Which of these women may have to change her name to make it easier for others to pronounce, and which will probably not have to answer “where are your from?”, “no but where are you actually from?”, “which country are your parents from?”, “well, you know, your clearly not British (read white), so which country are you really from?”

On the underground journey home, which of these three women is most likely to suffer abuse of some sort? Which of these women feeds into the stereotypes and prejudices that our heritage media constantly encourages and promotes and which of these women is most likely to be the perfect victim, getting the most sympathy? Who might have people pushing her onto the tracks or yobs shouting “terrorist” at her?

Which of these women is most likely to get a place at a prestigious university without needing to change her name, or apply for a job knowing there won’t be any discrimination? Which of them is disproportionately discriminated against in hospitals with one 3.7 times more likely to die in childbirth because racism is systemic and many still believe that some bodies feel less pain than others due to their colour!

Which of these three is most likely to be cast as the lead in next seasons theatre production? Which is more likely to be the lead anchor on your favourite news channel or radio show? Which of them might cause a rapture on social media when they are cast as the next Dr Who or lead in Star Wars? Which might you have never seen on your screen in a lead role?

If trauma is generational, which of these women might carry the horrors of her ancestors? Who decides which genocide, or famine has the greatest impact: The Ethiopian Famine which killed one third of the countries population, The Indian famine of 1896–1897, which killed approximately 10 million people, the 1 million who died in the potato famine of 1845-52 in Ireland or the Great Chinese Famine of 1959 to 1962 which is estimated to have killed between 15 to 55 million people! Whose history do we remember and whose have we yet to recognise and acknowledge our own part in?

When one of these women experiences the loss of a child through unimaginable violence, who gets a full page coverage and headline news on every channel and who gets hardly any? Who gets to fly the flag of her country and who is still fighting to have hers recognised? (although it exists and has existed even in literature, history and religious texts for centuries!)

Which of these women come from cultures and languages that are full of artistry and flare yet have no words for “antisemitism” because it has never been or never was a disease of their hearts. A disease concocted in Europe, and spread throughout the West. Yet whose bodies always pay the price for the crimes of empire, imperialism and colonialism?

Which of these three women do beauty ideals across the globe attempt to mirror? Whose fine features and pale skin are multi-billion pound industries using cheap toxic chemicals encouraging us all to emulate? Whose cultures and clothes are appropriated whilst also being disapproved on their own bodies. Who might be banned from employment in public office in Europe whilst wearing her scarf yet fashion houses are applauded for parading models in their versions.

Which of these women will instantly and always be recognized as other? Generation after generation of her family have lived, contributed and sacrificed on these shores, but the pigmentation of her skin will always tell those claiming to be colourblind, that she doesn’t belong here. There are multiple intersectionality’s with each of these women, but on face value, which of them are at risk of being considered outsiders?

Tell me all the possible endings to this “joke”? Which of these women faces the most discrimination? Of all the variables possible, who faces the least? And who is the most protected. The coffee shop can be anywhere in the world, racism is institutional and its long arms reach into every crevice. We still hear monkey chants at football games and the N word hurled at peaceful protesters. Just this week, following local elections, Twitter (or X) was lit up with Islamophobic comments from counsellors to media personalities, with no consequences, because Muslim Sadiq Khan (who I didn’t vote for) was re-elected for a historic third term as London Mayor. What was the consequence to Frank Hester who claimed “looking at Diane Abbott makes you want to hate all black women”?

The only kind of racism that appears to be taken seriously in the UK seems to be antisemitism whilst other forms of racism are continuously gaslit as banter, free speech and political correctness. However, when you look into those who are most aghast by antisemitism you’ll notice it’s primarily Zionists. The weaponizing of antisemitism, is often done by people who hold very problematic views themselves. It’s not surprising then, that the form of discrimination that largely impacts white people is the only one that is actually deemed a threat. What is even more telling is that in America, more white evangelical Christians believe that Israel was promised to the Jews by God (82% vs. 40%) than Jewish people, according to Pew Research. Furthermore Evangelical Christians make up a sizable part of Republicans with people like Donald Trump and Nikki Haley working hard to appease these voters. Figures like Pastor John Hagee have huge influence over the Republican party due to the 11 million members of his Christians United for Israel (CUFI) group. To put that in context, this Christian Zionist group has more members than there are Jews in America. Pastor Hagee, much like Donald Trump, has a history of making antisemitic remarks including calling Hitler a “half-breed Jew” who was sent by God to drive the Jewish people to Israel. And yet none other than Benjamin Netanyahu said “Pastor Hagee, I want to thank you for your enduring, tremendous support. For decades you’ve been leading the effort to strengthen support for Israel from within the Christian community,” when addressing a CUFI summit in 2019.

Equating Zionism to Judaism is an absolute farce and a distraction which dilutes the true and abhorrent nature of antisemitism, which we know is a malady of Europe and white supremacy. There is a reason why neo-Nazi rallies in America and Europe, are allowed to march “peacefully” whilst students, many of whom are Jewish, protesting a genocide are faced with the full force of state violence. Zionism in Britain is argued to predate Jewish Zionism by Gershon Shafir who says: that British Christian Zionism pre-dated practical Jewish Zionism and helped to ensure that, by the First World War, British imperial interests were woven into a narrative of Jewish return, creating ‘the political category into which Jews fitted themselves’ and ensuring that Jews were the only political community in Palestine to be recognised in the Balfour Declaration.

We are currently facing the possibility of not being able to call out Zionism as a settler colonial ideology because apparently that too is antisemitic, even though its a political ideology that was developed around 1897. Comparing the tactics of the Israeli state to the Nazi’s is potentially antisemitic. Even the International Criminal Court (ICC) have been called antisemitic for suggesting that arrest warrants could be issued for Israeli leaders for their part in this horrific genocide. To use antisemitism in this way, to shut down any debate or criticism of a state, is a very dangerous precedence. As many people have stated, the Palestinian people didn’t choose their oppressors and their occupiers. And as Jewish group Jewish Voices for Peace have said, “Falsely stating that anti-Zionism is antisemitism conflates all Jews with the Israeli state and endangers our communities.” Zionism doesn’t represent Judaism, but it does represent imperial ambitions and it feeds off colonialism and white supremacy.

The fight against racism, in all of its ugly forms is real. Allowing the most powerful in our societies to dictate the terms of what that fight looks like will result in the crushing of our civil liberties and rights. White supremacy is an imperial and intrinsically violent, genocidal ideology. Zionism and setter colonialism, form the backbone of Israeli defence and protection across the global north. That’s why the rich and powerful in these societies will do everything to protect it, including these insidious attempts to divide us. In an ideal world, a white woman, a black woman and a hijabi should be able to walk into any situation and have equal access to all spaces. We know we are far from the ideal world, but its important we keep striding in that direction, with our eyes open, and recognise the racism and other forms of discrimination and inequalities around us.