Support for Zionism in US on the wane: Jewish-American journalist Gell

By Can Efesoy

Support for Zionism in the US is on the decline, according to a Jewish-American journalist.

Aaron Gell, whose article titled Has Zionism Lost the Argument? in The New Republic, in which he drew attention to the increase in anti-Zionist demonstrations in the US, told Anadolu that support for Zionism is declining in the US, adding: “More Americans of Jewish descent than I have ever seen before openly identify themselves as anti-Zionists.”

Pointing to a poll published by the think tank Data for Progress on Nov. 5, 2023, Gell said that more than 60% of American voters support a cease-fire in Gaza.

“Those who identify as Zionists seem to be questioning the strength of their commitment (to the ideology)," he stressed.

- Conflict between generations

He pointed out that the decline in support for Zionism has also affected the personal and family relationships of Jewish Americans.

"There are deep generational conflicts between young Jews who are anti-Zionist or disconnected from Israel and older Jews who still have a deep connection to the country," he mentioned, noting that this attachment is often rooted in traumatic memories of the Holocaust.

To a question about whether the decline in support is permanent, the journalist said: "As long as a far-right nationalist government continues to govern Israel, this decline in support will deepen.”

“Most Jewish Americans cannot really support an ethnic state that commits war crimes and harassment in their name,” he criticized.

Pointing out that there are differences of opinion about the source of the current situation in Gaza, Gell indicated that some believe that this "temporary situation" will change with the defeat of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while others believe that "the abuses are embedded in Zionism."

He said a society based on ethnicity, religion, gender, or class is flawed and that Israel is currently such a country.

In response to a question about how the Israeli lobby in the US reacts to the decline in support for Zionism, he stated that these people characterize anyone who criticizes Zionism as "anti-Semitic.”

- ‘Exercise power without apology, and wait them out’

In his article, Gell wrote about the ideas of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the founder of “so-called” Revisionist Zionism. "Jabotinsky’s prescription was simple: Exercise power without apology, and wait them out."

Pointing to the influence of this ideology on the emergence of Netanyahu's Likud party, he said: "The wall surrounding Gaza was named the 'Iron Wall' because of Jabotinsky's famous article.”

“All these years later, this idea still guides Israel's disastrous policies, despite the Palestinians' clear refusal to give up their struggle for self-determination."

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 people were killed.

More than 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 72,700 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Merve Berker