Asaf Calderon: "The problem as we understand it is Zionism"

Today is October 7th, 2024. One year ago, thousands of militants led by Hamas launched a multi-front attack on Israeli towns and military bases, killing over 1,100 people and abducting over 250. Israel responded to the October 7th attack with one of the most destructive military campaigns in history, displacing most people in the already poverty-stricken, besieged Gaza Strip. To date, Israel has killed at least 41,000 people in Gaza– but experts say the numbers are likely higher, given that Gaza’s healthcare systems have been all-but obliterated, and many bodies remain unidentified, lost under the rubble of what was once Gaza’s homes, schools, and mosques.

The brutality of Israel’s assault on Gaza has mobilized movements around the world to demand a ceasefire, and prompted South Africa bring accusations of Genocide against Israel in the International Court of Justice. Of the remaining hostages in Gaza, many have died, some executed by Hamas militants, some killed by the Israeli Defense Forces.

As we reach the one year anniversary of October 7th, how should we make sense of this day? How should we mark it? Many Israelis and those whose sympathies lie with them will grieve, and make space to remember what was, for many, one of the worst days of their lives. But for thousands of Palestinians – and now Lebanese people, too– they’re still fighting for their survival. how can we stop and remember if the horror persists for so many?

Shortly After October 7th, 2023 Asaf Calderon left the Unsettled team as a producer, and started a new movement of anti-Zionist Israelis living in the United States, called Shoresh. Last week, Unsettled Producer Ilana Levinson sat down with Asaf to talk about creating Shoresh, and how that work has helped him understand the anniversary of October 7th.