The A to Z of isms... Zionism.
For its supporters, Zionism is the national liberation movement
of the Jewish people.
For its opponents, it is a means to establish a settler-colonial state
in the developing world.
Theodor Herzl, a Viennese journalist and playwright,
founded the modern Zionist movement in 1897.
Yet many orthodox Jews strongly opposed the rise of Zionism.
They believed that the Jews would only return to Zion,
the land promised by God to the Jews in the Hebrew Bible,
with the eventual coming of the Messiah.
Jews should therefore not force God's hand.
There were many types of Zionist - Marxist, religious and nationalist,
Liberal, Social Democrat - the forerunners of today's
political parties in Israel. But Zionism and Arab nationalism
arose during the same period of history,
with claims over the same piece of land -
a geographical area, known for centuries to Jews as
the Land of Israel. This is the ideological basis
of the seemingly intractable Israel-Palestinian conflict.
While there's been a Jewish presence in the Holy Land
since biblical times, at the beginning of the 20th Century
the Jews were few in number compared to Christian and Muslim Arabs.
Unlike other national liberation movements whose supporters
were actually living on the territory that they wished to free,
Zionist Jews had first to emigrate from a far-flung diaspora,
build an infrastructure, and only then initiate a liberation struggle.
Zionism therefore does not fit into conventional theory.
So, is Zionism wrong or just different?
In the aftermath of the French Revolution, many 19th Century Jews
began to regard themselves as a people
with a history, literature, culture and language -
and not just followers of an ancient religion, Judaism.
Many were highly influenced by progressive national movements
in Europe, such as the Risorgimento of Mazzini and Garibaldi
for a united Italy,
and Irish Republican efforts to throw off the yoke of British domination.
The example of Russian revolutionary Lenin
influenced the socialist Zionist leader
and first prime minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion.
Lenin demonstrated what could be achieved
with a handful of supporters.
Many East European Jews wanted to escape the heavy hand
of Russian anti-Semitism,
so the early Zionists were often revolutionary socialists
who not only wished to build a new country,
but also to construct a new society, unlike the ones they had just left.
One of the building blocks of this new society was the kibbutz,
a self-sufficient, self-governing collective.
There were many possible territorial solutions where a Jewish state
could be built. They ranged from the Portuguese colony of Angola
to the Jewish Autonomous Region in the USSR, Birobidzhan
on the border of China.
Herzl even approached the British with the idea that Uganda might be
"a night shelter" on the road to the Land of Israel.
Some supporters believe that Zionism completed its task
when the state of Israel was established in 1948.
Others believe that the Zionist project cannot be considered complete
until Israel is at peace, secure within its boundaries
and within the wider region,
and creates a fairer society for all its inhabitants.
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