseph Dana August 27, 2011

Early Matzpen Protest: Photo: Matzpen

Co-Founder of radical left party speaks on Israel’s wars with Egypt

Speaking with Akiva Orr is a humble encounter given the gravity of his experience on the ground in Israel/Palestine. Born in 1930’s Berlin, Orr has lived the entirety of Israel’s existence. From Eric Fried to Joe Slovo, Akiva can speak for days about his personal relationships with some of the most interesting revolutionary leaders of…

By Joseph Dana February 2, 2011