Who – and what – are the anti-Zionist Jews?

The existence of the state of Israel is the great, unifying denominator for Jews across the world. Jews may be critical of its government or sections of Israeli society, but, overwhelmingly, they support its right to exist. Ninety percent of Australian Jews support close ties between their community and Israel. The idea of a Jewish anti-Zionist is viscerally offensive to most Jews.

Yet there are people who describe themselves as anti-Zionist Jews and in the aftermath of October 7 and in the face of the Israel-Hamas War, they have been disproportionately loud voices among the avalanche of criticism of Israel. Some are rabid and incoherent, others are more considered. The younger voices are more strident, the older ones more restrained. Some are individuals, others are in groups.

Though some have articulated common platforms, they do not necessarily share the same views or articulate definitions of what it means to be anti-Zionist. Indeed, the vagueness over what Zionism means has made it easier for people to weaponise the word to suit their views.

“It isn’t actually clear what the word Zionism means nowadays – even to most Zionists,” says Doodie Ringelblum, leader of the Bundist movement in Melbourne. “The Gen 17 survey of Australian Jews found that 70% of Australian Jews self-define as Zionist. It was the only question in the entire survey which had to explain what the question meant, because otherwise it was going to be too unclear.”

But calling oneself an anti-Zionist must mean something more than opposing the war in Gaza or calling for Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza, or campaigning for the rights of Palestinians to a state. These are positions shared by many Zionists.