This is a post from Israel Situation reader Samantha:
In recent weeks, various members of the global community have renewed their efforts to delegitimize Israel and call into question the legitimacy of Zionism as a movement. There has been an ongoing effort to take Zionism, which at its core is Jewish nationalism, and twist its meaning and intentions, distorting the term. Lack of understanding of Zionism has led to its corruption, Zionism being equated with racism by the United Nations, and many Jews not understanding the meaning of the term, its relevance, or their own connections to Zionism.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 was adopted in 1975, and established Zionism as racism. This decision was later revoked by Resolution 46/86 in 1991, but Zionism’s reputation has never fully recovered. Zionism is misunderstood, and is not something that many young Jews are willing to proudly commit to. Anti-Israel detractors have changed the tone of the conversation about Israel and Zionism, and have used anti-Israel propaganda in such a way that for many, Zionism no longer has positive connotations. This lack of pride in Zionism and the unwillingness of many Jews to identify with the movement is dangerous, and has the potential to change the relationship of this generation of Diaspora Jews and Israel in an irrevocable way.
Above all, Zionism is Jewish nationalism. It is the belief that the Jewish people have the right to self-determination and a sovereign Jewish national homeland. The State of Israel is the physical manifestation of the Zionist dream. To believe in Zionism is to believe that the Jewish people are bound to the land of Israel by virtue of a centuries old historical and religious connection. To identify as a Zionist is to call oneself an individual who understands that the Jewish people are a nation, and as such require a nation-state, no different from all of the other peoples of the world.
The phrase “Zionism,” so fraught with misunderstanding and confusion, is a movement of diversity, with various Zionist thinkers and schools of thought leading to the creation of various streams of Zionism, ranging from religious to cultural, environmental to Revisionist. The diversity of the movement speaks volumes about its message, which is one of inclusion. Just as the State of Israel is a land that individuals of all religions and ethnicities can call home, so too is Zionism a movement of inclusion. It is not specifically a Jewish movement, and indeed many Christians proudly identify as Zionists, sharing in the belief of the validity of the right of the Jewish people to the land of Israel.
To call one a Zionist is not to say that one blindly agrees with all of the policies of the State of Israel. Indeed, Zionists are expected to be critical of Israel in the same way that they would be of any other nation. Thanks to the various streams of Zionism and their different ideologies, many Zionists have varying beliefs on how the adherents to the movement should act and what their goals should be. This adds to the legitimacy of the movement, as it allows for dialogue and debate within and understands that Israel is not the utopia that Theodore Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, envisioned. Rather, it is an evolving land with an inordinate number of challenges facing it, with a government making decisions with the best interests of the citizens, and the world, in mind.
The global campaign to delegitimize Israel has left wounds on the psyche of the younger generation of Jews. It has caused them to question the validity of a concept that has been at the core of Jewish identity for thousands of years, and has tragically made Zionism something that people view with contempt instead of admiration. Many have forgotten that it is thanks to Zionism that the Jewish people have a state of their own, for the first time in 2000 years. They have forgotten the contributions that Zionism has made to the world today, including the revitalization of the Hebrew language and the creation of a strong, functioning democracy in the chaotic Middle East.
Zionism, to those who understand its true meaning, is a source of pride. It gives the Jewish people a national identity that has manifested in a country, a language, a culture, and most of all, a place to call home. It is Zionism that connects Jews from countries around the world with one another, thanks to the shared national heritage of the Jewish people. As Zionism is called into question by those who seek to harm the Jewish national homeland, it is imperative, now more than ever, that Jews reclaim Zionism as a concept, letting the world know the truth behind the often spoken, largely misunderstood, phrase.
Image by uriba.
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