mobilize
Much of the Jewish community remains paralyzed in the face of the growing antizionist movement. Jewish organizations often lack a clear understanding of what antizionism actually is — a coherent ideology with its own history, structure, and mechanics. As a result, they underestimate its scale and danger, hesitate to name it as the primary driver of contemporary anti-Jewish hostility, and continue to treat it as legitimate political criticism that sometimes “crosses a line” into antisemitism.
Key problems include:
Avoidance of the word “antizionism” — Persistent reluctance or fear of naming it directly, defaulting instead to calling everything “antisemitism,” or softening it with vague terms like “rising tensions,” “geopolitical controversy,” “inflammatory rhetoric,” or “community divisions.”
Confusing and contradictory messaging — Alternating between contradictory statements like “antizionism is antisemitism” and “antizionism can cross a line into antisemitism,” instead of presenting antizionism clearly as a distinct ideological movement with its own history, libels, and mechanisms of proxy targeting.
Silence on antizionism’s history and nature — Heavy focus on endlessly defining “Zionism” or “defending Israel,” while providing almost no education about antizionism’s Soviet origins, Middle Eastern development, core libels, or its documented trail of harm.
Over-reliance on technocratic approaches — Treating the fight against antizionism primarily as a marketing and public relations challenge, relying heavily on data, polling, and PR-style approaches, rather than pursuing moral clarity, cultural activism, and sustained public education required to shift culture and institutions.
Failure to listen to those on the ground — Difficulty incorporating the insights of younger Jews who have direct experience in left-academic and activist spaces, while often receiving community criticism or feedback as an unfair personal attack rather than as legitimate input from accountable institutions capable of growth.
The path forward is clear. Our institutions have the resources, reach, and moral responsibility to lead. They must place the fight against antizionism at the center of their work — by naming it openly and honestly, educating the Jewish community and the public about it, and mobilizing their resources to counter it as a systemic form of anti-Jewish hostility.
help them make the shift
One of the most effective ways to fight antizionism is to push our institutions to make a decisive pivot: place antizionism at the very center of their mission, move beyond outdated frameworks, and confront it head-on as the coherent, organized hate movement it truly is.
Contact leadership directly — Call, email, and request meetings with your local synagogue, federation, school board, university administration, or national Jewish organizations.
Demand clear positions — Ask them to publicly name antizionism as a hate ideology, not “criticism of Israel,” and to adopt policies that treat it with the same seriousness as other forms of bigotry.
Build internal pressure — Speak up at board meetings, community forums, and membership events. Encourage others in your community to do the same.
Use public and social pressure — Post publicly about organizational silence or paralysis. Share clear, principled messages on social media tagging relevant organizations.
Form or join advocacy groups — Collective voices carry more weight. Coordinate with others to send joint letters, petitions, or campaign for policy changes.
Target both Jewish and non-Jewish institutions — Universities, companies, unions, media outlets, and governments also need to be pushed to reject antizionism.
Real change occurs when institutions — local, regional, and national — feel consistent, principled pressure from the community. Your voice and persistence truly matter. Silence from the top will only break when enough of us refuse to stay silent at the bottom. Start today by choosing one organization and reaching out. Steady, respectful, and firm engagement is how we move these bodies from paralysis into meaningful action.