10 | NOVEMBER 4 • 2021 

PURELY COMMENTARY

continued from page 4

race and subverting peo-
ple of color (among other 
things). 
We’ve been blamed 
for plagues, famine, eco-
nomic hardship and war. 
Whatever major problem 
a society has, Jews have 
been blamed for it. None 
of those things has any-
thing to do with religion.
Criticism of Israel 
or opposition to it isn’t 
necessarily antisemitic. 
Harsh criticism of Israeli 
government policy may 
make us uncomfortable 
but isn’t antisemitic. But the Sunrise DC 
statement wasn’t about policy. By attack-
ing “Zionist organizations” in a voting 
rights coalition and saying that they can’t 
participate in in a coalition that includes 
them, Sunrise DC basically said it won’t 
work alongside Jewish organizations (or 
Jews) that believe the State of Israel has 
the right to exist. 

THE RIGHT TO EXIST
For the average Jew, Zionism has 
become simply the idea that Israel has 
the right to exist, rather than an embrace 
of the policies of its government. The 
Zionist movement got its name in the 
late 19th century, but it really put a label 
on a 2,000-year-old yearning to return 
to the native land Jews were violently 
forced out of (in an act of colonization). 
That yearning grew over time as we 
failed to find sustained peace and securi-
ty elsewhere, including in Europe, North 
Africa and the broader Middle East. 
That’s why when people attack 
Zionists, we hear “Jews.” We hear them 
saying that the 80-90% of Jews who 
believe Israel has a right to exist are 
unacceptable, and that Israel, a country 
that came into existence with the vote 
of the international community and 
today is home to 7 million Jews, must be 
ended. 
Why is that antisemitism? First, it sin-
gles out Jews when most people believe 
Israel has the right to exist. (In fact, 85% 
of the general public in America believes 
the statement “Israel does not have a 
right to exist” is antisemitic, according 
to a survey released this week.) 
Second, it seeks to deny Jewish people 
the right to self-determination by eras-
ing our peoplehood and connection to 

the land. 
Third, it declares that a national 
movement for Jews is uniquely unac-
ceptable, while at the same time advo-
cating in support of another national 
movement. 
Fourth, it divides Jews into good and 
bad. Only those who oppose their own 
national movement can stay. Only Jews 
who reject Zionism are allowed. Replace 
“Jew” with any other group and ask if 
that would be acceptable. 
Even if you forswear coalitions with 
anyone, Jewish or not, who thinks Israel 
is legitimate, that still denies the Jewish 
people’s right to self-determination. 
It says that Jews must be a perpetual 
minority on this earth subject to the 
whims and bigotries of the societies they 
live in. For thousands of years Jews tried 
that and failed to find permanent ref-
uge — which, fairly or not, is part of the 
reason most Jews believe in the right to, 
and need for, national self-determination 
in some portion of a contested land. 

PROGRESSIVES’ BIGOTRY
Sunrise DC wasn’t interested in the 
nature of their shunned Jewish allies’ 
support for Israel — even though 
each of the three groups, like most 
Jews in America, have advocated for a 
Palestinian state and for an end to pol-
icies by the government of Israel that 
harm the Palestinian people, including, 
but not limited to, the occupation of the 
West Bank.
Ultimately, only Jews get to define 
who and what we are and what antisem-
itism is. Too often in progressive spaces 
that right is denied to Jews. Instead, to 
justify their own positions, some rely on 
Jews whose voices, while relevant, are far 

from representative on the 
question of what constitutes 
antisemitism. If someone 
ignored the voices and lived 
realities of 80-90% of any 
other minority group, most 
progressives would quickly 
recognize that as an act of 
tokenization to shield bias-
es (or worse). 
Some who identify as 
progressive feel it’s OK to 
use the word “Zionist” to 
attack others, claiming that 
the word is not about Jews. 
I encourage everyone to go 
on far right-wing message 
boards on occasion. Once there, you’ll 
see how white supremacists typically 
call Jews Zionists. The prominence of 
the word, in connection with claims that 
they control the governments and are 
trying to replace white “patriots” with 
Black and brown “interlopers,” will stun 
you. 
While there is plenty of room for crit-
icism of Israeli government policy, there 
should be no room for the exclusionary, 
reductionist and dehumanizing language 
of white nationalists in progressive dis-
course on the topic, or the denial of the 
right for Jewish self-determination on 
this earth.
I believe in standing up for those who 
are attacked for the crime of being who 
they are as much as I believe in standing 
up for Jewish life. For me, this work is 
personal. 
Not because every issue affects me 
directly. But because I feel like I owe it to 
my grandfather. To Jews who were mur-
dered and never had a chance to live. To 
my peers here who face systemic racism 
and bigotry. 
And yes, because I believe “Never 
Again” isn’t just a slogan to hope for, but 
rather a mission to fight for. 

Oren Jacobson is the co-founder of Project Shema, 

which helps Jewish students, leaders, organizations 

and allies explore the difficult conversations sur-

rounding Israel and antisemitism. Previously, Oren 

served as national chapter development director 

for the New Leaders Council, growing NLC into the 

largest social justice-focused leadership develop-

ment organization in America. He holds a master’s 

degree in International Relations from the University 

of Chicago, a master’s in Economics and Policy 

Analysis from DePaul University and an MBA from 

Regis University.

Members of 
Sunrise DC

TWITTER/JNS

