To be perfectly clear, we disavow any kind of anti-Semitism. This is by no means a critique of Judaism, nor of Zionism. This is only about Ethan's stances.

Ethan's own definition of Zionism:

"Zionism is the belief that Jewish people should have their own homeland. That's all it means. Defending an ethnostate? Look, the whole point of Israel is that in the wake of the fucking Holocaust, that the Jews had their own country so that they couldn't be, you know, fucked with again. That's it."
SYNT #50 (Members-only)

Ethan has continuously argued for a separate, Jewish state of Israel. That makes him a Zionist by definition, even by his very own. He has stated his reasons for it clearly and, as far as we can recall, he has not once argued against a Jewish (or in favor of a secular) state of Israel.

Meanwhile, he keeps saying that he isn't a Zionist, or that he's a huge anti-Zionist, and he has been getting increasingly more upset with people calling him and others the Z-word.

"I've tried so hard to pull myself to some kind of central ground where we can have a real conversation about this stuff. I pulled myself all the way to, you know, outright saying that it's apartheid, that it's genocide that the Israeli government is committing, and so... but you still want to call me a racist, and a genoci... and a Zionist. Why would you call me a Zionist if it wasn't just "Oh, you're a fucking Jew"?"
After Dark #139

All that matters to us is that Ethan is on the right side of history, condemning the actions of the Israeli government like he has. People who say he's a genocide supporter or a racist are just plain wrong in this case. It really doesn't matter to us whether he's a Zionist or not. Him conflating people calling him that with anti-Semitism by default, however, does make it so that no real conversation can be had about it.

It also makes for much more anti-Semitism in turn, not the least for making it out to be. Each time any innocent (and especially any correct) statement is made out to be inherently anti-Semitic, those who mean no harm and those who do are made out to be one and the same hateful and bigoted group. It silences and pushes away people who mean well or who mean nothing else by it, and it's giving ammunition and support to actual anti-Semites.

In that sense, it's not unlike the Israeli government using religion as a shield by saying it is inherently anti-Semitic to criticize their actions. Ethan has criticized the government fair and square and obviously understands that not to be anti-Semitic. But condemning the government also doesn't make someone an anti-Zionist if the belief in a Jewish homeland is clearly still there.

There are many Zionists who aren't Jewish, and there are many Jewish people who aren't Zionists. We have absolutely no doubt that there are plenty of hateful and bigoted people calling Ethan or others Zionists just for being Jewish, which is absolutely wrong and anti-Semitic. Calling Ethan or someone with similar standpoints a Zionist in and of itself, however, is not, and should not be treated the same.