A cure for the “slandering Zionism epidemic”

“The whole “I don’t hate Jews, only Zionists” statement is a nonsensical one, no different than saying I don’t hate Christians, only those who believe in Jesus. Zionism is the movement to bring Jews back home to their ancestral land. It is core to Judaism and for thousands of years, Jews, throughout the world, prayed toward and about Jerusalem countless times every single day. You can’t separate the land of Israel from Judaism …” — Hillel Fuld, April 12, 2026, on X.com

During Passover a friend asked me to recommend one book that explains why someone should be a Zionist. The nuance of the question can easily be missed: there are many very good books I could recommend to someone who wants to understand Israeli history or who wants to get advice on how to defend against anti-Israel lies.

No one in our time is going to become a Zionist by reading Herzl, so the question is an important one as Zionism is increasingly misunderstood.

In fact, a survey conducted by the Jewish Federations of North America revealed that just 37% of American Jews stated that they identified as Zionists. Another 15% said that they were anti-Zionist/non-Zionist. A huge 48% of those surveyed, it can be surmised, are pro-Israel but not Zionists, and I would argue that a big reason for this is that we have allowed Zionism to become a dirty word.

There’s no good reason for any Jew who is pro-Israel to resist using the term Zionist to describe themselves. Zionism is a team sport and the object of the game remains what it has always been: the saving of Jewish lives.

But what recent book conveys that? One book published in 2025 came to mind right away, and unfortunately, it has caught the attention of far too few American Jews. Universal Zionism: The Movement Powering Today’s Jewish-Christian Alliance was written by Rabbi Tuly Weisz. Weisz was born and raised in Ohio and later served as the rabbi of an Orthodox synagogue there. He and his young family moved to Israel in 2011. His viewpoint is at once fresh and original and yet anchored in both Jewish tradition and traditional Zionism.

The book is divided into four specific parts. In his substantial introduction, Weisz shares his personal story and prepares his readers for what is to come later by grounding his ideas with his thoughts about what happened after the Hamas-led October 7 terrorist invasion of Israel. Here, Weisz writes, “What proved even more shocking than the October 7th attacks was the global response that began on October 8th.” But even in that section of the book Weisz displays an amazing faith and positivity that “G-d has made an eternal promise never to abandon Israel.”

But what leads me to recommend the book so strongly are its middle two sections. In “Political Zionism” and “Religious Zionism” Weisz in about 115 pages provides a very solid review of these two wings that comprise mainstream Zionism. From Herzl to Rav Kook, from the Balfour Declaration to the Six-Day War and nearly every other important event and figure, Weisz introduces his readers to the basics of Zionism.

In the final section, Weisz explains what his conception of “Universal Zionism” is. He invites Christians into the Zionist movement and writes, “At the heart of Universal Zionism lies a simple but radical proposition: the Bible still means what it says about the Land of Israel. Jews and Christians who take Scripture seriously must support complete Jewish sovereignty over the … biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria …”

He goes further, writing, “Imagine churches and synagogues in every city becoming centers for Israel education …” Weisz seems to see his “Universal Zionism” idea as especially necessary after October 7th and writes “over time it became painfully clear: to Hamas, the real battlefield is in the global court of opinion.” 

On this point, it is hard to argue with Weisz. When nearly half of American Jews must be more than just a little mystified by the word Zionism, there’s something wrong. Very wrong. Far too many American Jews have a strong emotional attachment to Israel but don’t want to call themselves Zionist. Zionism is a patriotism that has something necessarily unique about it, because the history of the Jewish People has something unique about it. The love of Jews for the Land of Israel was found in all lands of our dispersion for nearly 2,000 years. This love drew Jews from every corner of the world to resettle our ancient homeland. This includes a common religion, a shared history, and a consciousness of a bitter exile filled with violence and oppression. This uniqueness is what makes the Zionist movement so polarizing and makes many American Jews uncomfortable. The task of the hour is to explain to the world that Zionism is beautiful.

Moshe Phillips is the national chairman of Americans For A Safe Israel (www.AFSI.org), a leading pro-Israel advocacy and education organization. 

**Article first appeared at https://israel365news.com/417754/a-cure-for-the-slandering-zionism-epidemic/