This post was updated Oct. 20 at 9:18 p.m.

College is for open and civilized debate, not threats and intimidation. In an era where university campuses should serve as bastions of intellectual freedom and inclusivity, Jewish faculty and students across America are facing a rising tide of hostility, much of it under the guise of anti-Zionism. At UCLA, this has become a deeply entrenched problem. The Jewish Faculty Resilience Group at UCLA was founded in November 2023 to combat this very threat, and our mission is clear: to strengthen the Jewish and broader campus communities, build alliances and actively counter antisemitism in all its forms, including anti-Zionism.

Anti-Zionism is not simply a political stance but often a discriminatory act targeting Jews. Denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination when the same right is afforded to every other nation is not only intellectually dishonest – it’s dangerous. This growing anti-Zionist rhetoric threatens to erode the core values of American democracy that universities should be championing.

At JFrg, we believe in peace and coexistence. We mourn the suffering of all innocent civilians – Palestinians as well as Israelis. We also stand firmly behind the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their ancestral homeland. Zionism, at its heart, is about this very right. To deny it, or to demonize Jews who support it, is to espouse discrimination and hate and to condemn 8 million Jews to a future of statelessness and genocide. Zionism does not deny the right of Palestinians to a homeland of their own or to the human rights that all people deserve.

A Simple Guideline to Identify Anti-Zionism

We offer a straightforward campus guideline to identify anti-Zionism, the primary source of the hostile academic environment faced by Jewish students and faculty today.

Anti-Zionism manifests when any of the following criteria is present:

1. It targets Israel, Israelis or supporters of Israel in a discriminatory manner.

2. It holds the entire nation and people of Israel collectively responsible for the actions of their government – unjustly extending blame to all Israelis or Jews.

3. It applies a double standard to Israel – holding it to expectations not demanded of any other nation, resulting in demonization.

4. It employs false narratives and definitions in order to demonize and spread hate of Israel, Israelis and supporters of Israel’s existence (commonly referred to as “Zionists”). The vast majority of Jews support the ongoing existence of the state of Israel and are therefore Zionists, yet the term “Zionist” is increasingly used as a slur against Jews, masking antisemitic intent.

5. It calls for the destruction of Israel – an inherently genocidal act.

6. It calls for the subjugation or oppression of Israel’s Jewish population.

Anti-Zionism in these forms is not simply criticism of Israeli policy, which is valid in any democracy. It crosses the line into hate when it seeks to undermine the existence of the state itself and, by extension, the people who live there.

Consider for a moment: Does anyone deny Italy or Japan the right to exist as a state? Does anyone deny Brazil, Ghana or Thailand the right to exist as a state? Why is it that, among the 195 members of the United Nations, only one state’s existence is challenged? And what does the focus on Israel say about the endurance of antisemitism, 80 years after the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust?

Upholding Our Democratic Values

JFrg is grounded in the belief that true democracy thrives on the inclusion of all voices and the protection of human rights. We stand for a UCLA that champions diversity, not division, and embraces civil discourse, not hostility. Our commitment to democratic values is unwavering, and we believe that the resilience of the Jewish community and indeed, of all people, comes from standing firm in the face of adversity without resorting to exclusion, intimidation, extremism or hatred.

Kira Stein, MD is the founder and Chair of the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group at UCLA. She also serves as an assistant clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

David Nimmer, JD is the Legal Chair of JFrg at UCLA and Professor from Practice at the UCLA School of Law.