As Israel approaches elections, too many politicians are promising to form a “Zionist government.” The phrase is presented as self-evidently virtuous, as though liberal democratic Israeli could not possibly object to it.
I object. I do not want what they call a Zionist government. I want an Israeli government.
I want a government representing all Israeli citizens who accept the common principles of liberal democracy and the values expressed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. I want Jewish and Arab citizens, religious and secular citizens, conservatives, liberals, and social democrats to be able to participate in government according to their policies, their conduct, and their commitment to democratic rules – not according to their ethnicity.
Zionism was the national movement through which the Jewish people pursued self-determination in their historic homeland. Its central political objective was achieved in 1948 with the creation of the State of Israel.
The question today is not whether Zionism has historical legitimacy. The question is what is being done in Israel in 2026 in the name of Zionism.
What is carried out in the name of Zionism?
Settlements are expanded throughout the occupied West Bank, not merely to provide housing but to prevent the territorial possibility of a Palestinian state. Roads, infrastructure, agricultural farms, security zones, public budgets, and administrative authority are used to deepen Israeli control and make political separation more difficult.
This is called Zionism.
Unauthorized outposts are established on Palestinian land and later supplied with electricity, roads, military protection, and public financing. What begins as an illegal act by ideological settlers is gradually transformed into official state policy.
This is called Zionism.
Palestinian communities are threatened, harassed, and sometimes forced from their homes and grazing lands. Armed settlers intimidate farmers, destroy property, attack villages, and use violence to alter the map. Too often, the army protects the settlers more effectively than it protects the Palestinians living beside them.
This is called Zionism.
Ministers speak openly of annexing most or all of the West Bank while opposing equal political rights for the millions of Palestinians who live there. They want the land without the people, sovereignty without citizenship, and permanent rule without democratic equality.
This is called Zionism.
Some political leaders advocate renewed Jewish settlement in Gaza. Others speak of “encouraging migration,” as though the removal of Palestinians from their homeland were a legitimate policy option rather than forced displacement.
This is called Zionism.
Arab citizens of Israel are told that their votes count but that the parties they elect are not legitimate partners in determining who governs the country. Jewish parties that attack democracy, equality, and the rule of law are still described as natural coalition partners, while Arab parties committed to peaceful political participation are excluded because they are not Zionist.
This, too, is called Zionism.
The judicial system is weakened, independent institutions are attacked, professional law enforcement is politicized, civil society is denounced as disloyal, and dissent is treated as betrayal. Loyalty to a particular nationalist ideology increasingly replaces loyalty to democratic principles.
This is called Zionism.
I am against all of these things.
Every Israeli who defines himself or herself as a liberal democrat should be against them as well. Jewish self-determination does not require denying the Palestinian people the same national rights we claim for ourselves. It does not require treating Palestinian citizens of Israel as permanent political outsiders. It does not require believing that Jewish rights are absolute while Palestinian rights are temporary, conditional, or negotiable.
Israel can remain the national home of the Jewish people. It can preserve Hebrew public culture, Jewish national holidays, the Law of Return for endangered Jewish communities, and a profound connection to Jewish history. But as a democratic state, it must belong equally to every citizen.
That commitment is present in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. The declaration promises freedom, justice, and peace. It pledges complete equality of social and political rights for all citizens, regardless of religion, race, or sex. It guarantees freedom of religion, conscience, language, education, and culture. It calls upon Arab citizens to participate in building the state on the basis of full and equal citizenship and appropriate representation in its institutions.
These words must not remain ceremonial language quoted on Independence Day and ignored for the rest of the year. They must become the basis of government.
When politicians promise a “Zionist government,” they mean a government from which Arab parties are excluded. Palestinian Arab citizens make up 20% of Israel’s population. They work in hospitals, universities, businesses, schools, local government, the judiciary, and every part of public life. They pay taxes and participate in elections.
Yet their political representatives are repeatedly told that they may not legitimately influence the formation of a government. Their votes are counted when seats are allocated but discounted when power is distributed.
The proper test for participation in government should not be whether a party defines itself as Zionist. The proper questions are: Does it accept democratic elections? Does it respect the law? Does it support equality? Does it reject political violence? Does it recognize the legitimacy of its opponents? Is it prepared to govern responsibly for the benefit of all citizens?
A Jewish party that rejects those principles is less fit to govern than an Arab party that accepts them. Arab citizens should not be required to adopt a Jewish national ideology as the price of political legitimacy. Jewish citizens should not be required to abandon their Jewish identity. We should all be required to accept a shared democratic covenant.
That covenant must include equal citizenship, judicial independence, freedom of expression, religious freedom, protection of minorities, civilian control of the security forces, rejection of political violence, and the state’s obligation to serve all its citizens. It must also include an end to permanent Israeli rule over the Palestinian people.
The next government should be formed by every party – Jewish or Arab – that accepts a common democratic platform. It should include all those committed to the Declaration of Independence, equality before the law, responsible government, and a political future based on two states and recognized borders.
Its members might disagree about economics, religion, education, public services, national history, and the precise terms of peace. They would not need to share one nationalism. They would need to share democratic rules.
The test of a good Israeli government is not how often its ministers use the word “Zionist.” The test is whether Jewish and Arab children receive equal opportunities; whether violence is prosecuted regardless of the identity of the perpetrator; whether public resources are distributed fairly; whether courts remain independent; whether citizens can replace their leaders; and whether the government seeks a future in which Israelis and Palestinians can live with freedom, dignity, and security.
I do not want a government of annexation, exclusion, Jewish supremacy, forced displacement, and permanent war, even if its leaders call it Zionist. I want an Israeli government grounded in the Declaration of Independence and liberal democracy.
I want a government that includes all Israelis who believe that the state belongs to all its citizens and that democracy must protect everyone.
Its members do not need a common nationalism. They need common democratic values.
