Israeli-born Jew Zohar Chamberlain Regev says that the October 7 attacks are the result of 75 years of oppression. Regev, who grew up on a kibbutz, left his country unable to tolerate the Israeli occupation. She fought against the blockade of Gaza, lived in Palestine, and decided to convert to Islam.
Zohar Chamberlain Regev is 53 years old. She was born and raised in Kfar Hahoresh, one of Israel's kibbutzim. She lived on the kibbutz until he was 34 years old. Her family was in solidarity with Palestinians, unlike the majority of Jews in Israel. They raised their children with these teachings: "We had many Palestinian families around us. Some of them were close friends of my family. My family raised me as someone who treats everyone well, seeks justice, is not racist, does not prioritize their own race, and treats everyone equally. Since childhood, I remember being in solidarity with Palestinian families with my family. We used to participate in demonstrations together when Palestinian homes were demolished. I think witnessing the Israeli occupation played an important role in shaping my perspective on life."
Regev lived in what he called occupied Palestinian territories in Israel until the age of 34. However, as the years passed and the Israeli occupation expanded, living there became increasingly difficult for her.
"As I grew up, I learned more and more, and I didn't want to live there anymore. I left Israel in 2004. Think about it, we have been witnessing hundreds of people, thousands of children being killed every day for four months. And we are trying to live a normal life. For me, living a normal life within Israel was not possible because you either have to be one hundred percent active against the occupation or... As an Israeli living there, you pay taxes, work together, live together, have privileges that Palestinians don't have... I didn't want to compromise my activism by constantly living with these contradictions. By living there, you normalize the occupation and genocide. And I went to Spain and lived there for 14 years."
Regev settled in Spain. There, too, he did not give up working for the freedom of Palestine. In 2008, he was again in the streets during Israel's attacks on Gaza. In 2009, she met activists from many countries in Cairo. She participated in protests for the lifting of the blockade on Gaza as part of the Gaza Freedom March activities. She later joined a team organizing a ship with activists in Spain to break the Gaza blockade by sea.
"In 2009, when I returned from Cairo to Spain, they started campaigning to participate in ships to break the blockade on Gaza. I applied and was accepted. Then we boarded a boat from Greece to break the blockade. Our boat was stopped. In 2010, the Mavi Marmara flotilla set sail. We are still fighting for the same thing 14 years later, it's incredible! Think about it, we have been living under a blockade that should have been lifted immediately for more than 12 years."
After Spain, Zohar Chamberlain Regev settled in Bethlehem, Palestine. There, she volunteered for 2.5 years. She lived with families in refugee camps. During this time, she decided to become a Muslim:
"Then I decided that Islam should be my spiritual journey there. I never believed in Judaism. I didn't practice Judaism or its religious practices. But I grew up as a Jew, Judaism was my culture. But then I wanted to take a different path on my faith journey. Islam became my new path. So it was a personal choice."
Regev's family was not religious, and they had no problem with Muslims. However, they had many questions in their minds.
"Maybe they had some fears too. My father was not a very religious person, he even thought that religions separated people. And I said, 'It doesn't always have to be that way.' In fact, Islam respects other religions. It respects Jewish and Christian religions and prophets. It's also a way to bring people together. My mother was worried because she thought I would distance myself from them. Then my mother realized that Islam emphasizes respect for parents regardless of their religion. My mother was very happy because of this. I married a Muslim, and my mother-in-law was telling me about Islam. She was constantly telling me to call and ask about my mother every day. When my mother noticed this, she was very pleased."
She wanted to become a Muslim, but it was difficult for Regev, who was atheist until then, to believe. She overcame this with the support of his mother:
"It was very difficult for me because I was an atheist until I converted to Islam. I didn't know what to do to believe. It's not just like saying, 'Okay, I decided to believe.' It's not like that. I had to think about what I should believe in. My mother told me, 'How can you say you don't believe? You believe in many things. You believe in justice, you believe that something needs to be done for injustice. Then I made a connection with what I learned about Islam. I learned what Jihad means. Even after the attacks on the twin towers in 2001, they turned it into hatred for Islam. They claimed that Islam was a violent religion. Later, I understood from my readings that Jihad was not violence. Jihad is primarily dealing with your own bad thoughts. And it is necessary to do something when you see an injustice somewhere."
Regev describes the October 7 attacks as a rebellion against Israeli oppression that has lasted for more than 75 years.
"Even my family was shocked by the October 7 attacks. I said, 'Are you shocked? How can you be shocked? Everything has been in front of your eyes for years.' I'm not just talking about the Gaza blockade. I'm talking about the Nakba, which has been going on for 75 years. You should have expected such a rebellion... "
Zohar Chamberlain Regev visited Gaza in 2000. Regev says that life in the Gaza Strip was difficult even before the blockade: "At that time, there were still Jewish settlers there. They took us to a tall building. They showed us where Jewish settlers lived. The settlers had occupied all the green areas, agricultural land, and beautiful coastal areas. And there were checkpoints on the roads leading there. Those were the times when we still had hope. They showed us the airport. Now they probably blew up the airport too."
Regev says that the Palestinian issue is above all a humanitarian issue for her. She emphasizes that it is a responsibility to oppose it as someone who was born and raised in Israel: "For me, the Palestinian issue is above all a humanitarian issue. As an Israeli, I feel responsible. We were told Holocaust stories at a very young age. I grew up in Kibbutzim. And the kibbutzim were built by those who survived the Holocaust. There were hundreds of people from Hungary with numbers on their arms in our kibbutz. We constantly listened to holocaust stories. In these stories, it was said that the world was silent while the Holocaust was taking place. For me, the conclusion I drew from these stories was 'not to be silent in the face of oppression,' we have to do something. Terrible things are being done to people in Gaza. We have to speak openly about what's happening there."
Regev grew up in a Kibbutz, which was part of the expansion of the Israeli occupation. Describing Kibbutz life as fair within itself, Regev says that it is meaningless unless it is universal:
"Zionism has many ways to occupy lands. One of them is the vision of a group of people creating a fair and equal society. There were no poor people in the Kibbutz. Everyone shares what they do for free and takes from others. Very ideal. But there is a problem; if socialism is applied only in one group, it doesn't work. It should be universal. I grew up in the 1970s. At that time, the Kibbutz was very communal. We used to have dinner together in a large dining room every night. Everyone worked, but not to earn money. There was very little money for small needs. You didn't need money anyway; you didn't pay for anything. There is injustice in this system, there were Palestinians around us. They also came and worked with us in the Kibbutz. But they didn't have the same rights as us. My father noticed this and was a little surprised; the Palestinians were coming to the Kibbutz to work, but they weren't eating with us in the same place. They brought their own food and ate outside. When my father raised this, he received a response from the neighbours like 'they don't want to eat with us.' But my father said, 'No, this is not hospitality,' you have to invite them in. My father was young, but the older people there listened to him. My father was a humanist, not a Zionist. When that happened, we sat at the same table with the Palestinians. I think one thing needs to be understood. Even if people are well-intentioned, if they build something on injustice, it only brings evil."
