Marcy Winograd, a retired public high school teacher and Jewish peace advocate, co-organized a summer series titled “Challenging Zionism in Schools” aimed at addressing what she describes as indoctrination conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Winograd emphasizes that antisemitism is bigotry against Jews for being Jewish, whereas anti-Zionism is political opposition to a nation-state. She warns that conflating the two could endanger Jewish people worldwide by unfairly associating them with Israel’s militarism, which Amnesty International and the United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry have labeled as "genocide" in Gaza.
The series challenges the labeling of anti-Zionism as "contemporary antisemitism," arguing this perpetuates antisemitic tropes by stereotyping Jews as uniformly supportive of Israel. It also seeks to provide students the opportunity to critically examine Zionism, questioning whether it is a movement for Jewish self-determination or a colonial project imposing a Jewish state on Palestinians.
Maha Nassar, a Middle Eastern studies professor, contributed by explaining that the chant "From the River to the Sea" is viewed by some Palestinians as a call for liberation rather than antisemitism.
As an elected representative to the governing body of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), representing over 30,000 educators, Winograd expressed pride in supporting the union’s motion to host a workshop on antisemitism. The workshop is conducted with a professional organization that frames antisemitism as a "historically contextual form of oppression linked to other systemic injustices," enabling recognition of all struggles against bigotry without exceptionalizing any single form of discrimination.
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