Last week, BCTC joined a JTeen program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta presented by Alex Harris from Unpacked. A powerful intergenerational conversation with teens, college students, parents, educators, and professionals at Emory Hillel.
We gathered to talk about things many people hear every day — but few feel equipped to explain:
Zionism.
Anti-Zionism.
Jewish identity.
And where criticism ends and hate begins.
With support from Unpacked, the conversation began not with arguments or headlines, but with a question:
“What are we actually talking about?”
Because so much of the conflict around Zionism comes from people using the word without knowing what it means.
One student put it plainly:
“People use ‘Zionist’ as a slur. When they ask me if I’m one, I say yes — and then I ask if they know what it means.”
Together, we grounded the conversation in clarity:
Zionism, at its core, is the belief that Jews are a people with the right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland.
Not a government.
Not a policy.
Not agreement with every action of the State of Israel.
We talked about self-determination as a modern, universal principle — and why supporting it for everyone except Jews isn’t principled, it’s exclusionary.
We named something else that mattered deeply in the room: Zionism has never been one thing.
There have always been multiple Zionisms — political, cultural, religious, labor, diaspora. Disagreement isn’t a flaw. It’s part of the tradition.
And we addressed the accusation that so often shuts conversation down.
When people say “Zionism is racism” or “colonialism,” we asked:
Is that an argument — or an emotional shortcut?
As our facilitator noted, labels are often used as weapons when curiosity is replaced by slogans.
The most powerful moments came in small groups, when people shared lived experience.
College students spoke about being targeted on campus — sometimes loudly, sometimes casually — regardless of how visibly Jewish they were.
A parent reflected:
“Some people openly hate Jews. Others say they’re ‘anti-Zionist’ but insist they support their Jewish friends. It’s the same logic as saying ‘some of my best friends are Black.’”
Another participant observed something important:
“Growing up, the antisemitism I experienced wasn’t about Israel. It existed before — it just shows up differently now.”
We also made space for what sustains us.
Others spoke about community, travel, allyship, and showing up — including the power of standing among hundreds of thousands of Jews, unafraid, after October 7.
The takeaway that resonated across generations was simple and steady:
Knowing your story makes you resilient.
When you know your history and your language:
- insults lose their power
- confusion doesn’t destabilize you
- you choose when to engage — and when not to
Knowledge becomes confidence.
Confidence becomes resilience.
We also named what was missing.
We wish more of the interfaith community had been in the room — not to debate, but to learn with us and from us. Because this is not a “Jewish problem.” Hate doesn’t stop at one group. And understanding only grows when we’re willing to sit together.
This is what BCTC does.
We create space for learning before arguing.
For courage without performance.
For conversations that don’t erase complexity — and don’t erase people.
Zionism isn’t a slogan or a slur.
It’s a people’s story of identity, continuity, and self-determination.
And it’s still being written.
We’re grateful to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta for organizing this event together with Unpacked, and we were glad to see everyone who showed up — committed to continuing these conversations, together.
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