The Schmooze
Knowing how to debate Israel isn’t optional. It’s essential
In a polarised world, Jewish students must be equipped to defend, question and celebrate Israel with confidence
January 7, 2026 17:26
2 min read
In a polarised world, Jewish students must be equipped to defend, question and celebrate Israel with confidence
January 7, 2026 17:26Calling Israel a settler‑colonialist project distorts history. The opposite of an empire-seizing territory, Zionism is the story of an indigenous nation reclaiming self‑determination and security in its ancient homeland after centuries of exile and persecution.”
That was Maya’s argument in last year’s Etgar Israel Debating Course, opposing the motion: “This House believes that Israel is a settler‑colonialist endeavour.”
Daniel countered: “For native Palestinians, the creation of Israel looked exactly like colonisation – people arriving from abroad, taking land and displacing those who lived there. Intentions aside, power and control defined the process and that makes it fit the colonial pattern.”
Sharply different perspectives, powerfully argued. That’s the essence of debate: confronting complexity, weighing competing truths and refining understanding. These are not theoretical discussions but the challenges Jewish students confront in classrooms, universities and public life. And they’re exactly why Etgar Israel’s debating course matters.
Debate is not about noise and aggression, but structure, discipline and careful listening. A strong debater tests ideas, probes weaknesses and engages opposing views. It is only by such encounters that one can strengthen one’s arguments.
In recent years, some of Britain’s most prestigious debating chambers have lost their way.
The Oxford and Cambridge Unions – once proud forums for free thinking – have hosted increasingly absurd anti‑Israel motions. Descending into scenes of anti-Zionist and antisemitic hate speech, such spectacles trivialise serious issues rather than illuminate them.
Etgar’s course restores debate to its proper place: a tool for education, critical enquiry and intellectual resilience.
Over four weekly evening sessions from January 19, sixth-formers in years 12 and 13 will be guided by professionals from Debate: London – one of the UK’s leading debating societies – together with Robin Moss, one of the country’s foremost Israel educators and a skilled debater. Students gain not only factual knowledge and technique but deep historical and political context.
This is not merely about performance. It is about substance. Participants will explore some of Israel’s most challenging questions:
Can Israel remain both Jewish and democratic?
How should Israel respond to legal challenges in international forums?
Why Zionism?
When does criticism of Israel become racism?
These are not abstract exercises but the real questions Jewish students face, often in charged environments. They will also discuss when dialogue is not possible and the best response is to walk away.
The massacre of October 7, 2023 and the subsequent Gaza war have cast long shadows, with many campuses articulating virulent anti-Zionism. Faced with this, young Jews must be able to articulate what Israel represents; why its extraordinary story deserves to be told.
Passive affiliation to Israel is not enough. Without education, too many will disengage or drift away.
Etgar’s debating programme joins its year-5 Jewish general knowledge initiative and its year-9 Israel knowledge programme. Each fosters cultural literacy and strengthens Jewish identity. The debate course goes further, combining knowledge with skills so that students are ready to speak and lead with confidence.
Debate transforms students. It sharpens intellect and builds confidence. If you are a sixth former – or know one – please sign up. Do not wait to face a hostile motion or a loaded question unprepared. Take the opportunity now to learn the discipline of listening, the craft of argument and the courage to speak with conviction.
Etgar’s Debate Training Course is more than an extracurricular programme – it is an investment in the future of Jewish voices. It ensures our young people are prepared not merely to defend Israel, but to engage with the Jewish state proudly and with integrity.
In a polarised age, we need Jewish students who rise above the noise, showing the world and one another that we have a heritage and a homeland worth celebrating. Through debate, students learn not just to argue, but to understand – and that understanding is what the future demands.
For further details and to sign up, please go to etgar.co.uk/debating or click here
Jo Rosenfelder is co-founder of Etgar
To get more from community, click here to sign up for our free community newsletter.