Zionism Is an Identity, Not an Argument: Re-Examining Our Roles as Parents and Teachers

Antisemitism is deadly. As German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt observed, “antisemitism almost always leads to the murder of Jews.” Some counter this hatred by starting a civil rights movement to end Jewish hatred or by taking antisemites to court. Yet, the often-unrecognized work of parents and teachers in fighting Jew-hatred is essential to tackling the crisis that allows antisemitism to flourish. 

If you are reading this and are a parent or a teacher at a Jewish school with an Israel flag displayed proudly for all to see, it should be concerning when our kids think Zionism has very little to do with them as Jews. How did this happen? Keep on reading. In talking to several students, both in public and private schools, about the recent attack and murder of two individuals at a Jewish museum in Washington D.C., a few Jewish students expressed that they believe the attack may have been motivated by politics and not antisemitism. Their evidence? The shooter’s inability to separate Judaism from Zionism as evidence that they are distinct. Their insistence that this attack was not motivated by hatred of Jews, of course, unearths a corollary conversation: what is Zionism?  

If you are reading this and are a parent or a teacher at a Jewish school with an Israeli flag displayed proudly for all to see, it should be concerning when our kids think Zionism has very little to do with them as Jews. How did this happen? 

If you ask a Jewish person to define Zionism, almost always they will say this: Zionism is the belief that Jews should have their own state in what is currently Israel, or that Zionism is a movement that celebrates the self-determination of the Jewish people to have a homeland. Focusing solely on its 19th-century roots, we continue to impart onto the younger generation that Zionism is a “political movement or belief in the idea that Jewish people deserve a state in what is currently Israel.”  

But somewhere along the way, something essential was left out: Zionism as an expression of Jewish identity. It isn’t about subscribing to a belief system or holding a particular ideology. Zionism is what moves a Jew to wear a necklace with the map of Israel, just like when they wear a Star of David. It’s why Jewish day schools or synagogues fly the Israeli flag year-round. It’s the reason Jewish kids take Birthright trips to the Jewish homeland. Zionism is the lived expression of the Jewish people’s destiny: Israel. Zion is tied to the Torah, just as Shabbat is tied to the Torah. 

The phenomenon of Jewish students who believe Zionism has very little to do with them as Jews has to be concerning to parents and our Jewish schools, and even more so to those schools who make a point of calling themselves “Zionist” schools. Elsewhere, I have written about this phenomenon, that long before Oct. 7, Jewish anti-Zionist organizations such as J Street and IfNotNow were started by Jewish individuals who attended and graduated from Jewish day schools. In sum, something is not right if a Jewish person believes Zionism has little to do with their Jewish identity. 

So, what to say to a Jewish student who believes that the attack in Washington D.C. is about Gazans dying? This: 

Regarding the notion that the shooter’s inability to separate Judaism from Zionism is evidence that they are distinct, the opposite is the case: the shooter’s conflation of the two suggests that Zionism is deeply intertwined with Judaism, not separate from it. To draw a parallel, consider a white supremacist attacking a Jew wearing a kippah because they see the kippah as a symbol of Judaism. It would be absurd to argue that their inability to separate Jewish practice (wearing a kippah) from Judaism itself means the two are unrelated. On the contrary, the attacker’s perception reflects the reality that the kippah is a visible expression of Jewish identity, just as Zionism — a movement rooted in Jewish self-determination and connection to the land of Israel through the Torah — is inseparable from the broader Jewish identity. The shooter’s conflation doesn’t prove a distinction; it underscores how Zionism is often an integral part of Jewish identity, both culturally and religiously.  

The argument that the shooter’s inability to separate Zionism from Judaism proves they are distinct falls apart under further scrutiny. Consider this: when individuals chant “Free Palestine” and then vandalize synagogues or attack Jews, they are not making a nuanced political statement — they are targeting Jews as a whole. Take, for example, the synagogues in Los Angeles that were defaced — even before Oct. 7. One of them is my own shul. Or the instance where “Free Gaza” was spray-painted on a sukkah in Manhattan, also before Oct. 7. Or why did classmates beat this Jewish boy as they yelled “F— Israel! It’s all your fault!” Or why was this Jewish student assaulted after his assailants chanted “Free Palestine”?  These acts make clear that for those committing them, Israel and Jews are inextricably linked. And while that conflation may be linked with antisemitism, it also reflects a truth: Zionism is deeply woven into Jewish identity.   

Consider why Jewish day schools across the country and in the Diaspora have an Israeli flag in their establishment. It is not to signal a position on Israel’s governance. Rather, it is to signal that Israel, much like any Jewish holiday or ritual, is core to being a Jew. It is the destiny of the Jewish people. How it is governed is a separate conversation. Zionism does not stipulate how the land shall be governed—only that the land was promised by Hashem to the Jews. Consider why droves of Jews, Jewish day schools and shuls attend the annual Israel Day Parade in Manhattan. Certainly, not because they are marching with the Likud or the Labor party. Rather, to proudly display and celebrate a core part of their identity. It is no different to Jews who wear a Star of David necklace or a map of Israel necklace—both display a part of their Judaism. Or rather, both signal to the world, “Hey, I want you to know that I am a Jew and these symbols I wear around my neck, the Star of David, the Chai, or the map of Israel—they are all a symbol of my Judaism.” 

But wait, I know what you may think, not all Jews support Zionism. In fact, there are some Jews who vocally oppose it. This is irrelevant. Most Jews in America do not observe Shabbat; most American Jews do not believe the Torah is significant to them; most American Jews do not wear a kippah. But few would disagree that demonizing Shabbat, destroying a Torah scroll, or stomping on a kippah is not an act of antisemitism. 

Further still, to those Jews who believe the attack on the couple in Washington, D.C. was motivated by political disagreement and not hatred of the Jews, know this: Antisemitism is a shapeshifting hatred. If we cannot identify the threat from all political parties, ideologies, and movements, we are in deep trouble. If I am unable to call a man who attacks a Jew after yelling “Jews will not replace us” an antisemite because I am co-opting antisemitism in order to vilify the political right, when am I able to identify harassment/ assault/ murder of a Jew as antisemitic?

I suppose in some perverted version of Holocaust revision, one could say that the Holocaust was not motivated by antisemitism but politics for after all, the issue was partly about how Jews were viewed as politically homeless (rootless cosmopolitans) and thus a threat to German nationhood. Similarly, someone could claim that Khmelnitsky’s massacres were not driven by Jew-hatred, but by political grievances over Jewish ties to the Polish nobility. I do hope our Jewish youth would reject each of these claims. 

If we only recognize antisemitism when it comes packaged in Nazi slogans like “Heil Hitler,” “judenrein,” or “Seig Heil,” but refuse to see it when someone deploys progressive language like “Zionist colonizer” or “Free Palestine” before physically attacking Jews, then we are complicit in using Jewish suffering for political ends by providing cover to antisemitism that comes from a political party or ideology we might favor. 

Finally, I want to leave you with two personal examples. The first comes from my mother’s experience when our family decided to leave the Soviet Union. One day, a coworker approached her and said, “I’m glad you’re leaving. You are all nothing but trouble. You’ve turned our workplace into a Zionist nest” (translated from Russian). In the Soviet Union, “Zionist” was a slur — a euphemism for Jew. My mother would often tell me, “Naya, when they say ‘Zionist,’ they mean ‘Jew.’ 

The second example, which only reinforces the first, is from my time living in California. I used to attend Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) events at UCLA and the Claremont Colleges, going undercover, so to speak, to observe how far antisemitic language could be pushed. At one such session, I deliberately used the word “Jew” instead of “Zionist” to make a provocative statement. The student leading the event praised my comment, and the others snapped for approval. But then she added, “Just be careful how you talk. In here, it’s a safe space and we all know ‘Jew’ is what we mean — but outside, say ‘Zionist’ instead.” 

We are at a critical inflection point in terms of how we teach our students and kids about what it means to be a Jew. We may continue to invest vast sums in fighting antisemitism through legal battles or public protests. However, the significance of a child asking about Zionism or a classroom discussion about the term should not be underestimated. And when that moment arises, avoid getting caught up in rigid definitions. Instead, seize the opportunity to explore what it means to be Jewish and why Israel is integral to our identity. In essence, align Zionist values with Jewish values.

Naya Lekht is currently the Education Editor for White Rose Magazine and a Research Fellow for the Institute for Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy.