I didn’t expect to find clarity on Zionism at a luncheon in Los Angeles.

A few months ago, I joined a support group organized through the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles for Jews struggling with the aftermath of October 7th and the rise in antisemitism that followed. For five weeks, a small group of us gathered with a therapist who moderated the group. We put away our phones, spoke honestly, and shared experiences that many of us had never fully processed.

One participant described feeling isolated by the hostility he encountered in artistic and cultural circles. Another participant spoke about growing up in an environment where antisemitism was commonplace. One story that stayed with me was his memory of being blamed for killing Jesus while attending a college party.

I was struck by how old some of these accusations are.

I did not know it at the time, but that memory would take on even greater significance the following day. At the luncheon, Miriam would recount being accused of killing Jesus as a young Jewish girl in Europe. Hearing the same accusation echoed nearly a century later, on a different continent and under entirely different circumstances, was a sobering reminder that some forms of antisemitism never truly disappear. They simply adapt to a new time and place.

That realization came back to me........

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