National Post
· collected 2026-08-26 · by Special to National Post
analysis
Jewish Faculty Network members claim in an op-ed that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism, citing a supposed distinction between Jewishness as a religious identity and support for the state of Israel. However, Robert Brym disputes this assertion using data from two surveys: one found 92% of Canadian Jews support a Jewish state, while another found only 5% identify as anti-Zionists. Brym argues that Jewish statehood is a core element of Jewish identity, and erasing its significance can be antisemitic. He also criticizes the JFN for opposing the IHRA's definition of antisemitism.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-26,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Robert Brym, a special contributor to the National Post, argues that anti-Zionism is indeed antisemitic. In response to a recent op-ed by members of the Jewish Faculty Network (JFN), who claim that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism and that Jewishness is solely a religious identity, Brym notes that 92% of Canadian Jews support the existence of a Jewish state in Israel, making them "Zionist" under the standard definition. He also points out that 86% of Canadian Jews consider supporting Israel an essential part of their Jewish identity. This contrasts with only 60% who see attending synagogue as important to their identity and 59% who believe it is essential. Brym suggests that this survey evidence contradicts the JFN's assertions, implying that anti-Zionism may indeed be antisemitic.
Written for “Anti-Semitism in Academia” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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Leaning score +0.85 for article 2455 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-08-27
In a recent Globe & Mail op-ed, members of the Jewish Faculty Network (JFN) assert that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism, that Jewishness is an exclusively religious identity that has nothing to do with statehood and that the debate between Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews has been going strong for 100 years.
asserted
debate → assert → years
Their assertions are made without the benefit of reference to recent anonymous peer-reviewed survey research or anything more than a distorted understanding of modern Jewish history.
asserted
assertions → make → history
A 2026 survey of a representative sample 626 Canadian Jewish adults found that 92 per cent of Canadian Jews support the existence of a Jewish state in Israel.
asserted
cent → find → Israel
They therefore fit the standard definition of “Zionist.”
asserted
They → fit → Zionist
Eighty-six per cent of Canadian Jews think that supporting Israel is an important or essential part of their Jewish identity.
asserted
supporting → think → identity
Jewish statehood is thus a core element of Jewish identity for the overwhelming majority of Jews in Canada — and also, of course, for Jews in Israel (where about one-half of the world’s Jewish population resides) and elsewhere.
asserted
half → reside → population
In contrast, just 60 per cent of Canadian Jews consider attending synagogue an important or essential part of Jewish identity; 59 per cent say the same about observing Jewish religious law.
asserted
cent → consider → law
Members of the JFN are therefore wrong to claim that being Jewish is only a matter of religion and not a matter of statehood.
uncertain
being → claim → statehood
Moreover, just as it is antisemitic to discriminate against Jews based on their religion, I believe it is antisemitic to erase support for the existence of a Jewish state as a core part of Jewish identify.
asserted
it → discriminate → identify
They deny the need for the existence of a Jewish state.
asserted
They → deny → state
In Canada, a 2025 survey of 332 Jewish Canadians found that 1 per cent of Canadian Jews at the time regarded themselves as anti-Zionists, while the most recent 2026 survey of 625 Canadian Jews cited earlier puts the number at 5 per cent.
asserted
survey → find → cent
The proportion of Jews who deny the need for Jewish statehood is thus tiny.
asserted
who → deny → statehood
The representatives of the JFN correctly note that Reform Judaism in mid-19th century Germany held that Jewishness is exclusively a religious category.
asserted
Jewishness → note → Germany
However, a century later, in the early 1940s, Reform Judaism officially endorsed the need for a Jewish state as the extent of the Holocaust became apparent.
asserted
extent → endorse → Holocaust
Similarly, the members of the JFN cite the Jewish Labour Bund of Poland and Lithuania as a large and vigorous opponent of Zionism since its founding in 1897.
asserted
members → cite → 1897
Most Bundists were killed in the Holocaust and many of those who survived became Zionists in the face of the Holocaust.
asserted
who → kill → Holocaust
In fact, Tel Aviv became one of the centers of Bundism after the Second World War.
asserted
Aviv → become → War
It should not surprise us that the JFN has written an op-ed arguing that anti-Zionism isn’t antisemitism.
asserted
Zionism → surprise → ed
In the principles section of their website, they state that they oppose the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism which was accepted by Canada in 2019.
asserted
which → state → 2019
It includes non-legally binding illustrative examples of what might constitute antisemitism, including, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination.”
uncertain
what → include → determination
Notably, the JFN’s “principles” page on their website lacks any mention of the horrific attacks on October 7, and their press release page includes only two entries, one opposing the IHRA definition and one about “anti-Palestinian racism.”
asserted
page → lack → racism
Many Jewish Zionists, including me, are highly critical of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and its conduct in the Israel-Hamas war.
asserted
Zionists → include → war
However, for reasons I’ve indicated, I regard the small coterie of Jewish anti-Zionists as misguided.
asserted
I → indicate → Zionists
