Susan Katz, president of the Jewish Federation of Peoria, accused Agitation Rising reporter Zach Gittrich of being a rabid anti-Semite for speaking out against Zionism.

Several weeks ago at the February 13th, 2024 Peoria City Council, numerous pro-Palestine activists called on the Peoria City Council to pass a resolution calling on both Israel & Hamas to cease fighting and calling on both to release all their hostages.

Also present was a handful of Zionists opposed to any ceasefire between Israel & Hamas.

Agitation Rising recorded all the speakers from both sides. Last minute, I decided to speak during public comment. I stated my belief that everyone–Jew, Arab, white, black, etc.–is equal to each other and everyone should have complete equal rights before the law. I also decried the supremacist ideology of Zionism. Zionism is an ideology that believes in a settler-colonial Jewish ethno-state in the Levant.

You can see my full public comment here:

Afterwards, I attempted to ask Ms. Katz if she would agree to an interview with Agitation Rising about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Agitation Rising has done several interviews with both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine activists. Agitation Rising also reached out to Katz last year following the Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7th to do such an interview, but she chose not to respond.

In a shocking interaction, Ms. Katz slandered me accusing me of being a rabid anti-Semite for stating that everyone is fundamentally equal.

I was shocked to say the least. I had learned–from Holocaust survivors no less–that anti-Semitism meant you believed Jewish people were inherently inferior to everyone else. This is a belief I’ve never held or espoused.

Apparently, according to Ms. Katz, unless I affirm that I am somehow inferior to her, that makes me a rabid anti-Semite. You’ve no doubt heard of Gender Affirming Care; well, this is Zionist Affirming Care, and this is an actual delusion and is one I shall not affirm.

Now, Ms. Katz might state, “Zach, you rabid anti-Semite, I’ve never once stated Jews were superior to other people.” As far as I know, this is true. I’ve never heard her say this. However, Ms. Katz does support the settler-colonial Jewish ethno-state called Israel. In order to justify an ethno-state, one of your presuppositions must be that whatever ethnicity you prefer is inherently superior, special, or deserving of special protections in relation to other groups of people. In Israel, this has been accomplished by the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the current apartheid regime that privileges ethnic Jews over Palestinians.

To be clear, I don’t support any settler-colonial ethno-state: white, black, Jewish, Arab, etc. I think they’re all wrong on principle. And, until Israel grants equal rights to all its people and ends the apartheid system, I’ll continue to oppose it.

After our interaction, Ms. Katz asked the police to escort her out as she believed she was in danger from the pro-ceasefire activists. This is her classic weaponization of victimhood, because she is an eternal victim constantly in danger that someone might dare disagree with her beliefs. However, after the meeting, activists on both sides of the meeting talked to each other peacefully, and no one was in any danger.

Lo and behold, a day later, I was sent a video made about me. It was a hit piece accusing me of being a violent, hateful, anti-Semite. It was made and published by a woman sitting right next to Ms. Katz during the city council meeting. I’m not going to name this woman or share a link to her video, because I’m not going to allow her to use my platform to slander me with baseless accusations.

Here is an edited version of the video, which edits out personal information about myself and my current partner:

This is not the first time Ms. Katz and her cadre of supporters have viciously slandered pro-Palestine activists.

I know pro-peace activists who protested anti-Semitic, white Supremacist Matt Hale in the 1990s, and who would later go on to support pro-Palestinian causes that were slandered by Katz as violent, anti-Semites.

It’s not even the first time she’s slandered me personally. Back in 2017, I was part of an organization called Peoria No Ban No Wall (PNBNW), an immigrant justice organization. We posted on our Facebook page a video showing Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) shooting tear gas canisters into a Palestinian elementary school in the occupied city of Hebron. Obviously, the implication of sharing the video is that one ought not tear gas little children.¹ Ms. Katz saw this video and had her sycophantic Zionists supporters contact every organization that PNBNW had any affiliation with. They were told PNBNW was vicious, anti-Semitic organization, and any event we would organize would be a violent event.

I have personally organized probably over a hundred events, most of them in Peoria, IL. Not one of them was ever violent. After the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where neo-nazis marched through the streets chanting “Jews will not replace us!” and “Blood & Soil!”, and where one person died and another 50 were injured, PNBNW held multiple anti-fascist rallies in Peoria. These were protests against fascism, white supremacy, & anti-Semitism.

So, the next time you get a call or e-mail from Sue Katz or her Zionist collaborators accusing someone of being a rabid, violent, anti-Semite, you should probably take it with a grain of salt. Because it probably isn’t true.

This article was originally published on Strangecornersofthought.com.

1. Documented incidents of IDF soldiers terrorizing Palestinian children go back decades. See: Berger, Yotam. “Israeli Army Denied Soldiers Threw Gas Canister into Hebron School. Then a Video Surfaced.” Haaretz.Com, Haaretz, 6 Dec. 2018; Khalek, Rania. “Video: Israeli Soldiers Fire Tear Gas at 6-Year-Old Children on Their Way to School.” The Electronic Intifada, 7 June 2015.