Being Jewish and branded as a “Zio” means you must oppose Anti-Zionism in order to oppose Anti-Semitism.
In a Wall Street Journal essay, the piece describes how anti-Zionism reshaped a stance into Zionism.
On the ground, activist anti-Zionism increasingly resembles antisemitism. Regardless of the words chosen or the supposed distinctions claimed by proponents, the shorthand that links opposition to Israel with hostility toward Jews is too straightforward, too habitual for public figures to evade responsibility for the rhetoric that enables it. Instances such as a Jewish restaurant owner in Philadelphia being labeled “zio” and “disgusting humans,” a mural at a Jewish center in California being painted over with the message “Zionism is not welcome,” or signs at a Maryland synagogue defaced with the initials for the slogan “All Zionists Are Bastards” illustrate how the motifs of anti-Zionism quickly bleed into antisemitism.
I have arrived at a robust form of Zionism—because it provides the clearest means to oppose the activists, from both the left and the right, who pursue goals that stand in stark opposition to the American spirit. A passage from a 1790 communication to a Jewish congregation by George Washington is often cited: toleration should not be treated as a privilege granted to one class of people at the expense of others’ fundamental rights. The government of the United States, which withholds sanction from bigotry and withholding assistance to persecution, merely asks those under its protection to conduct themselves as good citizens and to sustain the nation’s founding principles with steadfast support.
This viewpoint does not entail unquestioning agreement with every Israeli government action. Rather, it argues that today’s form of activist anti-Zionism would transform the United States into a country that differs radically from what Washington envisioned.
As long as antisemitism is cloaked in anti-Zionist rhetoric, Americans have a clear obligation: when Jews are singled out for being Jewish, the moment’s solidarity requires us to step forward as Zionists.
