Published: 7 August 2025
Last updated: 7 August 2025
There is a moment in every great story — Shakespeare knew it well — when a character reaches a point of ‘anagnorisis’, a Greek word that reflects a flash of recognition. It is a realisation that the world is more complicated than once believed. It is the moment when the plot twists, but more importantly, so does the soul.
Our tradition is full of points of anagnorisis. When Tamar reveals she is pregnant by the same Judah who seeks to burn her alive for ‘harlotry’, Judah slumps and declares She is more righteous than I. When Moses transforms to a leader who will confront Pharoah and lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he asks Who am I that I should go to Pharoah? And after King David’s sins with Bathsheva and the murder of her husband Uria, Natan shakes him with the words You are the man and David finally realises the error of his ways and repents, I have sinned against the Lord.
To teach Zionism responsibly in 2025 is to teach it as a love that is neither blind nor naïve
Now more than ever it is that same spirit of recognition that underpins what we try to achieve every day in the classrooms of our Zionist Jewish schools, especially when teaching our young people about Israel, Gaza, Zionism, and identity.
This is not an academic exercise. It is an act of courage, faith, and a commitment to complexity.
Why complexity? Because complexity is not something to be feared — it is something to be cultivated.
Zionism is not a problem
I have been asked many times if the teaching of Zionism has recently become complicated, and I always reply that whilst the history of our people is complicated, the teaching of Zionism is not.
Comments4
Jeremy Kenner17 August at 05:17 am
A strong voice for pluralistic education, Jeremy. But I think it only goes partway. Zionism should be taught starting with its religious roots, then with recognition of the worlds of late 19th c. Europe, then in the context of the British Mandate and WWII, then as a parallel narrative to the growth of Palestinian nationalism, then as a case study in the shift from ‘peoples’ and ‘lands’ to the organising principle of modern nation states, then as a subset of the modern history of the Middle East and the history of European colonialism, them as a morality tale entitled ‘what happens when David becomes Goliath’, then as an inquiry into the entwinement of and distinction between Israel and Judaism and finally as a exemplary study of the role of media and social media and the distortion of political and moral discourse by greed, vested interests, ancient prejudices and the general failure of humanity and courage of individual human beings. THAT would truly embrace complexity.
IAN LIGHT14 August at 03:15 am
Complex because Two Peoples claimed the Ancient Holy Land as their land .
Simon Krite12 August at 06:45 am
Beautifully written but in 2025, teaching Zionism is vital. We’re not just educating our students, we’re building Jewish warriors… armed with truth, grounded in love, and carrying Israel in their hearts and minds. They must walk into the world unafraid, unapologetic, and ready to face the lies and inversion of anti-zionism head-on. Particularly from those calling themselves “Jewish” anti-zionists.
Complexity has its place, but clarity comes first… Zionism is not a dirty word… It is our story of survival, dignity, and self-determination. If we don’t give our children that conviction, others will fill the void and not in our favour.
We owe them both the nuance of our tradition and the unshakable pride to say:
We are here…
We belong…
and
We will never apologise for it…