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