‘Zionist’ became an insult some years ago, but I only experienced it personally after 7 October. After expressing my horror about the barbaric terrorist attack, I was called a ‘Zionist’. At first, naïvely, I didn’t realise it was an insult. Repetition, disdain and anger hammered the point home.
Next week, on Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, Israel turns 76 and so it is the perfect time to announce that I am a Zionist. I am not a Jew and have never visited Israel (I must put that right soon) but it has always seemed obvious to me that Jews deserve a country of their own in their historic homeland. I vigorously object to the idea that it is insulting to believe this. In fact, it should be the mainstream position of any right-thinking and compassionate person with an ounce of historical knowledge.
Accusers who liberally brandish the term ‘Zionist’ as an insult appear to be under the sway of a psychological tendency known as the ‘devil shift’, which is the attempt to frame your opponents as particularly wicked and powerful. In other words, if someone holds a competing ideological perspective, they are as evil as the devil himself. The wider the gap between you, the more evil they are. This is why Zionism is called a ‘cancer’ and it is why I have been called a Zionist, Mossad agent and Freemason by detractors - if I stand against antisemitism and express support for Israel in these febrile times it marks me out (in their imagination) as the member of a powerful, dangerous cabal or foot-soldier of shadowy intelligence services. It’s utter nonsense.
The Israeli army was unprepared for the atrocious assault on 7 October, and we saw what can happen to unsuspecting Jews without the backup of an army - more Jews were killed in one day than on any other since the Holocaust. Since then, antisemitism has skyrocketed. Schools have been threatened and vandalised. Holocaust memorials have been shrouded for their own ‘safety’. The German ‘Anne Frank’ kindergarten was renamed because it was ‘too political’. People march weekly around the world calling out genocidal slogans. Jewish students have been barred from campuses, derided and threatened. Israeli tourists needed police protection in Greece. It took eight weeks for UN Women to criticise the sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas. The Israeli Eurovision Song contestant has been confined to her hotel room after serious threats and booed in rehearsals. Hostage posters are torn down. The list goes on and on.
The recent invigoration of the world’s oldest hatred following one of the worst acts of terrorism of our lives proves the need for the State of Israel to exist. Not to mention hundreds of years of violence, discrimination, pogroms and the Holocaust.
Jake Wallis Simons, in a tremendous new essay for British Friends of Israel, recalls a conversation between the first prime minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, and the American novelist Herman Wouk:
‘You must return here to live, this is the only place for Jews like you,’ the prime minister told him. ‘Here you will be free.’ Wouk was astounded. ‘Free?’ he replied. ‘With enemy armies ringing you, with their leaders threatening to wipe out the “Zionist entity”, with your roads impassable after sundown – free?’ Ben-Gurion retorted: ‘I did not say safe. I said free.’
Safety is fragile in Israel and was shattered on 7 October. This week I heard first-hand the testimony of several survivors of 7 October. Millet Ben Haim is a 28 year-old woman who hid in bushes for many hours after escaping a barrage of terrorists at the Nova Peace Festival. Mazal Tazazo is a 33 year-old Ethiopian Israeli social worker and architect who witnessed her friends being murdered. After enduring a serious head injury and her legs being bound, she managed to escape being taken as a hostage by playing dead. Remo Salman El-Hozayel is a 37 year-old Muslim Israeli Bedouin police officer who rescued hundreds of people from the Nova Peace Festival by repeatedly driving a car back into the murderous chaos, taking eight at a time. Nimrod Palmach is a 39 year-old business leader and IDF reservist who defied his Commander’s orders and drove south into the trouble, fought for 15 hours, and saved over 500 lives. As Nimrod said, when he woke up on 7 October, he did not know it was 7 October. They share their stories in a bid to create authentic connections with audiences who still deny the scale of atrocities.
Given the shrill complaints about Israeli colonist oppressors, I couldn’t help but notice these survivors don’t look the way they ‘should’ according to their accusers. Mazal is black. Remo is a Muslim Israeli Bedouin. The only ‘white’ Israeli among this group is Millet. And of course this reflects the true story of Israel which is home to a melting pot of Jews of Middle Eastern descent, Ashkenazi Jews from Europe, Ethiopian Jews, as well as Muslim Arab Israelis, Christians and Druze. Israel is a jewel in the Middle East; a miracle of democracy, multi-ethnicity and religious pluralism. It is a far cry from the mythical ‘apartheid state’ it is accused of being.
None of this reaches the tin-ears of Zionist-haters. Antisemitism has morphed into anti-Zionism and Israelophobia as it has been insinuated into the post-modernist ideological mind virus of decolonisation. As Jake Wallis Simons explains so well in his book Israelophobia, Jews are blamed for the social evils of their day, whether it is the ancient blood libel, capitalism, not being European enough or being too European, being vermin while also being secretly in charge of the world. Now they are accused of being colonialists and oppressors despite Israel exemplifying ‘decolonisation’.
Ruth, a Holocaust survivor who came to this country on the Kindertransport, told me, ‘Humans need a scapegoat and the Jews present a perfect hate object: there aren’t enough of them to be a threat and they don’t tend to behave threateningly. They are loaded with negative stereotypes that people project on to them.’
The Israeli government is not perfect, but there is no requirement to agree with all of its policies, now or in the past, to believe the State of Israel has the right to exist. No other country is expected to be ‘perfect’. No other country is threatened with annihilation in this way.
‘Zionist’ is not an epithet for evil. Far from being the cause of today's devil shift it should be the default label for all clear-sighted people.
Happy Birthday, Israel.
Respectfully, Laura, I strongly disagree. Judaism and Zionism are not the same thing; one is a faith while the other is a political ideology. Criticism directed towards Zionism shouldn't be conflated with criticism of Judaism and its people. It's important to note that not all Zionists are Jewish; there are Christian Zionists and supporters from various backgrounds. Therefore, opposition to Zionism doesn't equate to anti-Semitism; it's a rejection of a political ideology, not an attack on Judaism or Jewish people. It's crucial to recognize this diversity of perspectives to foster understanding and avoid misrepresentation.
Drawing a parallel, as a black man, I understand that being critical of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement doesn't automatically mean being anti-black people. Similarly, opposing Zionism doesn't equate to being anti-Jewish. Both cases involve distinguishing between a political ideology or movement and the people associated with it. It's important to acknowledge that individuals can hold differing views on political movements without those views reflecting their attitudes towards entire racial or ethnic groups.
Additionally, your assertions about Jews being wrongly blamed for various issues lack substantiation. While you're undoubtedly a skilled writer (I proudly have a couple of your books), historical accuracy is paramount. It's crucial not to rewrite factual history, as people won't tolerate it this time.
Shame Laura. State of Fear was the seminal work of the anti-lockdown movement. But your unquestioning support for Israel and Zionism, especially since Oct 7 and subsequent razing of Gaza off the map betrays a level of ignorance and cruelty that’s difficult to fathom. Unfollowing you on here and elsewhere.