Director of the Jewish studies department and professor Nathaniel Deutsch began the academic panel, “Zionism: Past, Present, Future?” by reading aloud emails the Humanities Institute received in response to the announcement of the event.
“If students and staff cannot use the word genocide to describe what is happening in Gaza, hold events, discuss the loss of life freely in class, or critique the systems that empower it, I really don’t find it appropriate that there is a UC-sponsored event expanding on what the future of Zionism looks like. It is out of touch, neo-colonialist, and racist,” read one email.
“Hell no,” read another.
The comments reflected the increasing tension that students, faculty, alumni and community members feel about the topic of Zionism, particularly since Hamas’ attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent 15-month offensive. In light of discussions taking place in many campus communities and spaces, two forums were organized to discuss Zionism on Jan. 13, before the recent ceasefire was announced.
“I think [the responses] offer a sense of how important and urgent the topic of tonight’s discussion is for many people and … they provide a sense of the wide range of opinions both about Zionism and about this event itself and even the publicity for the event,” said Deutsch during the panel.
A few hours prior, Jews Against White Supremacy (JAWS) hosted a rally and teach-in titled, “Zionism and Antizionism 101” just outside the venue.
The Humanities Institute and Jewish studies department hosted the panel discussion co-sponsored by Porter College at the Music Recital Hall.
The Panel
(left to right) Nathaniel Duetsch, Shaul Magid, Liora Halperin, and Galia Stein‑Rosen onstage at the panel. Behind them is a picture of Theodor Herzl, an Austrian-Hungarian Jewish writer and founder of the modern Zionist movement, which was also featured in the event’s promotional material.
Moderated by Deutsch alongside professor of history Alma Heckman, the panel featured two distinguished professors in the Jewish studies discipline: Liora Halperin of the University of Washington and Rabbi Shaul Magid of Dartmouth University. Deutsch described the panel as an opportunity to have an academic approach to a discussion on Zionism. Dov Waxman, a UCLA professor who has faced criticism for his statements in support of Zionism, was invited, though did not attend due to ongoing fires in Los Angeles at the time.
“I think that we should be exploring in our classes and our research, and in events like the one that we had, topics that are in the news, that people think are crucial to their lives,” said professor Deutsch in an interview with City on a Hill Press after the panel.
During the panel, the moderators led a critical discussion of the definitions, significance and history of Zionism since the end of the 19th century. Later in the event, the panelists fielded questions from the audience.
Attendees wrote their questions on paper provided upon entry, the questions were then reviewed by moderators before they were presented to panelists. One of the questions that came from an anonymous audience member read, “What does it mean to even entertain a world in which there’s a future of Zionism when a genocide has been committed in the name of Zionism, what does a Zionist future mean for a Palestinian future?”
An attendee holding a notecard of questions for the panelists.
In an interview after the event, professor Magid discussed the importance of historical context and the value of academia when understanding how Zionism transitioned into the ethnocultural ideology it is today.
“I think one of the things that academia can provide is just a deeper, more complex, and nuanced understanding of a situation that’s taking a certain form at this moment, but didn’t always exist in this form and doesn’t always have to exist in this form,” said professor Magid in an interview with City on a Hill Press.
The panelists’ discussion focused primarily on the history of Judaism across centuries and how the concept of Zionism transitioned in the 20th century from a fringe ideology to an actualized reality in Israel.
The audience of about 75 people included students, faculty, and many community members of all ages, whose impressions of the panel varied.
“I thought they were making a serious effort to identify what’s really happening,” said Bill Rentz, a member of the Palestine Justice Coalition in an interview with City on a Hill Press following the event.
Robert Levering, a community member who said he spent time in Palestine, critiqued the panel’s lack of discussion on the present and felt the “cerebral” nature of the discussion did not reflect the situation in Gaza.
“What’s going on in the West Bank is just horrendous,” Levering said. “That wasn’t really raised at all.”
The JAWS Event
The teach-in, organized by JAWS, was led by two facilitators who read out quotes and prompted attendees to discuss them.
Prior to the panel, JAWS organized “Zionism and Antizionism 101.” The teach-in and rally was located outside of the Music Recital Hall and attracted about 35 students, faculty, and community members.
Max Sárosi, a JAWS member, spoke in reference to the panel and why JAWS chose to organize that afternoon.
“This is not something we could just do in an academic playground, this is a matter of life and death for Palestinians,” said Sárosi in an interview with City on a Hill Press in the minutes before the panel was set to begin.
As panel spectators arrived outside the recital hall that evening, student organizers and participants of the JAWS event yelled chants such as “hey-hey ho-ho Zionism has got to go,” held a banner that read “Jews for a Free Palestine” and distributed pamphlets titled “No Future for Zionism.”
The pamphlets specifically critiqued invited panelist Dov Waxman for his past articles on Zionism, inviting audience members to stand and turn their backs to the stage if Waxman “normalizes the violence of Zionism or mentions what he previously called ‘The Proxy War on U.S. Campuses.’” With Waxman not in attendance, no audience demonstrations occurred during the panel.
During the JAWS teach-in, groups sat on the floor reading through a list of quotes from Palestinian scholars such as Mohammed El-Kurd and founders of the Zionist movement such as Theodor Herzl. Following a presentation by JAWS facilitators on the history of Zionism, attendees asked and answered questions about the topic. Others wrote messages of resistance with chalk such as “Viva Viva Palestina.”
Sidewalk art drawn by attendees using chalk distributed by JAWS organizers.
JAWS member Robin Gabriel, spoke to the crowd about what the word Zionism means to them.
“Zionism is not only the theft of Palestinian futures. Zionism is the theft of time itself — past, present, and future,” said Gabriel in a speech made at the event.
Professor Christine Hong (left) and JAWS member Robin Gabriel (right) speaking at the JAWS teach-in.
As students and community members approach controversial and often emotion-filed dialogues on Zionism, panelist professor Halperin encouraged being open-minded and engaging with a wide variety of opinions.
“I try to respond with curiosity about where any individual student is coming from, [with a] willingness to listen and direct students to the kinds of texts, sources, and resources that will help them process their thoughts, and, above all, encouragement to commit deeply to learning from a wide range of sources,” said Halperin in an interview with City on a Hill Press after the panel.
In addition to the JAWS members who stood at the entrance, some JAWS members distributed pamphlets to attendees. Titled “NO FUTURE FOR ZIONISM,” the pamphlets explained why JAWS was present and their grievances with the UCSC Center for Jewish studies.
Both the JAWS event and subsequent panel illuminated the amount of community members interested in being a part of this conversation.
“I think the event’s makeup reflected how people from all walks of life — whether they’re anti-Zionists, Zionists, somewhere in between — all of us want to learn,” Sárosi said.
