Reclaiming Zionism: Why “Zionist” Must Never Become a Dirty Word |
At the ADL’s Never Is Now summit, the American Zionist Movement is drawing a line in the sand — and asking every proud Jew to stand behind it.
I sat down with Mark Levenson, President of the American Zionist Movement, and Herbert Block, its Executive Director, on the sidelines of the ADL’s flagship Never Is Now antisemitism conference. What followed was one of the most frank, urgent conversations I’ve had about Jewish identity, the battle for language, and why now — more than ever — being a proud Zionist is an act of resistance.
Scroll through any social media feed today and you’ll see it: “Zio” hurled as a slur, “Zionist” weaponized as a slander, and a growing generation of young Jews quietly afraid to use the word their grandparents wore as a badge of honor. The American Zionist Movement — an umbrella body for 51 national Jewish organizations — has decided enough is enough.
The ADL’s Never Is Now conference, the world’s largest annual gathering dedicated to fighting antisemitism, was the perfect stage for this conversation. Against a backdrop of rising Jew-hatred and sustained pressure on Israel’s legitimacy, AZM’s leadership arrived with a clear message: reclaim the word, reclaim the movement, reclaim the future.
“Zionism, unfortunately, has become a dirty word — and we need to make it a good word again, a wonderful concept, like it always was when we were growing up.”
— Mark Levenson · President, American Zionist Movement
I opened by noting what many in our community feel but few say aloud: that “Zionist” has been so thoroughly smeared on social media that some Jews flinch at the label. Mark Levenson, who became AZM president on December 8th — the day after the first anniversary of the Hamas massacre — did not flinch for a moment.
── The Interview: Embracing Zionism
AARON HERMAN | Journalist
When you hear the word “Zionist,” for some people it’s a dirty word now — especially on social media, where “Zio” gets thrown around like an insult. I’m firmly in the camp of: embrace your Zionism. Be proud to be a Zionist. Tell us about AZM’s work in convening, educating, and empowering, and why reclaiming Zionism matters so urgently right now.
MARK LEVENSON | AZM President
Zionism unfortunately has become a dirty word, and we need to make it a good word — a wonderful concept, like it always was when we were growing up. President Herzog, when he spoke to us, made clear that the word “Zio” is just horrible and disgusting. We have to work hard. We’re spending much of our energies at AZM on promoting positive Zionism, Zionist education, and Zionist programming. We should not be afraid to say we’re Zionists. If we’re afraid to say that, that’s not good.
HERBERT BLOCK | AZM Executive Director
President Herzog mentioned it when he spoke at our conference in December. During the original “Zionism is Racism” debate — a notion we wholeheartedly reject — when his father was ambassador to the UN, people wore buttons that said, “I Am a Zionist.” We actually presented him one of the original buttons from the American Zionist Federation last month in Jerusalem. It was a day when people were proud to be Zionists. It didn’t matter whether you were right or left, religious or secular. Our coalition of 51 national Jewish Zionist organizations runs the gamut of the political, religious, and ideological spectrum — yet everyone is united by Zionism. That shows both its prevalence in the Jewish community and its deep connection to our Judaism.
── When Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism
The conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism has been debated in academic halls and op-ed pages for years. At the grassroots level, however, the lines have blurred dangerously. I pressed Levenson and Block on where they stand — and they didn’t leave room for ambiguity.
“When you’re an anti-Semite, you’re an anti-Zionist. When you’re an anti-Zionist, you’re an anti-Semite. Maybe you’ll find some sliver where that’s not true — but you’ll have to look very hard to find it.”
— Mark Levenson · AZM President
AARON HERMAN | Journalist
One of the things that keeps coming up is the relationship between antisemitism and anti-Zionism. There seems to be a lot of confusion in this space — or perhaps deliberate obfuscation. Where does AZM stand?
MARK LEVENSON | AZM President
There’s no confusion for us. When you’re an anti-Semite, you’re an anti-Zionist, and when you’re an anti-Zionist, you’re an anti-Semite. Maybe you’ll find some sliver where that’s not true — you’ll have to look very hard. There is one Jewish state in the world. Look at a map — it’s a very small dot. What we’ve seen in recent months, with the United States and Israel standing together, and certain European countries trying to restrict what the U.S. can do from bases we helped build — there is a lot of work to do. But we’re energized by it. Whatever Zionism means to you, that’s what we want you to focus on. We don’t need someone on the right saying the person on the left is wrong, or vice versa. We want to positively promote Zionism and create more Zionists.
HERBERT BLOCK | AZM Executive Director
I’ve been at AZM nine years — nine years this week. Nine years ago, there weren’t many people openly arguing that anti-Zionism and antisemitism might sometimes be different. Sadly, subsequent events have made the case for us: the attacks on Zionism really are attacks on the Jewish people.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN ZIONIST MOVEMENT
→ Umbrella body representing 51 national Jewish Zionist organizations across the full political, religious, and ideological spectrum.
→ Successor to the American Zionist Federation, which campaigned against the “Zionism is Racism” UN resolution in the 1970s.
→ Hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog at its December conference — one day after the anniversary of October 7.
→ Presented President Herzog with an original “I Am a Zionist” button from the AZF collection during a Jerusalem visit.
→ Currently engaged in an expanded program of Zionist education, advocacy, and coalition-building across the United States.
What struck me most in speaking with Levenson and Block was not their certainty — it was their calm. These are not men shouting into a void. They are building infrastructure: coalitions, curricula, conversations. The broad-tent approach of AZM — 51 organizations who disagree on almost everything except their love for Zion — is itself a rebuttal to the lie that Zionism is a fringe ideology or a political weapon. It is the heartbeat of Jewish peoplehood.
Never Is Now, as a conference, draws its title from the simple but shattering truth that the conditions for catastrophe are never far away, and that complacency is a luxury Jews cannot afford. Standing in those halls, listening to AZM’s leadership speak without apology about Jewish sovereignty and the right to a homeland, I was reminded of what it means to stand up and be counted.
“Zionism is our yearning for the return to our ancestral homeland, to a Jewish democratic state in the land of Israel. We should be proud to be Zionists.”
— Herbert Block · Executive Director, American Zionist Movement
Herbert Block put it simply and beautifully: Zionism is the Jewish people’s centuries-old yearning for return — for a Jewish democratic state in the land of Israel. Strip away the social media noise, the bad-faith academic debates, the geopolitical posturing. That is what Zionism is. And that is what AZM is fighting to protect.
I’ll take that button — metaphorically, at least. I am a Zionist. And if you’re reading this in the pages of the Times of Israel, I suspect you might be too.