Simone Rimmon Zimmerman (born November 30, 1990) is a

Jewish American American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% id ...

activist who is opposed to the

Israeli occupation of the West Bank The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been under military occupation by Israel since 7 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured the territory, then ruled by Jordan, during the Six-Day War. The status of the West Bank as a militarily oc ...

and the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. She is the founder of the lobby group IfNotNow. Zimmerman was the Jewish outreach coordinator for

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

for 30 hours in 2016. She was terminated due to her use of what some considered to be inflammatory language on social media. Zimmerman was featured in the 2023 documentary called '' Israelism''. She describes how it feels being a young

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

-born Jew in an American life of pro-Israel indoctrination and mass mobilization that demands young Jewish Americans to be pro-Israeli even in instances of obvious human rights violations by the Israeli government. She recalls how Abe Foxman branded her as anti-Israel and pushed for Sanders to dismiss her as the outreach co-ordinator, which Sanders did on 14 April 2016 - some hours after hiring her.Sander suspends Jewish coordinator
''Times of Israel'', 16 April 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2025 She says in the documentary: Zimmerman studied at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. When she arrived at the university in 2009, she was involved with the pro-Israel advocacy group

American Israel Public Affairs Committee The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. It is one of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the ...

(AIPAC) and was later the national leader of the anti- occupation group, the J Street U before co-founding IfNotNow. As of July 2019, Zimmerman was the Director of B'Tselem USA, a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that documents

human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Upbringing and activism

Simone Zimmerman was raised in a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She attended a Jewish day school and participated in cultural and religious programs that emphasized a strong connection to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Zimmerman later lived in Israel for a period as part of an exchange program, where her engagement with the country deepened. She gained prominence as an activist advocating for

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

rights and a critical reassessment of the American Jewish community’s relationship with Israel. Initially active in mainstream Jewish organizations like the

(AIPAC), Zimmerman became disillusioned with what she viewed as a one-sided portrayal of the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict Israelis (; ) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Jews and Arabs, who respectively account for 75 percent and 20 percent of the national figure, followed by other ethnic and ...

. Her involvement with the Jewish progressive group IfNotNow, which challenges Israeli policies and advocates for an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories, solidified her reputation as a leader in the Jewish left.New documentary argues some young Jewish Americans – including the directors themselves – have been raised in a system that demands pro-Israel activism
The Guardian, 12 November 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2025 She has criticized pro-Israel lobbying organizations like AIPAC, arguing that they push a narrative that discourages critical dialogue about Israel. She has spoken out about how many Jewish schools and institutions promote unconditional support for Israel while marginalizing voices that advocate for Palestinian rights. Her story is featured in ''Israelism'', a documentary that examines the indoctrination of young American Jews into pro-Israel activism and highlights individuals who undergo political transformations after engaging with Palestinian perspectives. In the film, Zimmerman describes her realization of the complexities and contradictions in the narrative she grew up with and her eventual shift toward activism for Palestinian rights. Her views have drawn both praise and criticism. Critics, including some within the Jewish community, view her activism as overly critical of Israel, while supporters see her as part of a broader movement advocating for justice and human rights. Her participation in protests, including sit-ins at pro-Israel organizations, and her criticism of the Birthright Israel program, have been central to her activism.

Establishing IfNotNow

Simone Zimmerman's perspective on Israel shifted at the University of California, Berkeley, where she encountered Palestinian students sharing personal accounts of their experiences during a heated debate over a divestment resolution. Realizing the absence of meaningful responses from her own community to these testimonies, Zimmerman started questioning the dominant narratives she had long accepted. Her journey toward activism intensified after a visit to Israel in 2013, where she witnessed firsthand the impact of occupation in

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

, particularly in

Sheikh Jarrah Sheikh Jarrah (, ) is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, north of the Old City, on the road to Mount Scopus. It received its name from the 13th-century tomb of Hussam al-Din al-Jarrahi, a physician of Saladin, located ...

where Palestinian families faced brutal evictions. In 2014, Zimmerman co-founded IfNotNow, a movement of young American Jews advocating for an end to U.S. support for Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. The group emerged as a response to the

2014 Gaza War The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge (, ), and Battle of the Withered Grain (), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since ...

and challenged mainstream Jewish institutions, such as AIPAC and the Anti-Defamation League, for their unconditional support of Israeli policies. IfNotNow organized protests and sit-ins, demanding accountability from American Jewish leaders and institutions that, in their view, ignored Palestinian suffering. Zimmerman's activism brought her both support and backlash; she was labeled anti-Israel and self-hating by critics, while gaining a following among young Jews disillusioned with the traditional pro-Israel stance of American Jewish organizations. Zimmerman’s advocacy gained national attention in 2016 when she was briefly appointed as the Jewish outreach coordinator for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. However, past social media posts in which she criticized Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

led to her suspension from the campaign, highlighting the controversy surrounding her outspoken stance. Despite the backlash, Zimmerman continued her activism, and her story became emblematic of a generational shift within the American Jewish community. Through her public work, Zimmerman has played a key role in reshaping the Western conversation on Israel-Palestine, urging Jewish communities to confront difficult truths and advocate for justice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmerman, Simone Rimmon 1990 births Living people University of California, Berkeley alumni Activists from Los Angeles American Jews Jewish American activists for Palestinian solidarity American activists for Palestinian solidarity