Zioness expresses profound sadness and genuine fear on behalf of the American Jewish community that the phrase “globalize the intifada” is not only not disqualifying for aspiring leaders, but that it appears to be overwhelmingly tolerated. In the most consequential city on the planet and the beating heart of liberal American culture, this moment is not only painful—it is frightening.
The intifadas were marked by brutal acts of violence that deliberately targeted Jewish civilians. To “globalize” such a campaign is not just a rhetorical flourish; it’s a dog whistle, a call for more violence, cloaked in radical virtue. That such rhetoric could be shrugged off, or worse, normalized in a city so central to Jewish life and American progressivism sends a chilling message to American Jews. And we would be consistent in refusing to tolerate language that made any marginalized group feel so profoundly unsafe.
New York Jews have deep roots and have long been integral to the city’s cultural, political, and social fabric. We helped shape the labor movement, the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, and so many more. And yet today, in their own city, many Jews feel unsafe, including among the people we stand alongside for every progressive cause. We fear that the same antisemitic violence we’ve seen in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boulder, and across the country could escalate with impunity—and that those tasked with protecting us are indifferent to both our trauma and our dread.
We are also deeply pained by a broader, more devastating truth about the direction of the American progressive movement: that the normalization of anti-Zionism—even when it crosses unmistakably into violent antisemitic incitement—has left countless Jews who have held on, hoping for solidarity, now feeling like there is no longer a political or ideological home for them in this country. This is extraordinarily harmful not just to Jews, but to the entire American left and all of the marginalized communities it ostensibly fights to protect.
The normalization of anti-Zionism is a profound threat to American democracy. The progressive movement’s moral abdication in confronting it has left a wide-open lane for extremists and authoritarians to weaponize Jewish trauma to curtail the rights of other minority communities.
When those who claim to stand for justice, human dignity, and civil liberties can’t find the words or the courage to call out the most virulent expressions of anti-Jewish hatred, they empower and embolden those who are more than happy to exploit that hatred nefariously.
Anyone who aspires to hold any position of leadership in the United States should invite dialogue and courageous conversation with Jewish leaders. They should earnestly sit down—not with anti-Zionist Jewish tokens used to rubber-stamp our marginalization—but with proud Zionist Jews who represent the vast majority of our community.
Listen to us. Learn from us. While we understand that many people don’t, we know our history––painfully and viscerally––and the critical lessons to ensure it doesn’t repeat. Stand with us against the metastasizing antisemitism that threatens not only the safety of American Jews, but the moral foundation and the functioning of our movements, our cities, and our country.
There has truly never been a more critical moment for those of us who identify as progressive—truly, consistently progressive—to reclaim our movement from the forces of division and bigotry that have shattered our coalitions and desecrated our activist spaces.
Our ability to ensure the safety of American Jews and to make meaningful progress on the urgent social justice obligations of our time depends on it.