Anti-Zionism Among Jews

The Zionist movement, which can properly be regarded as an outgrowth of the traditional Jewish aspiration for a return to Palestine, meant, nevertheless, the secularization of this ideal with emphasis placed primarily on the national rather than the religious character of Judaism. It was this secular and areligious bent of the Zionists at the inception of their movement that aroused the opposition of various Orthodox and Conservative segments in American Jewry.

According to Reform theology, Judaism was a religion with a universal message. The mission of the Jews, the bearers of this message, was to propagate the universal religion of the prophets throughout the world. Dispersion was, therefore, a vital condition in Reform thinking, and even the Messianic era, which was envisioned as the realization of the prophetic ethics as taught by the Jews, precluded the traditional belief of a mass return to Palestine.

In 1845, the Frankfurt Conference eliminated references to a return to Palestine and a Jewish state from prayers. American Reform Jews adopted the European attitudes; hence, the movement’s Central Conference of American Rabbis, organized in 1889 and led by Isaac M. Wise, opposed Zionism. At its 1885 conference in Pittsburgh, the organization declared, “We consider ourselves no longer a nation, but a religious community, and therefore expect neither a return to Palestine, nor a sacrificial worship under the sons of Aaron, nor the restoration of any of the laws concerning the Jewish state.”

In 1917, after Political Zionism had taken root, the Conference issued a resolution saying, “We look with disfavor upon the new doctrine of political Jewish nationalism, which finds the criterion of Jewish loyalty in anything other than loyalty to Israel’s God and Israel’s religious mission.”

Sounding much like the American Council for Judaism today, early Reform leaders worried that “Zionism would endanger their position as loyal Americans,” according to Wiener Cohen.

In response to the San Remo Declaration reaffirming the Balfour Declaration, Hebrew Union College, the American Reform movement’s rabbinical seminary, issued a statement that said:

A minority of Reform Jews, including several influential ones, were early advocates of Zionism. Gradually, they became the majority, and in 1935, they succeeded in reversing the movement’s opposition to Zionism. Some disaffected members would not abandon their position and created the American Council for Judaism.

American Council for Judaism (ACJ)

The ACJ, founded in 1942, was the first American Jewish organization created to fight Zionism and the establishment of a Jewish state. From the outset, it was a marginal group. ACJ still exists but has little visibility. It continues to assert that Judaism is a “universal religious faith rather than an ethnic or nationalist identity.” The group now accepts Israel’s significance “as a refuge for many Jews who have suffered persecution and oppression in other places” but clarifies “that relationship is a spiritual, historical, and humanitarian one ­– it is not a political tie.” Apparently fearing the anti-Semitic charge that Jews have dual loyalties, ACJ insists “that although Israel is the birthplace of our faith, it is not the place of our national affiliation” and emphasizes that their “nationality is American.”

Religious Anti-Zionists

Jews who criticize or oppose Zionism are usually from fringe Orthodox sects and maintain that Israel can only be regained miraculously. They view the present state as a blasphemous human attempt to usurp God’s role and a minority advocate dismantling the secular State of Israel. However, unlike many non-Jewish anti-Zionists, Jewish anti-Zionists usually believe in the Jewish right to the Land of Israel, but only at the time of redemption in the future.

Two common religious grounds are typically given for anti-Zionism. One is that Zionism is a secular movement packed with non-Jewish influences and lacking key features like Mashiach and the rebuilt Temple. Adherents to this position are more on the non-Zionist rather than anti-Zionist side.

A second explanation, given by some religious anti-Zionists, is derived from the Talmud (Meseches Kesuvos, 111a), which states that when Israel went into the second exile, there were three vows between Heaven and Earth:

1. Israel would not “go up like a wall” [conquer Eretz Yisrael by massive force].
2. God made Israel swear that they would not rebel against the nations of the world [would obey the governments in exile].
3. God made the non-Jews swear not to oppress Israel “too much” [translation of phrase yoter midai].

These oaths are only mentioned as a side point in one place in a discussion in the Gemara and as the viewpoint of an individual. Many Jews feel that they do not apply to the issue of Jewish statehood.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews

The best-known of the Jewish religious anti-Zionists is the Neturei Karta. This group is so extreme its members have met with enemies of Israel, such as the leaders of Iran and Hezbollah.

Another group is the Satmar, an ultra-conservative anti-Zionist Hasidic sect of Judaism. It was founded by Yoel Teitelbaum in 1928 in Szatmár, Hungary. He survived the Holocaust by escaping from Bergen-Belsen on a Zionist-planned rescue train to Switzerland in 1944. After spending two and a half years in Palestine, he arrived in the United States in 1947 and reestablished the Satmar Hasidic Court in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, New York. Teitelbaum was appointed president of Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox community, the Edah Ḥaredit 1953, a group primarily influenced by Neturei Karta. Over his 32-year leadership in the United States, Yoel garnered a sizable following from a diverse range of ultra-Orthodox Jewry.

Today, Satmar is the largest Hasidic sect globally, boasting approximately 100,000 followers. Its central community remains in Williamsburg, and it has established significant branches in Kiryas Yo’el, Los Angeles, Montreal, Antwerp, London, Buenos Aires, and Jerusalem.

Satmar advocates using Yiddish in everyday affairs rather than English or Hebrew, surpassing other Haredim in their dedication to the language. As a result, they are responsible for most Haredi Yiddish-language publications circulated in and around New York City.

The Satmar are anti-Zionist and do not recognize the state of Israel. They believe that Jews are required to wait for the Messiah before they return to the Holy Land. Satmar Hasidism views Zionism and the formation of the State of Israel as a blasphemous act against messianic prophecy. They reject the legitimacy of a political return to the Holy Land and Jewish sovereignty.

In 2017, the head of the Satmar Hasidic sect, Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, urged his followers to uphold the group’s staunch anti-Zionist stance. “We have no part in Zionism. We have no part in their wars. We have no part in the State of Israel,” he said. “We’ll continue to fight God’s war against Zionism and all its aspects.”

The Religious Zionist Response

Other Orthodox Jews counter that secular Zionism is a preliminary stage of religious Zionism and that the vows expressed in the Talmud no longer apply since non-Jews violated their obligations (by such actions as Roman persecutions, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Nazi Holocaust). The Balfour Declaration and the United Nations partition vote of 1947 are also regarded as having authorized the Jews to reestablish the state. Once this permission was granted, it could not be revoked.

Some Religious Zionist Jews see Israel’s creation as miraculous. They believe the formation of the secular state accelerates the process of redemption, and that they are playing a significant role in doing God’s will by serving the state.

Two religious Zionist parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, serve in the Knesset. In 2021, the Religious Zionism Party was created to focus on “uniting religious Zionism” and serve as its ideological right-wing voice in the Knesset.

Some “non-Zionist” Jews are pleased that Israel exists from a practical standpoint as a haven for oppressed Jews and as a land imbued with holiness well suited for Torah study. However, they do not generally assign religious significance to the formation of the modern state and often decry aspects of its secular culture.

In addition to anti-Zionist and non-Zionist Jews, there are also “post-Zionists” who question Israel’s legitimacy and are primarily academics.

Today, the most prominent non-religious Jewish anti-Zionist groups are Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), IfNotNow (INN), and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN).

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)

JVP is one of the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist groups in the United States. JVP was established in 1996 in the San Francisco Bay Area by three undergraduate students from the University of California, Berkeley. In 2002, its members decided to expand into a larger movement to influence U.S. Middle East policy.

JVP operates as a grassroots membership organization, with dues-paying members electing a national board responsible for the organization’s overall stewardship. The organization claims to be funded by thousands of donors supporting its vision (2022 contributions totaled $3.9 million).

Jewish Voice for Peace opposes Zionism because they claim that it counters the ideals of “justice, equality, and freedom for all people.” They argue that Zionism is a “settler-colonial movement” and believe it has established an “apartheid state” in which Jews have more rights than others. They claim that the Zionist ideology is to blame for Palestinian occupation, displacement, and massacre.

The organization also claims that Zionism harms the Jewish people by encouraging them to be suspicious of their non-Jewish peers and neighbors. Further, they insist that Zionism erases the existence of Jewish people of color, because it creates a “racist hierarchy with European Jews at the top.”

One of JVP’s core values involves building and maintaining relationships with Palestinian leadership and organizations. JVP sponsors anti-Israel demonstrations in response to Israeli military actions and to commemorate key events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These occasions are typically overtly anti-Israel and sometimes anti-Semitic. Some have featured support for terrorist groups and anti-Semitic depictions of Israel’s supporters.

There are around 12 active JVP chapters on college campuses. These chapters frequently work with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) to promote anti-Israel initiatives, messages, and events. JVP supports the BDS movement and is involved in anti-Israel conferences held on college campuses nationwide. As proponents of intersectionality, JVP has conflated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with domestic American issues such as racial injustice. JVP sponsors a “Deadly Exchange” campaign to end U.S. law enforcement Israel. “It compares U.S. police actions against Black Americas with the Israel Defense Force’s treatment of Palestinians” and claim the programs “promote and extend discriminatory and repressive policing practices that already exist in both countries.”

In June 2024, the Anti-Defamation League filed a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission, accusing JVP’s political fundraising arm of multiple violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act and FEC regulations. The complaint highlights financial irregularities in the political action committee’s income and expense reports, accusing it of illegally accepting prohibited corporate contributions and donations exceeding federal limits.