No Disclaimers. No Retreat. Proudly Zionist.

For years, many European Jews followed an unwritten rule: keep your head down, practice Jewish life quietly,  and leave Israel out of polite conversation.

The thinking was simple. If we kept our Zionism discreet, we could avoid conflict. We could send our children to Jewish schools behind security gates, visit friends and family in Israel during the holidays, and still be accepted as equal citizens in our home countries.

That strategy did not work.

Three years after October 7, the illusion that discretion buys us safety has collapsed. Muting our connection to Israel did not bring peace or civic goodwill. Instead, it signaled to mainstream society that our place is conditional and negotiable.

Today, Jews face an absurd litmus test across European societies. Before being welcomed, Jews are expected to recite a disclaimer: I distance myself from Israel.

We must stop playing this game.

Immediately.

No other minority in Europe is asked to apologize for its heritage, disown its people, or denounce its ancestral homeland just to be treated with basic respect. When we offer apologies to gain social approval, we do not earn acceptance. We only reinforce the toxic idea that supporting the Jewish state is something shameful.

Aliyah is a foundational part of Jewish life, and every Jew who chooses Israel as their home deserves full recognition and support. At the same time, surrendering the European public square is not an answer to antisemitism – it is Europe’s capitulation to it. European Jews are not temporary guests living here on good behavior. We helped build these cities. We contributed to science, law, the arts, and the democratic institutions of this continent. We have every right to remain, participate, speak openly, and shape the societies of which we are citizens.

Israel does not benefit from an intimidated Diaspora that disappears into the background. It needs strong, self-confident communities in major European capitals such as London, Paris, Brussels, and Berlin: communities that show up in the public square, speak clearly, and defend their rights as citizens.

What we need today is an open, unapologetic, and unwavering Zionism.

Zionism is the modern political realization of an ancient bond: Jewish peoplehood, our historic ties to the Land of Israel, and our fundamental right to national self-determination.

Refuse the disclaimer. Never apologize for Israel’s existence or its fight for survival.

Reject the double standard. Demand the same civic respect granted to every other community, without accepting political tests that are imposed specifically on Jews.

Stay visible in public life. Do not hide your Jewish and Zionist identity. Do not retreat behind closed doors out of fear.

Modern European democracy rests on the principles of pluralism and equal citizenship. If an institution cannot tolerate a Jewish citizen who openly supports the State of Israel, the fault does not lie with that Jew. The fault lies with an institution that has allowed antisemitism to be normalized.

We live here. We contribute here. We belong here.

Our citizenship does not depend on distancing ourselves from Israel, and our Jewishness does not require anyone’s approval.

We will argue, criticize, vote, protest, and disagree, as Jews always have. But we will not accept the premise that Jewish belonging becomes respectable only when Zionism is excised from it.

We do not need permission to stand with our people.

And we will not apologize for being Zionists.