Education for Israel Must Include Middle East Context to Address Growing Anti-Zionist Sentiment

The Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs and Security has called for a comprehensive overhaul of Israel’s educational framework, arguing that current curricula fail to provide a nuanced understanding of the Middle East, its religious context, and regional geopolitics. This lack of context, the report suggests, hinders the ability of both Israelis and Jews abroad to grasp the complexities of Israel’s actions and its place in the broader Middle East.

The Venice Film Festival in September 2026 highlighted this growing disconnect when it awarded its senior award to two young Israeli producers for a film titled “Naza.” The film, which falsely accuses Israel of systematically murdering children in Gaza, was not merely a cinematic premiere but a preview of how an increasing segment of the Jewish world now perceives Israel. The film’s portrayal of Israel reflects a broader trend of mischaracterization and misunderstanding that the report attributes to inadequate education.

This framing of Israel’s actions as “genocide” is not a fringe phenomenon. During the last Yom Kippur, Brad Lander, a Democratic Congressional Candidate for New York’s Tenth District, addressed a Brooklyn audience, suggesting that collective penance involves accepting responsibility for Israel’s alleged “genocide.” This sentiment echoes the views of earlier generations of academics, including Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein, Avi Shlaim, and Ilan Pappe, who have long criticized Israeli policies.

Recent surveys reveal a significant shift in public opinion. About a quarter of American students remained undecided on whether Israel should exist as a Jewish state following October 7, 2023, while 34 percent of Jewish students identifying as “very liberal” explicitly opposed its existence—compared to only 8 percent among conservatives. Additionally, about a third of American Jews aged 18-34 now define themselves as anti-Zionist or non-Zionist, with similar generational patterns observed in the UK.

Education for Israel, the report argues, suffers from the same failure as information: it is unable to explain why Israel acts the way it does. This is due to the adoption of a double standard by the global community. The United Nations exemplifies this issue, having passed 173 resolutions condemning Israel or distinguishing it from criticism between 2015 and 2024—more than the number of resolutions against the rest of the world combined. In November 2025 alone, the General Assembly condemned Israel six times, while Sudan, where war had claimed over a thousand lives, received fewer condemnations.

Israel is often accused of acting as an external colonialist rather than a regional player. However, when it acts as a Middle Eastern state—asserting its territorial rights, treating violence based on rejection as an existential threat rather than a negotiated issue, and preferring deterrence over diplomatic sentiment—it is condemned as uncivilized, as a rogue state in a world of countries that refuse to play by Western rules.

To break this damaging pattern, the report emphasizes the need for a more balanced and informed perspective. Understanding Israel as a Middle Eastern state, with its unique historical and geopolitical context, is essential for fostering a more just and peaceful future. This requires education that reflects the realities of the region, including its religious and cultural dimensions, and encourages a deeper engagement with the complexities of Israel’s actions and the broader Middle East.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Hebrew)