Can a party be leftist and Zionist?

Ahead of Israel’s October 27 elections, Israel’s Young Democrats—the youth wing of the newly formed Democratic Party—are pursuing foreign alliances. They recently announced a joint campaign with Austria’s Young Greens to amplify “progressive voices on the ground” and move toward a sustainable peace.

In parallel, another youth organization, Hamatan Haolim (the Ascending Camps), is planning to establish a new kibbutz in the occupied West Bank near Jericho. Its director, Ilan Gazit, explained that when asked how such activity impacts Palestinians, the group argued that the left should prioritize “Israeli leftists” over far‑right settlers in the settlements. He added, “We aren’t ashamed of this, and we aren’t hiding it.”

Both groups seem to treat “left‑wing Zionism” as a cohesive political identity. Yet the central question remains: can a party, a movement, or an individual truly be simultaneously leftist and Zionist?

A question with history

The debate over “left‑wing Zionism” is not new. Zionism originated as a Jewish nationalist movement in 19th‑century Europe, aiming to create a Jewish national home amid pervasive anti‑Semitism and colonial ambitions.

Early Jewish activists integrated socialist terminology to legitimize a settler‑colonial project. After the death of Theodor Herzl in 1904, socialist factions took centre stage within the World Zionist Organization and in settler communities.

However, these leftist elements were not driven by authentic class‑based struggle or globalism. Instead, they employed socialist rhetoric to justify land confiscation, labor collectives—kibbutzim and unions—and diplomatic strategies that advanced a nation‑building agenda predicated on Jewish sovereignty.

Ultimately, the state of Israel resulted—a product in stark contrast to the anti‑colonial, anti‑racist ethos the left traditionally champions. In 1975 the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 3379, labeling Zionism a form of racism and racial discrimination. The resolution was rescinded in 1991 following intense pressure from Israel and its allies.

The issue persists: can a political project centred on constructing a state based on Jewish supremacy—through ethnic cleansing, dispossession, apartheid, and contemporary genocidal trajectories—be reconciled with the left’s foundational principles of equity, anti‑racism, decolonization, and universal social justice? The answer remains a resounding no.

Leftist politics in Israel

Historically, Israel was governed for decades by parties that market themselves as “left‑wing.” Mapai began in 1930 as a Labour Zionist party under David Ben‑Gurion and dominated Israel’s political landscape throughout the 1960s and beyond, eventually evolving into the Labour Party.

Mapai’s institutions—such as the Haganah and the Histadrut—were engineered to exclude Palestinians. The Histadrut, founded in 1920, functioned as a tool of the Zionist “conquest of labour,” deliberately pushing Pakistani workers out of the industrial sphere and relegating them to second‑class status for decades, denying them voting rights despite nominal equality on paper.

Even today, the labour‑led system replicates these patterns. Collective‑bargaining protections are routinely undermined for Palestinian workers, whose employment remains informal and precarious, reinforcing a settler‑colonial order that marginalises and exploits the workforce.

The education sector inherited this legacy. Early school systems promoted Zionist identity while erasing Palestinian presence and framing settlement as a nationalist “liberation” narrative rather than an act of colonisation.

Kibbutz and moshav movements, hallmark institutions of Labour Zionism, facilitated land theft and forced displacement. Many kibbutzim located in formerly Arab villages served as rear bases for Haganah operations during 1948, tying the settlement map directly to the operation of the Nakba.

Falling into the left‑right Zionist trap

Despite these documented abuses, many Western leftists cling to the moniker “left‑wing” when describing Israeli politics, implying that the conflict can be reduced to a battle between a “Zionist left” and an “anti‑Zionist right”—specifically the Netanyahu regime.

Initiatives such as the Young Greens of Austria and Israel’s Young Democrats inadvertently reinforce this misconception. Their primary aim appears not to amplify progressive voices or negotiate a just peace, but to cement the categorization of “left‑wing Zionism” as a coherent alternative capable of challenging the existing colonial reality on behalf of Palestinians.

“Far‑right Netanyahu” narratives serve politically to suggest a viable, non‑Zionist progressive camp, thereby sidestepping the deeper structural logic of Israel’s settler colonialism. In doing so, the underlying phenomenon—which rests in the logic of Zionism itself—is treated as merely a policy dispute rather than an inherent ideological framework.

Generations of Palestinians have long understood, on a visceral level, that there is no distinction in morality between Zionism on the left and Zionism on the right concerning dispossession. The occupation predates Netanyahu, and regime change alone will not dismantle it.

Any left‑aligned party seeking to honour its core values must align with Palestinian leadership and support movements such as the Green Party of England and Wales, which unambiguously denounces Zionism as a racist, settler‑colonial ideology—not merely a policy domain open to reform.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

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