Coby Friedman

About

Coby Friedman is a Jewish writer and former IDF soldier, born in Haifa in 1951 and conscripted in 1969. In essays, talks, and public commentary he reflects on his upbringing in Israel, his military service, and his later reassessment of Zionism and Israeli state policies. In his Substack essay “What Zionism Asked Judaism to Give Up,” he describes being “raised on the lie that Zionism was the ultimate defense against antisemitism,” argues that contemporary forms of Zionism have become incompatible with his understanding of Judaism, and calls on fellow Jews to “reject the narrow cage of Zionism.” Friedman speaks and writes extensively about the impact of occupation and Israeli state violence on Palestinians, including in his talk “The Debt I Owe to a Lie,” where he supports “the Palestinian struggle against the occupation” while rejecting the killing of civilians, and highlights church-based divestment and statements naming Israeli laws and policies as apartheid and, more recently, genocide. In an opinion piece for the Point Reyes Light, he frames his public work as a “soldier’s plea for Palestine,” inviting others into dialogue, education, and solidarity around justice, dignity, and freedom for both peoples.

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