Tzedek Collective

Firstly, I accept the poems of Ken Bolton as they are, in the world, by the head and hand of the person who is the poet.

Emotions are evidence. Expressing emotions is useful not for telling the truth, but instead for the histories and connections they reveal. We do not feel something because it is natural to feel that certain way. We feel something because we have learned to. Not in a conscious, programmatic way, but through aligning ourselves — or coming to be aligned — with other people who feel a certain way. This doesn’t mean we’re constantly copying others emotions but rather that feelings undertake work.

On Saturday, 2 November 2023, thousands of people rallied in Sydney’s Hyde Park to protest against Israel’s bloody war in Gaza. Among those, members of the recently reanimated Tzedek Collective stood behind our banner, stating that we are Jews in support of decolonisation, liberation, self-determination and peace. This was not the first protest we attended as a collective, and it wouldn’t be the last.