A Ray of Zionist Hope on a College Campus

This past November, I received a call inviting me to teach a class, “Zionist Ideas,” at Loyola Marymount University.

I often speak from the pulpit about the lack of Zionism on the college campus.

I created the Sinai Temple Israel Center Rabbinical School Fellowship in 2021, working closely with rabbinical students across all denominations in exploring the many facets of Zionism.

Yet, I feared stepping into the college classroom. I lacked the stamina to fight with college students who sought to cancel “the Z word.”

Fortunately, my intuition won, and I became a Professor of Zionist Ideas.

We studied the original thinkers of political, labor, cultural, religious, revisionist and Diaspora Zionism.

As we read from Gil Troy’s “The Zionist Ideas,” we heard from speakers engaging with these ideas in real time – prominent rabbis, leading Christian pastors, Israelis in AI, exiled Gazans speaking out against Hamas, IDF veterans and Hollywood producers engaged in telling Israel’s story.

To begin, we did not define Zionism.

Instead, we defined home.

On the first class, I asked the students which definition they connected with most.

Home-

1. Where you were born.

2. Where you find spiritual connection.

3. Where you live.

4. Where you collectively connect to a people.

We studied Yossi Klein Halevi’s “Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor,” distinguishing between longing for a home, and needing a home.

This was not a class on Israel-Palestine.

This was a class on Zionism — its many definitions, and the people involved in defining it.

After we defined Zionism ­— the right for the Jewish people to self-determination in their ancient homeland — a student raised his hand and asked, “What would be the problem with that?”

We created a space for open conversation and debate and, ultimately, a love of Zionism in all its forms.

Zionist thinker by Zionist thinker, we explored Israel’s Declaration of Independence, Theodor Herzl and Golda Meir, Ruth Wisse and Elie Wiesel, Rav Kook and Yeshayahu Leibowitz. We examined the Jewish narrative of hope that created a miracle never seen before while acknowledging the beauty and the warts that are present together.

Over the semester, Zionist ideas became a reality. We asked ourselves what would Herzl say about Tucker Carlson’s interview with Ambassador Mike Huckabee?

What would Ben-Gurion say to LeBron James at the NBA All Star game when he told the press that he heard good things about Israel? What would Jabotinsky say to Javier Bardem’s call to Free Palestine at the Oscars? What would Golda Meir say about the outbreak of the current Iran-U.S.-Israel war?

How can a college student who has only heard the word “Zionism” on social media as evil answer these questions?

There is only one way: learn, ask questions and receive answers.

We concluded the semester with a one-question oral final. “Why did you take this class?”

A Persian Muslim student who spends her summers in Iran and witnessed the ballistic missiles flying over her head to Israel last summer, recently found out her grandfather was born Jewish and adopted by a Muslim family. She wanted to rediscover her roots.

A student with a Jewish father and Japanese mother learned about the Law of Return and now feels compelled to be part of the Zionist conversation.

An Israeli student who has lived most of her life in the United States explained she never knew so many forms of Zionism existed and she was now comfortable talking to her friends instead of hiding her identity.

A Hindu student whose family contributed humanitarian aid to Gaza last summer, who traveled to Israel and had no knowledge or understanding of where he was now wants to be philanthropically involved with Zionist causes.

American Jewish students who had Hebrew school educations and could say “Am Yisrael Chai” but could not tell you the difference between Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, were ready to become active Jews on the college campus.

A Russian Jew whose parents were denied Jewish upbringings under Soviet rule, told me he is a proud Oct. 8 Jew.

Students began questioning the Tik Tok reels they were learning from, and asking questions of clarity and curiosity.

During the final exam, I had the same fear as when I started; perhaps this class confirmed their preconceived notions of what they had known of Zionism.

To my delight, I found the exact opposite.

Not one student told me Zionism must be thrown away.

Not one student defined Zionism as a colonial, apartheid, genocide state.

Instead, each student spoke intelligently about the achievements and challenges of the Zionism that they connected with most.

While the final exam tested the student’s comprehension of Zionism, I also learned lessons that are worth sharing.

1. Over half the class had never heard of Zionism before this class. If they did, social media told them Zionism was bad for the world. Forget trying to identify Yitzhak Rabin and Menachem Begin. They had to define the word “Zionism.” Unpacking an 18-second reel took an entire semester.

2. Jewish students are unaware of their own history and afraid to engage in Zionist conversations for fear of not knowing the facts. They did not have the facts to decipher truth from untruth.  This class gave them the confidence to be part of the conversation.

3. We live in our own bubbles. I am grateful to serve a community that takes great pride in all the complexities of Israel and Zionism. The college campus is a different bubble. When students are given a space to learn with vulnerability, humility, and honest conversations, challenges can become opportunities. We do no service “preaching to the choir.” We must leave our comfort zones, ask difficult questions, and through it all demonstrate a love for our people and the land.

4. Small impacts make significant differences. One Southeast Asian student told me at the final he had an apology. Growing up, the media portrayed the Jews as evil. After a semester studying together, he said how much he appreciated Achad Ha’am’s cultural Zionism, how a people for thousands of years could maintain their hope to return home. He is going to graduate and return home to a place with no Jews but he will now have a story to tell about a people he now knows and admires.

The semester has concluded but a fire burns inside me.

We must applaud Loyola Marymount University.

In a moment where it is easy to skip the difficult conversations, LMU created the conversation, inspired young minds to learn and, ultimately, to teach.

In a world where encampments, boycotts and student government protests of released hostages make headlines, we must focus on students who want to learn, engage and become bridge builders.

As Hillel asked, “If not now, when?”

The time is now.

Zionist rabbis around the country must partner with great Jesuit universities to offer Zionist Ideas as a core curriculum option.

We must share our love and Zionism expertise, as we can shape the next generation on the college campus.

I am so glad I answered that call to teach those students starving to learn. There are no more excuses.

Let all who are hungry come and eat.

Let the rabbis feed them.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Rabbi Erez Sherman is Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple.