Signaled Virtue

“Diasporism” is an ahistorical and sometimes colorist position that advocates the “noncentrality” of Israel to Jewish life, and emphasizes Jewish communities in the diaspora as the “real” carriers of Judaism. It is closely related to, and often leveraged by anti-Zionist groups and individuals. After the October 7th pogrom, some individuals in Jewish and/or anti-Zionist circles began describing Diasporism as a natural response that the Jewish community should embrace in 10/7’s aftermath – which makes sense, since these groups also tend to advocate for the destruction of Israel itself.

Diasporism is ahistorical because it denies the history of the Jewish peoples. Specifically, it ignores the fact that almost every single Jewish diaspora community was destroyed by antisemites throughout history. One of the central tenets of Zionism is that a non-Jewish state – a liberal democracy, a dictatorship, a monarchy, and so on – is inherently incapable of protecting its Jewish population from harm by popular uprisings, and may sometimes participate in the harm itself. While there is plenty of disagreement about other issues within Zionism, this tenet has held true ever since it was first proposed.

Fundamentally, Jews are not safe outside of Israel, and Diasporism neglects this fact. Despite the fact that 10/7 was the worst incident of violence against Jews since the Holocaust, Israel is still safer for Jews than anywhere else in the world. Prior to October 7th, and especially after it, Jews in the diaspora have been subject to repeated violence, discrimination, and hatred. In the diaspora, this is the norm, not the exception – unlike in Israel, where this is the exception, not the norm.

Diasporism is sometimes colorist – meaning that it sometimes exhibits characteristics of racism between members of the same racial group – because the specific historical ideas advanced by Diasporists can negate Mizrachi Jews in favor of Ashkenazi/European Jews. As we mentioned in a previous explainer, anti-Zionism is commonly rooted in an Ashkenazi Jewish perspective that over-emphasizes the history of Jews in the West instead of considering the entire history of Jewish people. When bringing the whole history of the Jews into consideration, it's clear that Diasporism would bring more harm than good to the Jewish community.

TLDR: Diasporism is an ahistorical and sometimes colorist ideology that promotes Jewish outside of Israel as the “real” carriers of Jewish life and culture. It's often used by anti-Zionist groups to justify the destruction of Israel.