I’m a Zionist

I’m a Zionist. A lot of people are afraid to admit that nowadays, especially in liberal circles where Zionists are often being made to feel unwelcome.

But what does it mean to be a Zionist?

Let me start with what it does NOT mean to be a Zionist.

Being a Zionist does not mean I hate Palestinians.

Being a Zionist does not mean I have no empathy for the suffering in Gaza.

Being a Zionist does not mean I favor expelling all Palestinians, or that I like Trump’s plan to turn Gaza into “Mar-a-Gaza.”

Being a Zionist does not mean I support the extremist settlers in the West Bank who are attacking Palestinians and destroying their property.

Being a Zionist (and an Israeli) does not make me a colonialist. The Jews are one of the indigenous peoples of the land of Israel. You can’t colonize your home. But note they are one of the indigenous peoples, not the only one.

So what DO I mean when I say I’m a Zionist?

Being a Zionist means I believe Jews have a right to a national homeland in the state of Israel.

My Zionism is grounded in Israel’s Declaration of Independence:

THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open to the immigration of Jews from all countries of their dispersion; will promote the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; will be based on the precepts of liberty, justice and peace taught by the Hebrew Prophets; will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of race, creed or sex; will guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education and culture; will safeguard the sanctity and inviolability of the shrines and Holy Places of all religions; and will dedicate itself to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

There is no room in my Zionism to rule over another people. I support a Palestinian state, or some other alternative where Palestinians have equal rights.

The Zionism I believe in is one where Israel lives up to the vision of Isaiah, that Israel should be a light to the nations.

The Zionism I believe is one that lives up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence – which is not where Israel is today. An Israel where there is no discrimination against “the other,” whether the other is Muslim, Christian, Druze, or a Jew of a different flavor, such as Reform or Conservative, or secular. An Israel where the ultra-Orthodox serve in the IDF like everyone else, and they don’t get government handouts to sit around and and study Torah. An Israel where the ultra-Orthodox do not have a monopoly on things such as kosher and weddings.

Israel is a work in progress. Sometimes, like now, it feels like it is drifting further away from the vision of the founders of the state. But I pray, and given an opportunity, will vote, to bring that vision to reality.