In this interview, Zach speaks with Indie, co-founder of the Indie News Network (INN), to follow up on “Indie’s Origin Story” from late November, and to learn more about his journey towards anti-Zionism from a culturally Jewish background. Indie describes how his stance has affected personal relationships, particularly with Jewish friends who remain pro-Israel due to the pervasive influence of Zionism in American Jewish communities, noting how synagogues and cultural events are almost universally linked to Israel.
As Indie explains (at ~4:19), the default pro-Israel stance in Jewish communities—stemming from the limited historical narrative taught to them about Palestine—makes their support virtually a given. He discusses his personal experience visiting Israel and feeling uncomfortable with the militarized environment, before explaining how his perspective changed after seeing clearly the unjust treatment of Palestinians in recent years, and emphasizing meanwhile the historical context often omitted from mainstream narratives, including pre-1948 events like the Balfour Declaration.
Indie shares (at ~14:39) the challenges within his own family—particularly with his wife, who holds different views on the conflict—and describes how the Israel-Palestine conflict has caused divisions in families and communities. He also discusses (at ~17:49) the broader geopolitical implications, including the imperialist purpose of the Balfour Declaration in 1917 and contemporary U.S. interests in the region, and contrasts these against the historical context of Palestine as a non-secular place where different religious groups nonetheless coexisted.
Throughout the conversation, both interlocutors discuss the distinction between cultural and religious Jews, and the role of Christian Zionists—whose origins Zach traces (at ~30:58) in part to the Scofield Reference Bible, though his comments here need correction from the Association of Religion Data Archives and the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs—as well as that of the “secular Zionists” found among the New Atheists.
After considering the broader geopolitical implications of Israel’s actions, Indie also shares (at ~49:28) his vision for a potential resolution—however unlikely it may seem today—emphasizing the importance of equal rights and sovereignty for Palestinians. That provides as good a transition as any for Indie to explain (at ~52:30) his role as a champion of independent media, criticizing mainstream media’s coverage and emphasizing the importance of independent, audience-funded journalism, through which he arrived at his anti-Zionist perspective. Though vetting and screening independent media voices is a continuous process, he celebrates those anti-imperialist independent journalists who have proven themselves as honorees in the Independent Media Awards—with whom we here at Radio Free Pizza encourage all those those who understand the importance of independent journalists to swiftly acquaint themselves.
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