I come from an immigrant family. My father and both sets of my grandparents came from Portugal. I was raised Catholic and was never exposed to other religions until I grew older, so much so that I never even met a Jewish person until high school.

So how did I become a Zionist? My high school must have been pro-Israel or perhaps my Jewish US History Teacher was pro-Israel, right? No, in fact my Jewish History teacher was one of the few history teachers I had that did not address Israel in the classroom – a step up from the explicit anti-Israel sentiment of my other history Teachers.

Perhaps a little elaboration on my background; I was born and raised in the East San Francisco Bay Area in a little place called “Castro Valley.” Castro Valley is one of those paradoxical places that labels itself as ‘tolerant’ and ‘accepting’ yet is in fact the exact opposite. My high school was no exception.

The debate club I participated in was staunchly anti-Israel and especially anti-US. The Model UN I was involved in was full of anti-Israel sentiments. In fact, just last year, I encountered an MUN student who thought it was contradictory for him to be representing Israel in committee because he was Persian (I was very tempted to counter that I’ve met Persian Jews).

The “Peace in the Middle East” Club on our campus displayed posters full of anti-Israel sentiments – genocide against Palestinians, Israel’s war crimes – anything to demonize Israel. When I attempted to attend one of their meetings to see what facts – if any – they had to back these allegations, I was surprised to find that their meetings were held not in English, but in Arabic.

So why am I a Zionist? Because growing up in a place that was so staunchly and solely anti-Israel left me wondering “why is Israel so bad?”

Furthermore, watching Schindler’s List really affected me. I already knew a great deal about the Holocaust, but I never felt emotionally and personally connected to it until I saw the film. Particularly, there is a scene at the very end of the movie where the Jews are finally free; the Nazis have lost the war, and a Soviet soldier rides in.

One of the Jews asks, “Have you been to Poland? Are there any Jews left in Poland?” and another Jew asks, “Where do we go?” and the soldier replies, “Don’t go east, that’s for sure, they hate you there. I wouldn’t go west either if I were you” another Jew asks “Do you have any food?” and the soldier points north and says “isn’t there a town over there?” and sends them on their way, not even bothering to give them food.

The Jews have wandered, no food, no place to go, hated by the world. Boats of Jewish immigrants were turned away from US shores during Hitler’s reign. The British held a state funeral for a Nazi diplomat in London before the war. The siege hailed as his swastika-laden coffin passed down the street.

Why am I a Zionist? Because I believe the Jewish people have a right to a homeland. Their homeland. I believe that Jews have been hated, threatened, and persecuted throughout history and deserve to have a place where they feel safe from anti-Semitism.

Moreover, I believe that Israel is the land of the Jews, it has been the home of the Jews for thousands of years, many were kicked out or fled, but many stayed.

I am Zionist because I want to destroy the myth of the “occupation.”

I am Zionist because I have come to love Israel and its people.

This is why I am a Zionist. This is why I’m a fellow of the Zionist Organization of America and that’s why I’m the Vice President of Students Supporting Israel at UC Irvine – one the most anti-Semitic campuses in the nation – and why, despite being a practicing Catholic, I attend every Shabbat dinner I can and break Challah with the Chabad Rabbi and his family.

I’ve received a lot of questions about my support of Israel; people ask if I’m Jewish, most people assume I am. I’m here to prove that you don’t have to be a religious Jew or even an ethnic Jew to be a Zionist; you can be of any faith, any nationality, and any origin and be proud to support Israel.

In fact, since Israel is a beacon of freedom and liberty in the Middle East, I find that being a different ethnicity and religion is even more a reason to support Israel. Whether you’re a Jew or not; if you love freedom, liberty, and democracy, you’re probably a Zionist like me.