AFSI says the new partnership will promote free videos and curriculum resources designed to counter misinformation about Zionism and Israel ahead of the new school year.
Americans For a Safe Israel has announced a new partnership with ZionismU aimed at expanding access to educational material about Zionism and countering what the organization describes as growing misinformation and hostility toward the Zionist movement since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The collaboration will promote ZionismU’s collection of more than three dozen professionally produced educational videos and accompanying curriculum guides to schools, synagogues, campus organizations, educators and members of the general public.
All of the resources are available free through the ZionismU website.
AFSI said the partnership is intended to provide accessible historical material at a time when debates over Zionism, Israel and Jewish national identity have intensified online and on university campuses.
“At a time when Zionism is being heavily distorted and viciously targeted across digital spaces, having accessible, high-quality historical education is more critical than ever,” AFSI chairman Moshe Phillips said in announcing the partnership.
“Through our partnership with ZionismU, we are committed to changing the narrative and ensuring that everyone has the tools to learn the truth about the State of Israel and the Zionist movement.”
The partnership was publicly announced on August 24.
Videos Explore the History and Development of Zionism
ZionismU describes itself as an online educational hub focused on the history, people and events that shaped modern Zionism.
Its educational library contains more than three dozen videos addressing different periods, personalities and themes in Zionist history.
The platform also provides lesson plans and curriculum material intended to help teachers, students and community leaders use the videos as the basis for structured discussion and study.
Materials available through the site include educational content on subjects such as Christian Zionism and historical support for Jewish national restoration, showing that the curriculum extends beyond recent Israeli politics and into the broader intellectual and historical development of Zionism.
AFSI said the timing of the initiative is significant because the new academic year is beginning shortly before the third anniversary of the October 7 attack.
The organization argues that education about Zionism has become increasingly important as the term itself is used in sharply different ways across political, academic and social-media environments.
AFSI Says Antizionist Misinformation Has Intensified
AFSI said the partnership was developed in response to what it considers an unprecedented increase in hostile and inaccurate representations of Zionism following October 7.
The organization has long advocated for Israel and Zionist causes and regularly publishes commentary supporting Israeli security, Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and a strong Israeli response to terrorism.
Recent AFSI commentary has backed continued Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, opposed the creation of a Palestinian state and argued that Israel must retain the ability to confront Hamas and other security threats.
The ZionismU initiative differs from those advocacy campaigns by focusing specifically on education and historical literacy.
AFSI says its goal is to make resources available to people who may encounter competing or distorted definitions of Zionism but lack the historical background to assess those claims.
The organization plans to use digital outreach, community engagement and its existing network to increase awareness of ZionismU.
Partnership Builds on Existing Connections
AFSI said the collaboration also grew out of existing personal and organizational connections between the two initiatives.
Several individuals affiliated with Americans For a Safe Israel helped with the development and launch of ZionismU, according to the announcement.
AFSI said those ties give the organization an established understanding of the platform and its educational objectives.
The partnership will now focus on broadening ZionismU’s reach and encouraging educators and Jewish community institutions to incorporate its materials into programming.
Potential audiences identified by AFSI include Jewish schools, synagogues, university and college organizations, teachers, community leaders and individuals seeking introductory or more detailed material on Zionist history.
Zionism Remains a Contested Term
The partnership enters a wider debate over how Zionism is understood and discussed, particularly since October 7.
In its most basic historical sense, Zionism refers to the modern Jewish national movement that sought the re-establishment and development of a Jewish homeland in the ancestral Land of Israel and ultimately contributed to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
The movement has included religious and secular Zionists, socialists, revisionists, liberals, conservatives and other ideological traditions.
In contemporary political debate, however, the word is frequently used far more broadly.
Supporters generally understand Zionism as affirming the Jewish people’s right to national self-determination in their historic homeland and the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state.
Opponents of Zionism offer a range of critiques, from opposition to particular Israeli policies to rejection of the premise of Jewish national sovereignty itself.
Those distinctions have become increasingly significant as Jewish organizations report that the word “Zionist” is sometimes used as a substitute for “Jew” in rhetoric directed at Jewish individuals and institutions.
At the same time, criticism of Israeli government policy or of Zionist political ideas is not inherently antisemitic. The context and substance of the criticism remain important when determining whether rhetoric crosses from political disagreement into antisemitism.
AFSI’s initiative seeks to address that debate through historical education rather than relying solely on political advocacy.
Focus on the Next Generation
The educational emphasis is particularly relevant to schools and campuses.
Jewish organizations in both the United States and Canada have raised concerns about the way Israel and Zionism are discussed in classrooms, campus protests, and student organizations following October 7.
AFSI argues that younger people frequently encounter highly politicized descriptions of Zionism through social media before receiving any systematic instruction in its history.
ZionismU is intended to provide an alternative entry point.
Its combination of short-form video and structured curriculum material is designed to allow users to move from introductory content toward more detailed historical study.
The materials are available without charge, which AFSI says removes a significant barrier for schools, community groups and individual learners.
More Than Five Decades of Pro-Israel Advocacy
Americans For a Safe Israel was established in 1970 and describes itself as one of the longest-standing pro-Israel advocacy organizations in the United States.
The organization says it is not affiliated with a political party in either the United States or Israel.
Its work has historically included public education, advocacy campaigns and support for policies it believes strengthen Israel’s long-term security and Jewish sovereignty.
The new partnership represents an effort to place greater emphasis on educational infrastructure at a time when arguments over Israel increasingly begin with competing definitions of Zionism itself.
AFSI says that without a basic understanding of the movement’s history, public debate can easily be shaped by slogans, political rhetoric and online misinformation.
For Phillips, the objective is therefore broader than simply defending Israel in individual political disputes.
It is to give students, educators and communities the historical knowledge needed to understand what Zionism is, how it developed and why it remains central to Jewish identity for millions of Jews around the world.
AFSI and ZionismU say the resources are available immediately and will be promoted nationally as the new school year begins and the third anniversary of October 7 approaches.
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