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ABE WON’T BE SILENT - In today’s grossly uncivil, often violent, totally warped, chronically embarrassing discourse, few words have been dragged through the mud as maliciously as the one I proudly call myself: Zionist. As a kid, I knew my parents were Zionists, which I rebelled against — a choice I now view with dismay. (For context, see my recent post about being an assimilated Jew.)
Most people don’t even know what the word Zionist means. Once upon a time, it was a simple descriptor of the Jewish people’s longing for a return to their homeland: Zion. Sadly, for many, as the war rages on in the Middle East — BECAUSE THE HOSTAGES HAVE NOT BEEN RELEASED — the word Zionist has been bastardized by way too many heinous far-lefties, evil Islamists, assorted meeskites, and garden-variety, face-covered antisemites. Zionist has become a slur — hurled at us along with oppressor, colonizer, genocider, starver of children, and worse. As memory serves, it’s not the first word to be twisted beyond recognition and lampooned to cause harm to innocent people.
Can we discuss the N word for a minute? For many years, it was an epithet wielded to dehumanize Black people, which in the aughts gave way to the politically correct equivalent, “people of color.” Yet something interesting happened when Black people galvanized, somewhere between hither and yon. Somehow, through culture, politics, and sheer willpower, the N word became socially toxic to the point of “a dare” when uttered by anyone outside their own community. It is beyond unacceptable: you can lose your job, friends, followers on social media. Society followed suit. In short: Black people reclaimed power over the word. And they used it in ways through music and humor where non-people of color (white folks) are told to shut the fuck up. BRAVO! War of words won!
So now our time has come. Why shouldn’t we be allowed to own the Z word? We must not let the word — my parents’ badge of honor — “Zionist” — languish in the vile mouths of those who wish us harm. They have weaponized our pride and, pathetically, many Jews are afraid to own up to their heritage and are siding with the enemy, thinking they’re being noble. If we don’t reclaim our badge of honor, we concede on the battlefield of language. And if October 7 taught us anything, it’s that silence or concession is not an option. Read my lips: we won’t be silent; we must fight the good fight.
In the film World War Z, an apocalypse spreads through a disease that turns people into mindless zombies. In the real movie we’re living through, somehow, as a result of the COVID pandemic, the lingering effects of the lockdown have spawned a disease of the mind that has sickened so many clueless wannabes. Sadly, many of them are students. This infection is even more dangerous than COVID because millions more are suffering from this mind virus which has been emboldened by terrorist-loving, propagandized social media climbers. These keffiyeh-wearing useful idiots chant Hamas-sponsored slogans to “Free Gaza,” while rotund Hamas leaders sit comfortably in Qatari mansions while the Palestinian people claw for food and shelter. These “evil-doers” revel as they instead feed the media lies while tormenting Israelis and Jews in the diaspora — gloating about how they’ve turned the world against us. This is our new zombie apocalypse, much scarier than what Brad Pitt had to deal with. In our new reality—WWZ Redux—all the monsters look like wobbling weebles who won’t fall down.
For the countless lowlifes on high school and college campuses who need a lesson in history and a refresher course in humanity: Zionism is not a dirty word. It does not mean apartheid, colonialism, or genocide. It is the most natural expression of survival after millennia of exile and persecution. When Theodor Herzl dreamed of a Jewish state, it wasn’t about conquest but about refuge. And after the Holocaust, that dream became an urgent reality. Zionism is the reason Israel exists, the reason Holocaust survivors could rebuild, the reason Jews finally had a home when every other door had been slammed shut.
The truth is, Zionism is much simpler — more beautiful and more humane — than its detractors want you to believe. Think of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. After all her harrowing adventures, all she wanted was to go home. Jews, too — after thousands of years scattered, displaced, murdered, and maligned — simply wanted to go home: to Zion, to Jerusalem, to the land where Jewish life flourished long before Rome, before Christianity, before Islam. Home is not theft. Home is not conquest. Home is home. “There’s no place like home.”
So how do we arm up and reclaim the Z word? With clarity, repetition, and pride. We strip away the lies and insist on simple truths. Three statements every Jew — and every ally — should be able to repeat without hesitation:
· Zionism means the Jewish people’s right to self-determination in our ancestral homeland.
· Zionism is the movement of return — to the land of Zion, where Jews lived for thousands of years before exile.
· Zionism is our human right to survival with dignity. We demand safety, security, and sovereignty. Israel is our ’hood.
Say it. Post it. Teach it. Write it. Never flinch when someone spits “Zionist” like it’s a curse. Correct them: “Thank you. It’s an honor.”
The Black community showed the world how much words matter. Now it’s our turn. We’ll take back the Z word — and wear it with pride.
(ABE GURKO is the executive producer of a documentary “LOUDER: The Soundtrack of Change,” about the extraordinary Women of Protest Music streaming on MAX. He's an Opinionator who hosts a podcast, "Won't Be Silent," engaging in conversations from the edge of democracy. Abe is a contributor to CityWatchLA.com. [email protected].)
