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Some Jewish leaders call for retiring the term ‘Zionism’. {Washington Post 17 September}
FTA: Some of Israel’s strongest critics see the term “Zionism,” and the Jewish state itself, as inherently oppressive and undemocratic. For them, the debate over whether the Jewish community should use the term is more of a public relations issue.
“It’s not substantive, it’s very cosmetic. It’s not about rethinking: Can an ethno-state be democratic?’” said Rabbi Alissa Wise, a longtime activist for Palestinian rights and founding director of Rabbis for Ceasefire, which began after the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023 and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza. “In this moment, Zionism means one thing and it means the policy of Jewish supremacy in Israel.”
But for other Jewish leaders, the word and the movement remain a core part of what it means to be Jewish.
Rabbi Loren Sykes, leader of Mercaz, the Zionist part of Conservative Judaism, said the word means simply “the right of self-determination of the Jewish people in our ancient homeland.”
“We refuse to concede the term to those on the extremes who seek to define it in terms of Jewish supremacy,” he said in a statement. Zionism “does not mean supporting a particular government, party, or policy; rather, it requires only supporting the existence of Israel.”
Zionism has always had many definitions and aims. Some religious Zionists saw it as the Jewish yearning in the Bible for Jerusalem. Secular Zionists defined it as Jewish self-determination, freedom and the desire to be masters of their own destiny. The right-wing movement in control of Israel today sees the expansion of Jewish control into the West Bank as a demonstration of Zionism.
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