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Zionism Is Judaism: The Cowardice of Cloaked Antisemitism

by Ram ben Ze’ev


Zionism Is Judaism: The Cowardice of Cloaked Antisemitism
Zionism Is Judaism: The Cowardice of Cloaked Antisemitism

There is a growing trend among those who oppose the existence of מדינת ישראל to claim that their views are not antisemitic, because they “only” oppose Zionism. They insist that being “anti-Zionist” is not the same as being “anti-Jewish.” But this is a falsehood — not just politically, but theologically. The separation of Jews from Zionism is not only a modern invention; it is a distortion that is fundamentally antithetical to the תורה, to Jewish identity, and to Jewish destiny.


To be Jewish is not merely to observe religious customs or hold a Jewish surname. A Jew is someone born to a Jewish mother or one who has converted according to הלכה and who lives as a Jew — observing תורה, keeping שבת, affirming the יג עיקרי האמונה, and for men, performing ברית מילה. But beyond this, a Jew is bound eternally to the Land of ישראל, as promised by G-D Himself to אברהם, יצחק, and יעקב.


As it is written:

ונתתי לך ולזרעך אחריך את ארץ מגוריך


“I will give to you and to your seed after you the land of your sojournings” (בראשית יז:ח)


The covenant with אברהם was not symbolic; it was physical, territorial, and eternal. To deny the Jewish people their inheritance in the Land is to oppose not merely a state, but the Word of G-D.



Zionism Is Torah in Action

Zionism is not a political ideology; it is the expression of a Divine promise. It is the longing expressed by Jews in every תפלה, in every ברכה, in every מצוה tied to the Land. Our yearning to return to ציון is not nationalism. It is קדושה.


As the prophet ישעיהו declares:


כי מציון תצא תורה ודבר ה׳ מירושלם


“For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of the L-RD from Jerusalem” (ישעיהו ב:ג)

The centre of spiritual truth — and ultimately, redemption — is located in ציון. To reject Zionism is to reject the very axis upon which the mission of the Jewish people turns.


The Holy Zohar: Exile and Redemption Are One Chain

The Holy Zohar teaches that exile is a concealment of the שכינה, the Divine Presence — and that redemption is the return of that Presence to its rightful dwelling in ציון. In the Holy Zohar (ויקרא צגא), it is written:


בגין דעם קדישא לית ליה מנחו עד דייתי לארעא דישראל


“For the holy nation has no rest until it returns to the Land of Israel”


This is not a marginal idea. It is the essence of גאולה. The separation of a Jew from ציון is a spiritual dismemberment. The attempt to divide the Jew from Zionism is an act of spiritual violence.



Tanya: The Collective Soul of the Jewish People

In תניא, the Alter Rebbe explains (אגרת הקודש, אגרת יד) that the Jewish people are not individuals joined by culture, but a single soul rooted in Divine unity. When a Jew denies this unity — including the unity of people and land — he severs himself from the flow of Divine vitality. The soul of כלל ישראל is one flame, rooted in the Divine, and its presence in the Land of ישראל is a necessary condition of its fulfilment.


To oppose the Jewish people's return to ארץ ישראל is to rebel not only against history, but against the very spiritual structure of the world.


The Lie of "Anti-Zionism Is Not Antisemitism"

Those who insist they “only” oppose Zionism but “support Jews” are deceiving others — or themselves. Their hatred of the Jewish nation cloaked in political jargon is an ancient hatred reborn in modern garb. They object to the Law of Return not because it is unjust, but because it asserts that Jews belong — and belong somewhere specific. They object to Jewish self-defence because they do not believe Jews deserve to defend themselves.


Their “anti-Zionism” is not brave. It is not righteous. It is cowardice — a rhetorical trick that allows them to indulge in their hatred while pretending to stand for justice. It is the whisper of פרעה reborn:


הבה נתחכמה לו פן ירבה


“Let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply…” (שמות א:י)


Conclusion: To Be Jewish Is to Be Bound to Zion

The Jew is bound to ציון not because of modern politics, but because G-D bound us to it. The separation of Jew from Zionism is a heresy against תורה, a betrayal of history, and an insult to Jewish destiny.



Let us be clear: To hate Zionism is to hate the return of the שכינה. To hate ישראל is to hate the covenant. To oppose the Jewish nation’s right to exist in its G-D-given land is not opposition to a policy; it is rebellion against G-D Himself.


We must never allow the enemies of ישראל to define our language or fracture our people.


There is no Judaism without ציון. There is no Jew who is not bound to the covenant of the Land.


As it is written:


ארץ אשר עיני ה׳ אלקיך בה מרשית השנה ועד אחרית שנה


“A land which the eyes of the L-RD your G-D are upon from the beginning of the year to the end of the year” (דברים יא:יב)


We are not visitors. We are home.


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