Identity Tests Target Jews

December 2, 2025

BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS TO CONSIDER – STORIES MAKING NEWS

Purity Tests Target Jewish Identity to Segregate Jews

A growing number of Jews are being told they may only eat at certain restaurants, participate in organizations and even attend a soccer game if they abandon a core element of their identity – Zionism. In schools, professional fields and community spaces across America, the rise of ideological “purity tests” for Jews deems who are acceptable and who are not. Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to live in their ancestral homeland. For Jews, Zionism reflects an intersection of family history and deep identity rooted in both pride and tragedy.

Erasing Jews from Society: Zionist Purity Tests

Muslim student organizations at the City College of New York recently announced they would only engage with anti-Zionist Jews – explicitly excluding Jews who identify with Zionism. This followed an university interfaith event where an Islamic speaker led a walkout of Muslim students. They objected to the presence of Ilya Bratman, executive director of the Baruch College Hillel Jewish student group. He stated: “It was 100 percent anti-Jewish. It’s not about Israel. It’s about the Jews.”

The purity tests for Jewish students existed before the Hamas massacres on Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing war against Iran-backed terrorists in Gaza. A sexual assault support group at a NY state college campus in 2022 kicked out co-founder Cassie Blotner and Israeli Ofek Preis because they shared an Instagram post explaining how Jews are an ethnic group indigenous to Israel.

USC student government leader Rose Ritch resigned in 2020 after being targeted by a social media campaign that urged fellow students to “impeach her Zionist a**.” Anti-Israel activists subjected her to relentless anti-Jewish harassment and accusations that she was unfit to serve because she was a Zionist. Ritch emphasized that “an attack on my Zionist identity is an attack on my Jewish identity.”

These patterns are not limited to student life. Similar purity tests have emerged in professional fields, cultural spaces and activist circles. Jewish psychologists report being marginalized unless they accept environments where anti-Zionist rhetoric is normalized and Jewish concerns are dismissed. The president of an American Psychological Association division called Zionists “genocidal f*cks.” Harvard Medical School’s Dr. David Rosmarin explained that anti-Jewish hate in the APA “means that there is no room for Jews.” Jewish patients also report too many clinicians allow anti-Zionist beliefs and rhetoric to interfere with their treatment.

The 2019 DC Dyke March banned rainbow flags with the Jewish star – a symbol of queer Jewish identity. Israeli writer Hen Mazzig warned: “Banning the Jewish star is an erasure of millions of Israelis and it makes all Jews feel unsafe in spaces meant to be safe for everyone.”

Exclusionary patterns in all these cases invoke the classic anti-Jewish trope of dual loyalty – the idea that Jews who identify with Israel cannot be trusted – echoing past attempts to spurn Jews and brand them as outsiders.

A recent Jewish People Policy Institute survey emphasized how central Zionism is for American Jews: 82% identify as Zionist or support Zionism, and 88% believe that Israel’s existence is essential for Jews.

#ZionistsNotWelcome: A Disturbing Global Trend

The Dublin city council in Ireland recently voted to rename Herzog Park in response to an anti-Israel petition, before suspending the decision after strong criticism. The park recognizes Ireland-born, former Israeli President Chaim Herzog, “a hero of Europe’s liberation from the Nazis who dedicated his life to pursuing freedom, tolerance and peace.” Activists sought to “permanently rename the park in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in rejection of racist Zionism.” Speaking out in support of her grandfather, Dr. Alexandra Herzog insisted that “Irish Jewish history is part of Ireland’s history. Protect it.”

Signs reading, “If you see a Zionist, call the anti-terror hotline #ZionistsNotWelcome,” appeared in Birmingham, England, in November. Masked men posted the signs the night before a soccer game between Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv and Aston Villa. Israelis and local Jews were banned from attending the match by the local British police who relied on fake claims spread by anti-Israel activists. Police leaders also inverted reality to falsely blame Israelis for the well-planned violent Jew-hunt in Amsterdam in 2024 after a Maccabi game, when mobs targeted anyone on the street who looked Jewish.

Other incidents illustrate how widespread this trend has become: a Swedish restaurant owner recently announced a ban on Zionists in a social media video, an Israeli family was kicked out of an Italian restaurant and a Toronto business owner declared in 2020 that “Zionists are not welcome in my store.”

Erasing Jewish History: Expulsion from Arab Countries and Iran

The attempted erasure of Zionist Jews from society echoes an ancient and often overlooked history. In the years following the re-establishment of a Jewish homeland, nearly one million Jews were expelled or forced to flee from Arab countries and Iran – communities that lived across the Middle East and North Africa for millennia. Nov. 30 marked Israel’s official day of commemoration for these expulsions.

These Jews faced systemic discrimination, violence and state-sanctioned persecution: their citizenship was revoked, property confiscated, synagogues destroyed and entire communities uprooted. Jews who had lived in the region before the start of Islam found themselves targeted as enemies in the places they had called home for generations.

Aharon Abudi was born in Iraq in 1938 and lived in an area with a large Jewish community. During his childhood, violence against Iraqi Jews escalated: “Muslim children beat Jewish children only because they were Jewish. Thousands of Jews were arrested and tortured. In 1950, the government allowed Jews to leave if they gave up their citizenship, assets and right to return. The Jews were allowed to leave with the clothes on their backs and only one suitcase.”

1. Anti-Zionist purity tests target Jewish identity: Anti-Israel activists are using Jewish identity to select Jews who are allowed to participate in social activities and campus organizations and who are not. Demands to “only engage with anti-Zionist Jews” are not political positions – they are ultimatums that force Jews to renounce a core part of their identity. These tests treat participation and membership as conditional, signaling Jews are only acceptable if they deny who they are.
2. ‘Zionists’ are a code word for Jews: Attempts to separate “acceptable Jews” from “Zionist Jews” segregates Jewish identity. Anti-Israel activists are marginalizing, ostracizing and excluding Jews under the appearance of targeting Zionists or Israelis. This distinction misrepresents mainstream Judaism, distorts Jewish life and fuels stereotypes that erase the authenticity of real Jewish identity. This rhetoric must be recognized and rejected for what it is: Excluding Zionists means excluding Jews.
3. Attacks on Zionism silence and marginalize Jewish students: On many campuses, attacks on Zionism have created an environment where Jewish students feel pressured to stay quiet, avoid leadership roles or hide parts of their identity. Students have been questioned about their “objectivity” and “loyalty” because they are Jewish, pushed out of student groups and targeted online. These actions are the opposite of what schools claim to value: freedom of expression and speech. Instead, anti-Israel activists ostracize young Jews and undermine their ability to fully participate in campus life.
4. Historical amnesia fuels modern hate against Jews: When society forgets how often Jews have been scapegoated, expelled or stripped of their rights across different eras, it becomes easier to recycle the same hostility in new forms. Soviet leaders promoted anti-Jewish hate by calling Jews capitalists and some Western leaders justified their discrimination by labeling Jews Soviet Bolsheviks. Now, Jewish history is erased to portray Zionism as foreign or immoral. This amnesia does not just distort the past but also fuels dangerous narratives that legitimize attacking Jews.
5. The expulsion of Jews from Muslim countries helps expose the ‘colonizer’ lie: Jews are not strangers to the Middle East and North Africa, where their history dates back more than 4,000 years. The Romans, who conquered the area, enslaved or expelled most Jews from the Land of Israel 2,000 years later. Many Jews resettled in nearby countries and their communities lived across the region for centuries. Following the re-establishment of Israel in 1948, nearly one million Jews were expelled or forced to flee from Muslim countries. The false ‘colonizer’ accusation ignores this continuous presence and erases the experiences of Jews who were driven from their homeland.
6. False narratives are used to justify the social exclusion of Jews: Accusations of ‘apartheid,’ ‘genocide’ or ‘colonization’ are not only inaccurate – they portray Jewish identity and Zionism as immoral. These dishonest claims spread quickly with the backing of influential organizations, journalists and social media personalities. They create a moral pretext for excluding Jews from events, groups and public spaces. When a community is labeled as oppressive, targeting its members becomes easier to justify.
7. Delegitimizing Israel is being used to delegitimize Jews: Efforts to portray the Jewish state as uniquely illegitimate are being extended to Jews who overwhelmingly believe Israel is essential to their identity and security. By framing Israel as immoral, activists label Jews who support it as morally compromised as well. This rhetoric blurs any distinction between criticism of a country and the condemnation of an entire people.

Here are actions that can help counter exclusion, promote accurate information and support Jewish communities.

• Amplify personal stories: Share experiences of Jews who have faced purity tests or exclusion, ensuring their voices reach school officials, community leaders and the broader public.
• Engage politicians and community leaders: Contact your national, state and local elected officials, as well as school administrators and community leaders to explain how anti-Zionist gatekeeping harms Jewish participation and safety. Encourage them to enforce equal standards for everyone.
• Learn and share trusted resources on Jewish history: Read, watch and listen to accounts of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, including their expulsions and centuries-long presence in the region – to counter false narratives that erase their history:
  • Sephardi Voices: First comprehensive digital archive that documents and preserves the life stories of Jews who lived in Islamic lands
  • Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA) videos
  • Commemorating the expulsion of the Jews from Arab countries video

Stories Impacting American Jews

• U.S. House launches probes into anti-Jewish hate in three major public school districts: Fairfax County, VA, Berkeley, CA, and Philadelphia
• Civil rights lawsuit filed against Chapman Univ. after students with Jewish-sounding names prevented from attending event
• Jewish leaders cautiously optimistic over Northwestern Univ. settlement with Justice Dept. over anti-Jewish hate investigation
• ADL report, Two Years of Turmoil: The Strategic Evolution of Anti-Israel Activism on U.S. Campuses and 2025–2026 Challenges
• Actor Guy Pearce apologizes for sharing anti-Jewish posts falsely claiming Israel was behind 9/11 and Charlie Kirk’s murder
• Anti-Israel Jew Peter Beinart apologizes for speaking at Tel Aviv Univ. after BDS activist backlash

Stories Impacting the U.S. and Israel

• Harvard faculty sponsor rally at site of Boston Marathon bombing to call for a “global intifada”
• Council on American-Islamic Relations falsely blames Islamophobia on “Zionists”
• Radiohead’s Thom Yorke: “Social media witch-hunts” over his support for Israel “wakes me up at night”
• From Nova to the streets of France: Jewish women’s bodies turned into a battlefield

Stories from Around the World

• Sweden: “Zionists not welcome”: Swedish restaurant owner bans Zionists
• Norway: Government budget in peril in part over wealth fund’s investments in Israel

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