Zionism

Sometimes you can hear the word "Zionism" being used when making associations between Israel and the Jewish people. This term is often misunderstood and at times misused by the media in a negative context. To understand the origins of modern day Israel and its society it is important to understand what Zionism really means.

What is Zionism?

The origin of the word "Zionism" is the biblical word "Zion". It was often used as a synonym for Jerusalem and the Land of Israel. Zionism is an ideology which expresses the yearning of Jews for their historical homeland - Zion, the Land of Israel. This hope was first expressed by Babylonian Jews 2500 years ago - a hope which subsequently became a reality.
While Zionism expresses the historical link binding the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, modern Zionism did not arise as an active national movement till the late 19th century when contemporary antisemitism became a more prevalent problem for Jews worldwide. The State of Israel was established on May 14th 1948 in accordance with UN regulations. It marked the realisation of the goal of attaining an internationally recognized and legally secured state.

Zionism has taken on different forms and ideologies over thousands of years. Similarly, Zionism today can be practiced and understood in many different ways, and is based on many different personal experiences and views.
Each individual, whether living in Israel or outside of Israel can establish their own personal understanding of Zionism and how it affects their own life, and how it shapes their own identity living in the twenty first century.

Zionism & Jewish national identity

"Zionism has already brought about something remarkable, heretofore regarded as impossible: a close union between the ultramodern and the ultraconservative elements of Jewry. The fact that this has come to pass without undignified concessions, without intellectual sacrifices, is further proof of the national entity of the Jews. A union of this kind is possible only on a national basis".
- Theodore Herzl, founder of Political Zionism speaking at the First Zionist Congress in 1897.

"There is a cosmic element in nationality which is its basic ingredient. That cosmic element may best be described as the blending of the natural landscape of the Homeland with the spirit of the people inhabiting it. This is the mainspring of a people's vitality and creativity, of its spiritual and cultural values."
- A.D. Gordon, founder of Socialist Zionism, 1918.

"There is a limit to the power of such a vision to carry the burden of life and to give direction to the career of a people-and this limit seems already to have been reached. Diaspora Jewry is therefore disintegrating at an alarming rate, and there is no hope for it unless it replants itself by the wellspring of real life, of inherent sanctity, which can be found only in Zion".
- Rabbi A. Y. Kook, First Chief Rabbi of Israel and ideologue of Religous Zionism.

Myths about Zionism

Unfortunately, the concept of Zionism is often misused or misunderstood in negative ways. It is important to educate yourself and not to fall victim to all these myths.

MYTH - Zionists will never criticise Israel

"Jewish nationalism means no more than recognition of the peoplehood of Israel, and of the propriety of that people's being a religio-cultural group in America, a nationality in Eastern Europe, and in the Middle East an actualized nation."

- Rabbi Milton Steinberg

Israel is not perfect. Even the most committed friends of Israel acknowledge that the government sometimes makes mistakes, and that it has not solved all the problems in its society. If you want to read criticism of Israeli behavior, you do not need to seek out anti-Israel sources. You can pick up any Israeli newspaper and find news and commentary critical of government policy, such as it is in any society with freedom of speech and media.
Israel's supporters believe Israel has a right to exist. When friends criticize Israel, it is because they want the country to be better. Israel's detractors do not have that goal; they are more interested in delegitimizing the country, placing a wedge between Israel and its allies, and working toward its destruction. Friends of Israel do not try to whitewash the truth, but they do try to put events in proper context. That is also our goal.

MYTH - Israeli politics cause anti-semitism

"We offer peace and neighborliness to all the neighboring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Hebrew nation for the common good of all."

- Israeli Declaration of
Independence, May 14, 1948

Israel is the only state in the world today, and the Jews the only people in the world today, that are the object of a standing set of threats from governmental, religious and terrorist bodies seeking their destruction. However, anti-semitism has existed for centuries, well before the rise of the modern State of Israel.
Rather than Israel being the cause of anti-semitism, it is more likely that distorted media coverage of Israeli policies is reinforcing latent anti-semitic views. Many critics of Israel, do not share Israel's interests in improving its society; their goal is to delegitimize the state in the short-run, and destroy it in the long-run. There is nothing Israel could do to satisfy these critics. As a result, world Jewry experiences the repercussions of ignorant and biased views of Israel which unfortunately spill into anti-semitism on our streets and campuses.

"I was a military man for 27 years. I fought for so long as there was no chance for peace. I believe that there is now a chance for peace, a great chance. We must take advantage of it for the sake of those standing here, and for those who are not here - and they are many."

- Yitzhak Rabin

MYTH - Zionism is Racism

"When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews. What is anti-Zionist? It is the denial of the Jewish people of a fundamental right that we justly claim for the people of Africa and freely accord all other nations of the globe."

- Martin Luther King, 1968

In 1975, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution slandering Zionism by equating it with racism. The resolution was repealed in 1991 and the majority of states who voted for the motion in 1975, changed their position and officially apologised.
Zionism does not discriminate. Israel's open and democratic character, and its protection of the religious and political rights of Christians and Muslims, rebut the charge of exclusivity. Zionism is to the Jewish people what the liberation movements of Africa and Asia have been to their own people. Israel has endeavored to create a society which strives to implement the highest ideals of a free society, for all the inhabitants of Israel, irrespective of religious belief, race or sex.