The Movement

This past August, after the murder of an American hostage tortured in the tunnels below Gaza, a new grassroots movement launched on college campuses. They call themselves PAZ – Palestinian Allies of Zionism. They are not die-hard supporters of Israel or the Jews, but they are trying to change the narrative, advocating for peaceful co-existence.

I had the opportunity to speak to the people who started this movement, with the understanding that they didn’t want to be “outed.” A group of four people spoke to me over the phone, using AI to change their voices so that I could never identify them.

Launched by a Columbia University student with family living in Gaza who wants the Hamas terrorist regime overthrown so his family can live in peace, PAZ’s leader stated, “On the most basic level, I want to go to class. I want to know that my family can live in peace.” PAZ’s creator’s name is being withheld for fear of retribution by violent terrorist supporters on campus. Many students are sick and tired of outside protesters taking over their campuses and spewing violent propaganda.

“Hamas’s movement is fruitless. They won’t rest until they can destroy Jews throughout the world. And then they will move onto Christians, because they believe Christians are heretics too. If the Zionists are willing to live side by side with us in Palestine, I say we build a peaceful and prosperous homeland of our own and leave them alone.”

The movement, still in its initial stages, has remained underground after receiving violent threats from members of the pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah movements. Recently, weapons found on Columbia’s campus created a panic amongst PAZ’s founding members. “Hamas is terrorizing the Zionists, but they’re also terrorizing the innocent Palestinians. We are afraid of being hunted down and murdered, like the Zionists on 10/7,” lamented a member of PAZ.

Those launching PAZ want to make it clear that this is strictly a group for Palestinians. “We’re not looking to create a multi-cultural platform here. We want to elevate peaceful Palestinian voices.” They are trying to re-write the narrative that all Palestinians support terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. They argue that groups like Jewish Voices for Peace and In Our Lifetime are aggressive, hostile, and don’t represent the voices of the average Palestinian person. They want to end the propaganda.