Jacob Epstein

I’m Jacob Epstein, a researcher, investigator and activist whose work begins with a conviction: Palestinians deserve justice, and any lasting peace must grow from it. That commitment is the foundation of my anti-Zionism. I believe Palestinian dispossession was inherent to the Zionist project, and I understand the Nakba as an ongoing genocidal process aimed at destroying both Palestinian life and the bonds that sustain a people across generations. Confronting that history and its continuation is a matter of doing what is right. Peace becomes possible when we take that obligation seriously. For me, that obligation begins with examining my own position as a Jewish person in a society that grants me rights, protection and access it denies Palestinians. Those advantages give me a responsibility to challenge the structures behind them, including the assumption that a Jewish voice deserves a hearing where a Palestinian voice does not. Palestinians need neither my permission nor my interpretation to tell their own stories. I want to use the spaces open to me to confront the barriers placed before them, supporting their ability to speak, organize and determine their future. These values guide my investigative research, where I draw on my familiarity with Jewish Zionist communities to examine their assumptions, practices and wider impact. Some of the work I have contributed to includes: 1. [Find IDF Soldiers](https://findidfsoldiers.net/), a project by The Maple’s opinion editor, Davide Mastracci, documenting Canadians who have served in the Israeli military using publicly available information. 2. [Reporting on Garin Tzabar](https://michaelwest.com.au/lone-soldiers-new-australian-idf-recruits-due-to-arrive-in-israel-in-january/), examining a program that helps young Australians move to Israel and enter military service. 3. [The Sydney Marathon story](https://michaelwest.com.au/idf-soldiers-heading-to-australia-to-compete-in-the-sydney-marathon/), which I helped break, revealing the participation of a group of former Israeli soldiers in the 2026 Sydney Marathon in Australia.