Palestinian ex-prisoner freed in hostage deal: ‘We are fighting Jews, not just Zionism’

Tamimi said she longed for “World War III. Let them drop nuclear bombs, let them destroy the whole world so it won’t be just the Palestinians.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi, who was freed as part of a hostage deal, has openly declared that she opposes Jews themselves, not just Zionists.

Her statements challenge the narrative promoted by groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which insist their activism is anti-Zionist but not antisemitic.

Speaking on an Arabic-language podcast earlier this month, Tamimi said, “My definition of Judaism, ever since I was a child, has been that it is the same as Zionism. There is no difference between them.”

She went further, insisting that “Judaism is an occupation” and should be taught that way to Palestinian children. “We are fighting Jews, not Zionism,” she declared.

Tamimi’s father’s cousin, Ahlam Tamimi, was an accomplice in the 2001 intifada Sbarro bombing in Jerusalem that killed 16 people ,including seven children and a pregnant woman.

Ahed Tamimi previously served time in prison for assaulting IDF soldiers and inciting violence.

She argued that Jews could only escape being defined as an enemy by joining her struggle against Israel.

“If a Jew does not want their religion defined that way, they can join me in the struggle against Zionism,” she said.

The activist portrayed Palestinians as morally superior because of their willingness to sacrifice themselves, likely referring to suicide bombing. “We are superior to the entire world, because we are the only ones in the world fighting injustice, at the expense of our lives, and the expense of our humanity,” she said.

In the same interview, she railed against Western countries for what she called “patronizing” aid policies toward Gaza, adding that she wished for a World War III. “Let them drop nuclear bombs; let them destroy the whole world, so it won’t be just the Palestinians.”

Her words stand in stark contrast to the claims of JVP, which describes itself as “Jews and allies” guided by Jewish values to oppose Zionism while maintaining they are not against Jews.

Ahed Tamimianti-Israel activistsAntisemitism