I feel compelled to respond to Steve Sheffy’s recent Op-Ed entitled “Distinguishing Anti-Zionism From Antisemitism” with my own Op-Ed about why I disagree, as a liberal American, with him. My thesis for obtaining a Masters in Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) was focused on the evolution of American Holocaust education legislation over decades to present day. My research gave me a deep understanding of the driving forces behind such legislation: to combat antisemitism in the United States. Jews living outside of Israel (Zion), or in the Jewish diaspora,  have always had to combat some form of antisemitism whether overt, i.e., genocide, exile, personal attacks or those on Jewish institutions and neighborhoods, KKK marches, denial of entry into private clubs and schools, or covert, i.e, schools and employers not making reasonable accommodation for Jewish students and/or employees for  observance of the Jewish holidays, stereotyped references of Jews in print and media, etc.

However despite adversity to a certain death sentence,  diaspora Jews, particularly American Jews, have assimilated into a greater non-Jewish society. The supermajority are not religious, but culturally observant. However, a growing  number........

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