Israelis don't care what you think about Zionism.

Israel is not a cause. It’s a country. It exists so that Jews — real, breathing, imperfect, wonderful Jews — have unapologetic control of our own destiny.

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Last week, while visiting my parents in the United States, I attended an event about Zionism at a synagogue.

The crux of this event was a three-person panel, hosted by a well-known American rabbi. On the panel were two American Jews and one person who claimed to be Israeli — but his American accent was too good for me to buy what he was trying to sell.

Their focus was on what they, perhaps speaking for many American Jews, envisioned the future of Zionism to be. It was everything that is wrong with America, and a lot of what is wrong with American Jews.

No doubt, October 7th and its aftermath have made Israel a monumental conversation amongst world Jewry, in large part because Diaspora Jews are being targeted, intimidated, defamed, and excluded for the Jewish state’s actions (many fabricated or outright lies) in Gaza.

But this does not give anyone not living in Israel the right to define or redefine Zionism.

The idea that American Jews, nearly all of whom have never lived in Israel, can define and redefine Zionism is laughable to say the least. It’s cute, in a way. College students with Che Guevara t-shirts, think tank interns who just discovered the word sababa, and even some clueless “progressive Jews” all seem to think that the fate of the Jewish state hinges on how they feel about it. As if Israel is a reality show waiting for audience approval.

None of this is surprising, of course. Americans in general have grossly overvalued their opinions and perspectives on the world stage, known as “American exceptionalism.” Unsurprisingly, many American Jews have acquired this mentality.

There is also the fact that American Jews, on the whole, are a very successful minority in the most impactful country in our post-World War II world. We should also note that parts of American culture give people an unfounded sense of entitlement, especially those who come from homes with money and means.

This is a great way to proliferate future social media influencers and TED Talk speakers, but a terrible way to cultivate a society grounded in reality.

And so we arrive at this peculiar moment where American Jews — most of whom have never lived in Israel, many of whom have barely visited, and some of whom can’t locate the Jordan River on a map — believe they are the rightful arbiters of Zionism’s future.

This is, to put it politely, delusional. To put it less politely: Who asked you?

There’s a certain adorable arrogance to the whole thing — like a group of American tourists in Paris trying to redesign the Eiffel Tower because they “just feel it could be more inclusive.” This is the energy many American Jews bring to conversations about Zionism, as if their personal discomfort with Jewish power, Jewish military strength, or the messy reality of Jewish sovereignty in the Middle East entitles them to a vote.

Zionism — real Zionism — was always about Jewish self-determination in Israel. That’s it. It was not about whether your university’s Hillel president feels spiritually aligned with the IDF’s rules of engagement, or whether your sociology professor thinks Israel’s public transportation system sufficiently reflects the values of TikTok-era intersectionality.

The concept of Zionism was about ending 2,000 years of Jewish powerlessness. The practice of it is about building and securing a country where Jews don’t have to care what anyone on the outside thinks about them.

But here come many American Jews, essentially saying: “Israel would really benefit from having a relationship with us, but only if Israel adopts our own (largely liberal) worldview.” In other words, they want Israel to exist not as a sovereign nation, but as an extension of their own identity project — a symbolic accessory, like a tote bag with Hebrew writing on it.

This is the root of their anxiety: Israel doesn’t need them. And worse — Israel doesn’t even particularly want their input.

Naturally, many American Jews will ferociously call out the so-called “military aid” that the U.S. has long provided Israel. This only demonstrates their utter ignorance about international relations and geopolitics — not to mention the stunning self-importance required to believe that a strategic alliance between two sovereign nations exists primarily to make taxpayers feel better.

Let’s clear this up once and for all: The U.S. does not “give” Israel military aid. This isn’t a charity drive, and it’s not a GoFundMe for the Iron Dome. It’s a mutually beneficial, transactional military-industrial agreement between two countries that share interests, intelligence, and enemies.

The U.S. provides Israel with financing — but nearly all of it must be spent purchasing equipment and technology from American defense contractors. In other words, this “aid” is actually a government stimulus package for the American arms industry, with Israel acting as one of its best customers.

And what does America get in return? Only the most battle-tested, field-proven military technology on earth; real-time intelligence from the frontlines of global terror; counterterrorism innovations that protect American soldiers and civilians; and a reliable, technologically advanced, and brutally effective military partner in the most strategically volatile region on the planet.

Israel is not a welfare case; it is the R&D department for much of the Western world’s war on terror — and it happens to do this while also being the only functioning democracy in the Middle East.

So when American Jews puff out their chests and say things like “We fund Israel!” they’re not only exposing their ignorance; they’re engaging in a kind of fantasy philanthropy that has nothing to do with reality. Israel’s existence does not depend on American Jews’ approval, their opinions, or their tax dollars. It depends on Israeli ingenuity, Israeli resilience, and Israeli power.

This misunderstanding — this illusion that Israel is somehow an extension of American Jews’ good intentions — is part of the broader pathology that leads American Jews to believe they have a right to define or redefine Zionism. They don’t. They never did. Zionism wasn’t a Kickstarter campaign. It was the most successful self-liberation movement in modern history, and its shareholders are the Jews who actually live the consequences of Jewish sovereignty.

Want to support Israel? Great. Want to critique Israel? Fine. But please, spare us the self-flattering fiction that your opinions are payments on some moral mortgage that gives you a controlling stake in the Zionist project. That house was built — and is defended — by Israelis. You’re welcome to visit and even move here. But you don’t own the place.

The future of Zionism will be written in Hebrew, not English. It will be shaped by decisions made in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, not on the Upper West Side or in Palo Alto. It will be forged by soldiers and mothers and farmers and tech nerds, not by panels of earnest American Jews wringing their hands about whether they can still post a blue-and-white flag on Instagram without losing followers.

The days when American Jews could see themselves as Zionism’s benevolent parents are over. If anything, Israel is now the disappointed adult, and American Jews are the petulant children. Israelis built a country. American Jews built a discourse. One of these things can courageously defend itself; the other can’t even survive a heated debate at brunch.

Make no mistake, Israel absolutely wants a relationship with world Jewry — it’s family, after all — but this relationship will be on Israel’s terms, not the other way around. American Jews who love Israel will need to love it as it actually is — flawed, proud, and stubborn — not as some fairy tale they wish it would be.

Now, maybe you don’t like the flawed, proud, and stubborn Israel. Maybe you think it’s too messy, too religious, too Right-wing, or just doesn’t match your preferred aesthetic of what a “moral nation” should look like.

But Israel doesn’t exist to flatter your ethical sensibilities in some far away land. It exists so that Jews — real, breathing, imperfect, wonderful Jews — have unapologetic control of our own destiny.

This is the part that really seems to confuse many American Jews: Israel is not a cause, it’s a country. It’s a country full of people who argue constantly, who vote, protest, fail, succeed, and send their kids to the army so they can have a shot at not being slaughtered in their own homes. Your panel about how they should behave in their tiny strip of land — smaller than New Jersey — is received with the same enthusiasm Israelis reserve for their third parking ticket of the week.

Zionism, you see, is not a debate club topic. And Israel’s existence doesn’t hinge on your applause; it hinges on Israelis’ own ability to outlast the next wave of existential threats, international hypocrisy, and internal chaos. And somehow, they keep doing exactly that.

So by all means, have your hot takes. Tweet your threads. Write your 7,000-word think pieces about how Zionism is problematic because some out-of-touch academic said so.

But understand this: Israel doesn’t care. Zionism doesn’t need your gold star. And Israelis — after 2,000 years of exile and slaughter — are not interested in your synagogue social hall.

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