By Ann Menasche
(This is the opinion of the author alone and does not represent the views of FIST as an organization.)
As a lifelong anti-war activist, a couple of months ago I threw myself into the political work of stopping the genocide against the people of Gaza (overwhelming targeting women and children) by rejoining the San Diego chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. I attended rallies, spoke at one of them and initiated plans for a Hanukkah event that would light the Menorah and call for a permanent ceasefire and a just peace between Israeli Jews and Palestinians.
I didn’t say a word about my gender critical views. The topic simply never came up. But some folks decided to do their homework on me, starting with posts in my X account and leading to my role in FIST. So, it came down as expected. I was told that I either needed to recant my views Orwellian style and “apologize” for my thought crimes, or I couldn’t even attend the event I had planned (I was supposed to be a speaker), because of the risk my very presence posed to the “safety” of trans members. When I refused to recant and said I would attend the public event anyway, they changed the location at the very last minute and made sure I wasn’t informed of the change.
Of course, folks know I never go quietly into the night. When I was fired from my job after asserting the biological fact that only females of the species get pregnant and need abortions – defined as “hateful bigotry” by my former employer – I filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination (still pending). See https://defendfeminists.net/the-feminists-we-defend/justice-for-ann-menasche
When I was effectively expelled from JVP through being excluded from participating and attending their events, I began circulating an open letter that will be published shortly with signatures of anti-war activists, authors, and journalists from around the country. Renown individuals like Cindy Sheehan and Chris Hedges have signed on.
To my Leftists comrades who think feminists like me should be excluded from the movement: You don’t own the Left, you just think you do. Radical feminists are part of the Left, whether you like it or not. If you are serious about stopping war and genocide, stop witch-hunting out some of your best activists and doing the work of the IDF and the Pentagon for them.