From her modest home in Cape Town, Megan Choritz, a Jewish South African, has emerged as one of her country’s most vocal anti-Zionist activists. Despite threats, social exile, and harsh criticism—including accusations of being a “self-hating Jew”—she refuses to back down. Her art, her writing, and her identity are all intertwined with her conviction that Palestine deserves freedom and justice.
Early Awakening under Apartheid
Born in Johannesburg and raised in a middle-class, Zionist Jewish household during the height of South Africa’s apartheid era, Choritz always felt a duality. On one hand, her family identified strongly with Zionism; on the other, the daily realities of racial segregation, discrimination, and injustice shaped her moral sensibilities.
Her family’s connection to Israel—several relatives emigrated there, and her parents had once lived in a kibbutz through the Zionist youth movement Habonim—juxtaposed against her own upbringing in apartheid South Africa, laid the groundwork for her critical perspective. A trip to Israel, intended to deepen her Zionist identity, instead helped clarify her doubts. At Jewish school, Choritz began to question what she was being taught, but lacked the language then to challenge it.
Theatre, Writing, and Finding Voice
Choritz studied at the University of Cape Town, graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts and a diploma in performance/theatre. She pursued a career in theatre—acting, directing, creating improvisational groups, and founding an improv troupe that expanded into industrial theatre and workshops.
In 2007 she started a blog called Megan’s Head, which has since evolved into a Substack platform. What began as theatre reviews turned into political commentary—especially around Palestine. During the COVID-19 lockdowns she transitioned into fiction, producing her first novel Lost Property in 2023, which draws heavily from autobiographical elements and her experiences growing up under apartheid. This work was nominated in 2025 for the DALRO-Can Themba Award, a major literary prize in South Africa.
October 7, 2023 and the Escalation
According to Choritz, the events following October 7, 2023, marked a turning point. Though she had long been outspoken against Zionism, she says her views had often been ignored or marginalized by the Zionist Jewish community. The escalation of the conflict made it impossible for her to remain silent. She now believes her voice must be loud, even if it makes her “utterly intolerable” to those who disagree.
Identity, Conflict, and Resistance
One of Choritz’s core beliefs is that being Jewish does not equate to supporting Zionism. She frames Jewish identity as culture, religion, and ethics—not nationalism or territorial claims. She has become more committed to this distinction since taking public anti-Zionist positions.
Her condemnation of Zionism is unequivocal: she describes it as a colonial, ethno-nationalist, racist, supremacist ideology. She argues that Jews do not need a “special homeland,” and that Zionism’s demand for one necessarily entails the dispossession and oppression of Palestinians.
The Cost of Speaking Out
Standing against the dominant narrative has come with heavy costs for Choritz:
- She has been smeared, called names like “kapo” (a charged term with Holocaust connotations), “self-hating Jew,” “Hamas terrorist.”
- She has received death threats and rape threats.
- She has experienced physical harassment in public, especially in Jewish-populated areas of Cape Town, such as Sea Point and Gardens.
- Her relationships with family have fractured; she often finds little support from relatives who disagree with her political stance.
Confrontation and Public Protest
A significant recent episode occurred in April 2025 when Choritz was excluded from participating in a Jewish Literary Festival in Cape Town. The organizers said her views were “too extreme” for their “neutral, literary” event. In response, she staged a protest outside the Holocaust Museum with the sign: “Not Zionist Enough for the Jewish Literary Festival.” The protest drew widespread attention online and provoked both support and antagonism.
Looking Forward
Choritz remains active with South African Jews for a Free Palestine, participating in protests, vigils, and speaking events. She uses her theatre, her writing, and her presence in cultural forums to keep raising questions about justice, identity, and accountability.
Her message to Palestinians is clear: she holds them in her heart, is deeply sorry for what she sees as global inaction, and is resolved to keep fighting for a free, democratic Palestine—from the river to the sea.
From: al jazeera