The headline in Haaretz says: “The man who could be U.K.’s first Jewish PM says he is a Zionist.” But that’s not exactly how the report under the headline reads.

At an event in central London on Thursday, organized by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the London Jewish News, Labour Party leader Ed Miliband used the opportunity to establish his pro-Israel credentials.

The moment that made it for the audience was when he emphatically answered the question of whether he is a Zionist by saying: “Yes, I consider myself a supporter of Israel.” Nevertheless, some in the audience lamented that he was careful not to voice the sound bite – I am a Zionist.

The United States has a non-Jewish vice president who calls himself a Zionist, but Miliband calls himself a supporter of Israel.

That sounds to me like a man who’s going through the motions, saying what he thinks he needs to say. He could have said “I am a Zionist.” He declined to utter those words.