‘Zionist’ Is Not a Slur. Harvard Students Need To Stop Using It as One.

“Zionists are terrorists…morally, practically, and historically.”

That’s what one Harvard student posted on his Instagram. He isn’t alone in his beliefs — I’ve heard the term “Zionist” hurled around like an insult countless times on Harvard’s campus.

Zionism — the movement for self-determination and statehood for the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland — should not be a dirty word. As an Israeli-American and a Jew at Harvard, it pains me to see it used that way. I realize that many who weaponize the word do not understand its definition or history. But I am sick of hearing so many students twist it into an antisemitic slur.

In no world does Zionism imply colonialism, as many who use it as a slur suggest. Zionism refers to the idea that Jews have a right to self-determination in their homeland, where they have lived for centuries and centuries. Israel is the cradle of Jewish civilization, the origin of our language, culture, and people. Colonialism, on the other hand, is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another. The former articulates a right for a persecuted people to govern themselves; the latter is about one people extractively and coercively governing another.

Associating Zionism with white supremacy is equally preposterous. Israel is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse states in the Middle East — more than 20 percent of its population consist of non-Jewish Arabs with completely equal rights. And around 50 percent of Israeli Jews are non-white.

Ultimately, Zionism is a cultural and national movement with a secular agenda. It formed in response to the continuous and unrelenting persecution of the Jewish people for over two millennia — from oppression under Ancient Egyptian and Roman rule to the pogroms and the Holocaust.

Furthermore, Zionists hold a wide range of political views. Some vehemently criticize the Israeli government; others support it. Many strongly oppose Israel’s conduct in Gaza or in the West Bank. But the decisions made by a country’s leadership and government should not call into question the legitimacy of the country’s existence, nor the ideals on which it is founded. I have my own qualms with the Israeli government, but I am still a Zionist because I believe in Jewish self-determination.

It’s infuriating to hear so many of my fellow students — friends, even, some of whom I otherwise respect — do their best to smear and delegitimize this basic right.

On social media, students post deeply antisemitic statements about Zionists, like telling those who support Israel’s right to exist to “burn in hell.” One student wrote on Sidechat, Harvard’s anonymous social media app, that all Zionists are “killers and rapists of Children.” In the comments, someone responded that the post “crosses a line” but they “don’t see it as antisemitism” because “they are speaking on Zionists” rather than Jews.

If the same language were used to describe almost any other movement for self-determination the student body would, rightly, be outraged. Yet somehow, attacks on Zionism — a national movement like any other, a movement for Jewish self-determination — aren’t considered a problem. We’re told it’s not antisemitism; it’s just politics.

The only way to make an argument against Zionism that doesn’t hold it to an antisemitic double standard is if one doesn’t believe in the right of a people to self-determine. But under this logic, calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state while calling for the destruction of a Jewish state in a land to which they are both indigenous is hypocritical.

The rampant antisemitism on Harvard’s campus only strengthens my belief in the importance of a Jewish state. Though its form may change over time, antisemitism is eternal. It is not only right for the Jewish people to have our own state, but it is also necessary for ensuring our survival.

“Zionist” is not a dirty word, although some students try to make others believe so. I hope they soon learn the truth. Until then, I will carry that scarlet letter with pride.

Maya Shiloni ’26, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a double concentrator in Government and Economics in Mather House.