Tom Pessah

Tom Pessah is an Israeli sociologist and activist.

Recent Articles
Martin Buber and Rabbi Binyamin, founders of the bi-national Brit Shalom movement, seen in Palestine. (Central Zionist Archives)
The Haredi Zionist who advocated radical openness
From the Jewish diaspora to the Palestinians, R. Binyamin's ideas show how alternatives to mainstream Zionism were imagined even in its earliest days.
By Tom Pessah September 27, 2023
David Ben-Gurion (left) signs the Declaration of Independence held by Moshe Sharett with Eliezer Kaplan looking on at the Tel Aviv museum on Rothschild Boulevard, May 14, 1948. (Israel GPO, PRI OR/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Debunking the myths of Israel’s Declaration of Independence
If Israeli protesters want to cite Israel’s founding document as a moral guide, they first need to acknowledge its failings.
By Tom Pessah April 10, 2023
Hundreds of members of the Arab Liberation Army attend the funeral of Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni at the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, April 8, 1948. (GPO)
Who fought in 1948?
A new book uncovers letters by Jewish and Arab fighters from the 1948 war, highlighting the personal lives of those who fought to establish Israel and those who tried to defend Palestine.
By Tom Pessah September 22, 2021
Activists from IfNotNow protest outside Birthright Israel’s offices in New York City, April 5, 2019. (Gili Getz)
A Palestinian guide to Jewish American allyship
As American Jews increasingly enter the Palestinian rights movement, the power dynamics between the two groups often lead to tensions. One activist opens up about the complexities of navigating those dynamics, and what Jews should be doing to center Palestinian voices.
By Tom Pessah November 23, 2020
Herzl seen traveling to Palestine, 1898. (Central Zionist Archives)
Under Zionism, Jewish lives have always mattered more
Zionism was never simply about the idea that 'Jewish Lives Matter' — it has always privileged Jewish colonists over indigenous people. Just ask Theodor Herzl.
By Tom Pessah July 8, 2020
Most Read
  1. The permanence of ‘NAZA’
  2. ‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza
  3. To oust Netanyahu, Israel’s opposition needs to learn this lesson from him
  4. In Gaza, the specter of famine is returning
  5. Palestinian citizens are the big winners of Israel’s election. It doesn’t matter
  1. How Ben Gvir and Smotrich helped drive historic Arab voter turnout
  2. ‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza
  3. Palestinian citizens are the big winners of Israel’s election. It doesn’t matter
  4. ‘There are no dreams here’: How Israel’s outgoing gov't remade the West Bank
  5. The battle for Jewish votes among Israel’s Palestinian parties
  1. ‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza
  2. Why ‘NAZA’ terrifies Israel's liberal elite
  3. Debunking Israel’s latest list of ‘terrorist’ journalists in Gaza
  4. Israel’s flailing chatbot army
  5. 50 shades of right: An Israeli election primer