'Zionism': Still a Grand Old Word

By GIL TROY

The Forward, THE IVORY TOWER, NOVEMBER 30, 2001

"You don't really want to call it that," some friends scoffed when I floated the title of my new book. "You know the word is problematic, it will turn people off," one explained. When I persisted, an Israeli friend suggested: "Maybe you'll have another edition with a different title, for a wider audience."

What's all the hand-wringing about? The book is called "Why I Am a Zionist: Israel, Jewish Identity, and the Challenges of Today." In this age of Oprah, the self-involved "I" in the title disturbed no one. The problematic word, alas, was "Zionist."

I could not imagine writing a book subtitled: "Israel, Jewish Identity and the Challenges of Today" without using the word "Zionist." To me, Zionism, meaning Jewish nationalism, is a source of pride. I am a Zionist because I recognize the centrality of Israel in the Jewish experience, because I know my history and embrace the concept of Jewish peoplehood and because I am a Jew.

Furthermore, one of the book's goals is to take back the word from its opponents. The quarter-century campaign to demonize Zionism is bearing its poisonous fruit. The U.N.'s anti-Semitic anti-racism conference in Durban, South Africa, was just one example of a daily disgorgement of anti-Zionism worldwide. This barrage of hate is often merely a thinly veiled update of good old-fashioned anti-Semitism.

The campaign has been depressingly effective. When I speak to Jewish groups these days, I like to play a game. I say "Zionism is..." and they say "racism," or they hesitate and each person struggles to find a positive term. Even for those of us who know Zionism isn't racism, our brains' synapses have been trained to fire in a most unfortunate way.

In 1975, when the United Nations passed its infamous resolution demonizing Zionism, good people everywhere rose up and shouted it down. In New York, Jews and non-Jews sported blue and white buttons proclaiming "I AM A ZIONIST." This campaign was so effective that some Zionists began wondering if the term wasn't becoming overused.

We should only have such troubles today. Too many Jews have, to one extent or another, internalized the criticism. Zionism, once the proud battle-standard, has become a source of division and embarrassment. Too many good people legitimize anti-Zionism because they dislike Israeli actions. Here emerges the insidious nature of the campaign. Criticism of the United States need not be anti-American. Why does criticism of Israel so often become anti-Zionist?

Dissent in a democracy should not entail negating the state's right to exist. Those who consider themselves anti-Zionists, rather than critics of this or that Israeli policy, implicitly accept the decades-long Arab campaign to undermine the very rationale of the Jewish state.

In fairness, Zionists must take some responsibility for this sad state of affairs. Overreacting to vicious threats, too many Zionists have adopted an all-or-nothing, with-us-or-against-us approach. Too many Jews have confused Zionism with 100% pro-Israelism, missing the visionary and complex nature of the Zionist movement. A small but vocal Israeli elite has even deemed itself post-Zionist, disdaining Zionist ideals despite benefiting from Zionism's achievements. And in response to a movement that has sometimes bred fanaticism and an organizational culture that too often bred political hacks, many American Jews have become apathetic non-Zionists.

Both friends and foes have inflicted damage. We need to take the term Zionism back from its enemies and from well-meaning but misguided fans. Zionist activists need to stop creating the false impression that Zionism is a monolithic movement marching in lockstep with the Israeli policy of the moment.

I am, however, an optimist. If Times Square can be reclaimed, so too can Zionism. In fact, Zionists have to follow their own playbook. Much of the late 19th-century Zionist revolution entailed resurrecting symbols, changing images and transforming negatives into positives. From the new cult of the Maccabees to the rediscovery of Masada, Zionists scoured Jewish history and found new, physically assertive, inspiring role models. Today, we need a similar reclamation project with the term Zionism itself.

At the recent General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities held in Washington, D.C., Barnes & Noble offered a huge display of Jewish books. Dozens of titles testified to the rich tapestry of Jewish life. There were cookbooks and prayer books, primers and polemics, books that were pro-Israel and books critical of Israel. Not one book, however, had the word "Zionist" in the title.

If my book has no other merits, at least it uses the word Zionist on its cover — and in a positive context. That is one small step in the long road to taking back the term from its enemies and its doubters. A century ago, Zionism revived pride in the label "Jew." Today, Jews must revive pride in the label "Zionist."