By Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Gil Kapen
The horrific attack on Jews celebrating Chanukah at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia is, tragically, only the latest in a string of deadly attacks on Jews all over the world. It makes it all the more critical to recall an important and solemn milestone that recently passed relatively unnoticed. It’s been 50 years since the United Nations approved the shameful and infamous resolution 3379, declaring that Zionism is a form of racism. To this very day, it is one of the greatest moral disgraces in the UN’s history. Those words were not only false; they were defamatory and a profound distortion of Jewish history and the Jewish people’s right to selfdetermination in their ancestral homeland. That terrible resolution was not the beginning of antiIsrael extremism and, sadly, it wasn’t the end. But it became a landmark in the decades-long propaganda war against Israel.
The ugly slogan “Zionism is racism” became a malicious rallying cry — a symbol of the ongoing effort to delegitimize Israel and to wipe it off the map. We see that same lie today, especially in the wake of Oct. 7, appearing on placards at anti-Israel demonstrations around the world. “Zionism is racism” was an early expression of the UN’s obsession with what can be called “Palestinianism” — a narrative built not on coexistence, but on blaming and isolating Israel. It is especially absurd given that Palestinian eaders have had multiple opportunities to accept a state alongside Israel, yet repeatedly chose ejection over peace. It is often said that the Jewish people are the canary in the coal mine, and that one can be judged by the nature of one’s enemies. Israel’s enemies are the very same forces that seek to undermine Western civilization. Resolution 3379 was born of Soviet propaganda in the midst of the Cold War, part of the communist campaign against the U.S. It is no accident that Cuba played a major role then, and continues to do so today. The haters of Israel are a rogue’s gallery of the worst of the world’s villains — led, of course, by the Ayatollahs in Iran.
This falsehood caused real harm. It fueled hatred and justified violence. It entrenched false narratives that brought misery also to Palestinians, who were encouraged to cling to rejectionism rather than pursue compromise, dignity and peace. There is a direct ideological line from “Zionism is racism” to the hatred and terrorism directed at Israel, and ultimately to the horrors of the Oct. 7 attacks and the violence against Jews we have seen since then. The lie of “Zionism is racism” permeates Palestinian education and propaganda. It shapes a worldview that made such attacks conceivable. And it is tolerated by too many in the international community, who look away when confronted with obvious incitement and avoid hard questions, including about Palestinians’ so-called “right of return.” Oct. 7 is what the “right of return” looks like in practice. It is the real-world consequence of the belief that Israel has no right to exist. For far too long, leaders in the Arab world and the Palestinians have clung to the illusion that Israel’s existence is temporary.
But accepting Israel’s permanence is not a threat. It is the foundation for a better future. Israel is a vibrant democracy, a global innovator and a nation that has consistently extended its hand in peace — even when rejected, even when attacked. That is the path forward. That is the path to peace. Rejecting “Zionism is racism” is not only a question of historical truth — it is a question of regional progress and, ultimately, of life and death. Israel’s existence is not the obstacle to peace. The refusal to accept Israel’s existence is the true and only obstacle to peace. Fifty years ago, the UN slandered Zionism. Today, we need to affirm a different truth: Israel is here to stay. That is the way forward for Israel and the Palestinians. Because the future belongs not to those who cling to old lies, but to those who embrace truth and work toward peace.
Former U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, served as chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Gil Kapen was a Republican staffer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is executive director of the American Jewish International Relations Institute-Bnai Brith International.