Zionism: A Word Everyone Uses, and Few Understand

The debate over Zionism, Jews and Israel—long one of the most volatile arenas of international politics—has grown profoundly toxic since the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre and the devastating civilian toll of Israel’s response. In Canada, the fallout has been severe.

Zionism is defined by traditional Zionists as a movement for Jewish self determination and safety against antisemitism in their ancestral land. That notion has been stripped of its meaning, weaponized in public discourse, and turned into a proxy for broader ideological battles.

As a result, many Canadians—Jews and non Jews—confuse support for Israel’s legitimacy as a Jewish state with support for the Netanyahu government’s actions in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. Non Jewish attitudes toward Jews and Israel have grown significantly more negative since 2024, driving a sharp increase in insecurity among Canadian Jews.

The 2026 Canadian Jewish Barometer by researchers Robert Brym and Rhonda Lenton provides a comprehensive study of attitudes among Jews and non Jews. It portrays a national conversation in which factions speak past one another. The data reveal deepening ideological divides, growing misinterpretations across communities, and a political culture in which identity language is weaponized.

Antisemitism, once thought to be declining, has re emerged sharply in public spaces. The 2024 ADL Global 100 index finds that core antisemitic attitudes in Canada remain historically stable at roughly 8%, among the lowest in the Western world. Yet hateful behaviour tells a different story. This divergence—attitude versus behaviour—reflects a familiar sociological pattern: underlying prejudices remain stable, but outward behaviour reacts intensely to geopolitical shocks. After October 7, social media amplification and partisan news coverage mobilised individuals who already held latent prejudices.

B’nai Brith Canada recorded an unprecedented 6,800 antisemitic including anti-Zionist incidents in 2025—the highest level since tracking began in 1982.

Recent assessments by Statistics Canada and Canada’s Integrated Threat Assessment Center warn that Canadian Jews remain a prime target for hate crimes and extremist violence. Police reported religion motivated hate crimes against Jews surged after 2023, with a noticeable decline to 788 crimes in 2025. Statistics Canada’s figures are much lower than B’nai Brith’s, which are partly explained by police under reporting and the stricter legal criteria of the police. Jews remain overwhelmingly the most targeted religious group, far ahead of Muslims, consistently receiving about 70% of incidents despite being only 1% of the population. In 2025, Jews were targeted 21 times more per capita than Muslims.

According to the Barometer, 88% of Canadian Jews report feeling markedly less safe than in previous years. A majority encountered antisemitic graffiti, slurs or Holocaust denial, while 10% faced physical intimidation or assault.

While most non Jewish Canadians continue to hold favourable views of Jewish people (82%), their opinions of Israel have deteriorated dramatically (48% favourable). This suggests that many Canadians can separate Jewish identity from Israeli state actions. The major exception lies within Muslim communities, where negative views of Israel and negative views of Jews often reinforce one another.

Ideology shapes this divide. On the political left, criticism of Israel’s military conduct is uncompromising while views of Jews remain relatively positive. However, sympathy is often conditional on Jews distancing themselves from Zionism or Israeli government policy. On the right, the pattern reverses: Israel is defended as a democratic ally fighting Islamic terrorism, while Jews are viewed negatively through antisemitic tropes, particularly among the far right.

Demographics mirror these ideological lines. Most individuals in all groups, apart from “all other Canadians,” have negative attitudes toward Israel. Hostility is strongest among Muslim Canadians, followed by left leaning Canadians, racialized Canadians, university students and Francophone Quebecers. Conversely, support for Israel tends to be concentrated among Christians and those who place themselves on the right.

These camps reflect distinct cultural frameworks: campus politics shaped by left wing anti racism and anti colonialism; Quebec’s strict secularism and suspicion of religious particularism; racial minorities’ resentment of perceived Western privilege; and conservatives’ security focused worldview.

Iran’s confrontation with Israel and ISIS Islamic terrorists contribute indirectly to Canada’s elevated levels of antisemitic incidents—through regional conflict, proxy propaganda and ideological radicalization—but this is only one part of a broader threat environment that also includes far right conspiracy driven hatred and anti Zionist activism on the left.

The deepest confusion in the Barometer involves the term Zionism. A substantial minority of non Jewish Canadians view Zionism as a form of racism, yet a small majority are pro Zionist—that is, they agree that Jews are entitled to a Jewish state in their ancient land. Non Jewish Canadians increasingly conflate Zionism with the actions of the Israeli government, particularly its war in Gaza, which a slim majority view as genocide.

This linguistic confusion has alienated Canadian Jews. Nearly all believe Israel has a fundamental right to exist as a Jewish state. Yet almost half refuse the label “Zionist,” while only a tiny minority (2.5%) identify as anti Zionist. The term has become contaminated by association with settlement expansion after 1967, settler violence against Palestinians and the disproportionate death of women and children in Gaza.

Internal cohesion among Jewish communities is fraying. A growing minority report little or no emotional connection to Israel, citing a clash with their “Jewish values.” The Barometer identifies a divide between Canadian Jews who oppose criticizing Israel during wartime and those who believe the Israeli government should be criticized for adopting strategies that prevent compromise with the Palestinians and violate liberal democratic principles.

The Canadian government has taken a step toward addressing rising hate, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, through the new Combatting Hate Act. The legislation expands law enforcement powers, creating offences for intimidation around religious and community institutions, strengthening penalties for hate motivated crimes, prohibiting public display of hate symbols and terrorist insignia, and refining the legal definition of hate while safeguarding free expression.

Canadian Jewish and Non-Jewish organisations broadly welcome the Act but Jewish organizations urge stronger enforcement and faster prosecutions. Non Jewish civil rights groups stress that legislation alone cannot curb hate without education and prevention.

Navigating the fractured landscape demands careful language and clarity of intent. As a Canadian Jew, I support an Israel that embodies the values of its Declaration of Independence—freedom, justice, equality of social and political rights for all its inhabitants and adherence to the UN Charter. The current far right government led by Netanyahu has departed from those principles through territorial expansion, religious fundamentalism, anti Arab racism, disrespect of international law and the erosion of liberal democratic norms. To distinguish myself from extremist Zionists, I describe myself as a progressive and liberal Zionist.

The Barometer shows a Canadian society in which fear, confusion and ideological absolutism shape the political landscape, leaving Canadian Jews exposed to an extreme sense of insecurity. Reclaiming Zionism as a liberal democratic commitment to equality, justice, security and national self determination for both Jews and Palestinians is no longer a matter of semantics. It is a necessary act of moral and political clarity.