Dear Editor,
Zionism: The Non-Negotiable Core of Jewish Identity
For two thousand years, we wandered, not by choice, but by force. We prayed, we built, we survived. And through it all, we never begged for permission to exist. We never surrendered our identity. No matter how many times they tried to break us, we remained as Am Yisrael.
But let one thing be crystal clear: Jews are done asking for permission to exist. We are done bending. We are done apologizing.
The world has always tried to define us, dictating how we should live, how we should believe, how we should respond to persecution. They wanted the Jew who cowered, who depended on the kindness of foreign rulers, who knew his place as a guest among nations.
That Jew never truly existed. He was a mirage, a temporary response to the cruelty of exile. Beneath every whisper of “Next year in Jerusalem” beneath every hidden Hebrew book in the ghettos and shtetls, beneath every defiant Jew who lived despite the odds, a fire burned, waiting for the moment to rise again.
And then, against all odds, we did rise.
Israel was not created because of the Holocaust. Israel was not created because of the expulsions from Arab lands. Israel was created because we never gave up. Because we never stopped fighting. Because we never surrendered our 2,000 year old dream to be a free nation in our homeland.
Every empire that sought to erase us lies in ruins. We remain. And we are not just surviving, we are thriving.
Wherever we lived, we built, we contributed, we gave the world ideas, innovation, and progress, until they turned on us. Jewish history is a warning: Our security cannot and will not be entrusted to anyone but ourselves.
With the rebirth of Israel, we sent a message that shattered history itself:
We are back. We are strong. And we are forever.
Menachem Begin said it best: “I am not a Jew with trembling knees.” And neither is Israel. Neither is any Jew who understands that our survival is not up for discussion.
We are once again a nation of warriors, builders and visionaries. The blood of King David runs through the veins of modern heroes like Yoni Netanyahu, Ariel Sharon, Moshe Dayan, Hannah Szenes, Eli Cohen, Ilan Ramon. We carry the fire of leaders like Menachem Begin, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, Golda Meir, Theodor Herzl. We are lifted by the voices of our poets and artists, Chaim Nachman Bialik, Naomi Shemer, Arik Einstein. Leaders, warriors and visionaries who often disagreed with each other but always shared their love and desire for the strong Jew to be the face of our people. (May their memories be a blessing).
Israel is not just a country. It is the greatest act of defiance in history. It is the rebirth of a people who refused to be erased. It is the living proof that the Jewish nation bends to no one. We did not bow to Haman, and we won’t bow to any other footnote in history.
Zionism is not a movement. It is the eternal mission of the Jewish people. It is the force that kept us alive for two thousand years. It is the fire that brought us home.
It is estimated that 90-95% of Jews are Zionists. That number must be 100%. Because to be a Jew and reject Zionism is to reject the very essence of Jewish survival. To deny Zionism is to fundamentally misunderstand Judaism itself.
Judaism is not just a religion, it is a people, a nation, a tribe and a shared destiny. It is a covenant that spans thousands of years, binding us to our land and to each other. A Jew who stands against Zionism stands against Jewish history, Jewish resilience and the Jewish future. If they cannot see that, if they choose to align with those who wish to see us destroyed, then they have already left the tribe. And they should see themselves out.
To be a Jew is to stand unshaken, with the strength of Samson in our bones. To lead with wisdom, and to thrive with the unstoppable force of a people who will never be broken.
We are the prophet Joshua himself : We are not survivors, we are warriors. We are not guests in history, we are its architects. We are not subjects to others, we are leaders.
Zionism is not up for debate. Zionism is the lifeblood of the Jewish people. Zionism is Jewish destiny.
I know a lot of us are scared and on edge since October 7th, as we witness a global rise in antisemitism. We saw it on college campuses, where pro-Hamas supporters fell victim to the stupidity epidemic of terrorist propaganda. We saw it here in our own town, where neo-Nazis waved their flags before scurrying away like the masked little cowards they are.
But I urge you, do not be fearful. Be fierce. This is not the time to shrink, to hide or to make ourselves small. If you wear a Jewish star, buy a bigger one. If you wear a kippah, make it more prominent. If you light Shabbat candles, light them proudly with your windows open. If they want us to be afraid, we will show them strength. If they want us to disappear, we will be louder, prouder, and more unapologetically Jewish than ever before. Whatever type of Jew they hate, scream at the top of your lungs “I am THAT JEW!”
Our ancestors did not survive exile, pogroms and genocide for us to cower now. We stand tall. We stand together. And we are never going anywhere.
Thank you
Aaron Binik-Thomas
Cincinnati, OH