59 Jewish Organizations Declare: ‘Zionism Is Part Of Jewish Identity’

Jewish communal organizations from around the world have endorsed the J50 Declaration, asserting that demanding Jews renounce Zionism as a condition of acceptance constitutes antisemitism.

Fifty-nine Jewish organizations and communal bodies from around the world have endorsed a declaration affirming Zionism as part of Jewish identity and arguing that demands for Jews to renounce Zionism as a condition of acceptance can constitute antisemitism.

The J50 Declaration on Zionism and Antisemitism brings together Jewish organizations and communities spanning Europe, North America, South America, Australia and South Africa in a coordinated statement addressing the relationship between contemporary antizionism and antisemitism.

“Zionism is part of Jewish identity,” the declaration states. “We will not allow others to define it for us.”

The declaration emerged from the third meeting of the J50 Forum, hosted in Jerusalem by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on September 1. The meeting brought together 59 senior representatives of leading Jewish communities and organizations from dozens of countries.

William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, chaired the gathering.

The Conference of Presidents published the declaration on September 10, and it received wider international coverage in the days that followed.

Defining Zionism In Jewish Terms

At the heart of the declaration is an assertion that Jews have the right to define Zionism and its relationship to their own identity.

The document describes Zionism as the national movement of the Jewish people and an expression of Jewish self-determination in the Jewish people’s ancient homeland.

It says Zionism is deeply rooted in Jewish history and tradition.

Daroff said the declaration “affirms Zionism as the national movement of the Jewish people and the expression of our right to self-determination in our ancient homeland, Israel.”

The declaration also addresses situations in which Jewish individuals or organizations are pressured to distance themselves from Zionism before being accepted in public life.

It states that antizionism expressed through efforts to deny Jewish self-determination, or demands that Jews renounce Zionism “as the price of acceptance in political, academic, professional, or cultural life,” is antisemitic.

The declaration calls for antizionism to be recognized and confronted when it is used to marginalize, exclude, or discriminate against Jews.

Universities, Politics And Cultural Institutions

The document identifies a wide range of institutions in which its signatories say Zionism is increasingly being delegitimized or distorted.

They include governments, international institutions, municipalities, political parties, media organizations, cultural institutions, universities, schools, professional associations and civil society organizations.

The declaration argues that activity within such institutions can result in Jews being marginalized or excluded because of their relationship with Zionism or Israel.

Its position is grounded explicitly in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism.

The declaration says that, depending on context, denying Jewish self-determination, demonizing or delegitimizing Israel, or applying double standards to Israel can constitute antisemitism.

The wording is significant because it does not declare every criticism of Israel or every manifestation of antizionism inherently antisemitic. Instead, it identifies specific circumstances in which the signatories maintain antizionism crosses that line.

Major Jewish Organizations Sign On

Organizations participating in the J50 initiative include some of the largest Jewish communal institutions operating internationally.

Among those represented are the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Jewish Federations of North America, B’nai B’rith International, the Anti-Defamation League, the Conference of European Rabbis, and the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

The European Jewish Congress also publicly announced its participation, saying the declaration reaffirmed Jewish self-determination while recognizing circumstances in which anti-Zionism can serve as a contemporary expression of antisemitism.

Britain’s Board of Deputies published the declaration and its signatories on September 8.

The initiative’s geographic breadth is central. Rather than representing a single Israeli organization or national Jewish community, participants came from Jewish communities across several continents.

J50 Created To Connect Israel And Diaspora Leadership

Sa’ar established the J50 Forum in May 2025 during an international conference against antisemitism organized by Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

The forum was created to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between Israel and leaders of major Jewish communities and international Jewish organizations.

Its membership includes presidents of Jewish communities, CEOs of organizations, chief rabbis, and other senior Jewish leaders.

The Foreign Ministry said the September 1 meeting concentrated on the rise of antisemitism internationally and what participants described as a connection between extreme anti-Israel rhetoric and attacks against Jewish communities in the Diaspora.

The forum receives briefings from Israel’s foreign minister and maintains ongoing contact with Foreign Ministry officials, according to JNS and the Jewish Chronicle.

Drawing A Line Between Criticism And Exclusion

The declaration enters an ongoing debate within Jewish communities and wider society over when opposition to Zionism or Israel crosses into antisemitism.

Critics of definitions connecting antizionism with antisemitism have argued that opposition to Zionism and criticism of Israeli government policies must remain distinguishable from hatred or discrimination against Jews.

The J50 declaration takes a more specifically contextual position.

It focuses on denying Jews collective self-determination and on situations in which individual Jews are required to reject Zionism to participate fully in political, academic, professional or cultural institutions.

For its 59 signatories, that distinction leads to a direct conclusion.

When Jews are marginalized, excluded, or discriminated against because they refuse to renounce Zionism, the declaration says the issue is no longer simply a disagreement over Israel.

It is antisemitism.