A recent Jewish Telegraphic Agency article republished online by the Jewish Light, headlined “The Jewish divide we can’t ignore,” suggests American Jews are drifting apart over Israel. The data tells a different story: there is misunderstanding and misuse of the word Zionism, not a decline in the emotional connection Jews feel toward Israel. In fact, it has grown stronger since Oct. 7, 2023.
According to the same research mentioned in the article (“Jewish Federations of North America 2025 Survey of Jewish Life since October 7th,” available on the Berman Jewish Databank at www.jewishdatabank.org), 88% of Jewish Americans believe Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state. Seventy-one percent say they feel emotionally attached to Israel and 60% say Israel makes them proud to be Jewish.
Those numbers do not describe a community drifting away. They describe a community that, even amid debate and discomfort with politics, still shares a basic belief: that the existence of Israel as a Jewish homeland matters.
What has changed is how the word Zionism is being used.
Only about a third of Jewish Americans today use the label “Zionist.” That statistic is often presented, including in headlines and social media clips, as evidence of declining support for Israel. But the research shows something different. Many Jews who avoid the label are not rejecting Israel or Jewish self-determination. They are reacting to how the word has been stretched and politicized in public discourse and loaded with meanings they do not hold.
Or simply, the divide is often about words, not values.
This matters when we hear phrases like, “I’m not antisemitic, I’m just anti-Zionist.” Political criticism of Israel is not inherently antisemitic. But the research shows that people who identify as anti-Zionist are far more likely to misunderstand what the word “Zionism” historically means and to associate it with extreme views that are not part of its original definition. For example, as blanket support for any government policy or beliefs about Jewish superiority.
When a word is repeatedly redefined in extreme ways, it stops being a useful description and becomes a slogan. And slogans have consequences.
When headlines suggest Jews are “moving away” from Israel, many people internalize that message. Jews who simply want to express love for Israel or connection to their homeland may begin to hesitate. They worry about being mislabeled or misunderstood. Over time, that hesitation turns into silence, not because the connection is gone, but because the conversation feels hostile.
If you have found yourself avoiding discussions about Israel because everything feels politically charged, you are not alone. If you have stepped back from certain words because they no longer seem to mean what you were taught, you are not alone. But discomfort with a label does not require discomfort with your identity.
The data is clear: most Jews, regardless of terminology, still feel emotionally connected to Israel and believe its existence as a Jewish homeland is important. In a community as politically, religiously and generationally diverse as ours, agreement at this level is remarkable.
Debate is part of Jewish tradition. It always has been. Disagreement does not mean disconnection. What weakens a community is not debate; it is allowing distorted language, or misleading headlines and soundbites, to make us timid about expressing who we are.
Being proudly Jewish does not require adopting any single political slogan. It means refusing to let fear or mislabeling shrink the space you occupy. It means speaking openly about our heritage, our community, and, for most of us, our connection to Israel, without apology.
Unity does not require uniformity. Beneath the noise of political language lies a simple truth: most Jews, no matter the label, still see Israel as part of their identity and believe its existence matters.
More unites us than divides us. The opportunity before us is to stand confidently on that shared foundation, openly and proudly.
ADVERTISEMENT
