What is Zionism?
Zionism, also known as political Zionism, is the term used to refer to a political movement that emerged in the European Jewish community at the end of the 19th century and which defended the idea of the formation of a National State that would shelter the Jews in Palestine. From this definition, it is important to clarify that, when it emerged, Zionism did not only have a nationalist character, but was a movement that aimed to definitively colonize Palestine.
How did Zionism come about?
Political Zionism emerged in Europe at the end of the 19th century, in a context of growing anti-Semitism on the continent. This movement arose from the actions of the Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl, who was largely responsible for the emergence of an international organization to defend the idea of establishing a National State for Jews in Palestine.
Zionism was born under the influence of the work the jewish state (Der Judenstaat), written by Herzl. This work was the result of the growth of anti-Semitism on the European continent and its production was motivated by the
Dreyfus case.Also access: Anti-Semitism
The Dreyfus affair had wide repercussions in Europe and divided French society at the end of the 19th century. This event arose from the charge against Alfred Dreyfus, a French army officer, of high treason. However, Dreyfus was innocent and, even without proof, was eventually sentenced to life in prison. For this reason, questions arose about his punishment, which occurred because he was a Jew.
The work written by Herzl served as a trigger for the emergence of Zionism as a political movement organized and quickly reverberated in Europe, because the persecution of the Jews was accentuated in all the parts. In Russia, the pogroms (coordinated attacks on specific social groups) were becoming frequent, while in Germany the ideals of German supremacy and anti-Semitism were popping up. Signs of anti-Semitism were also appearing elsewhere in Europe.
As the receptivity of the idea proposed by Herzl was great, the journalist organized the first World Zionist Congress. This congress met in Basel (Switzerland) in 1897 and debated issues related to the feasibility of the project to found a Jewish State in Palestine.
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At this congress, it was decided to send a commission to Palestine to analyze the feasibility of occupying the land. In any case, it was pre-established that this Jewish State should be founded in the land from which the Jews had fled in the third century d. Ç. It was also determined that one of the best ways to implement this process was to carry out the land purchase to be occupied exclusively by Jews.
It is important to clarify that the First Zionist Congress did not inaugurate Jewish immigration to Palestine (this immigration has existed since 1882), it only organized the bases for it to happen in greater scale. An important strategy used by Herzl and the Zionists to make their project possible was to seek diplomatic support from the Germans and the Ottomans for the cause, but both refused to support them.
The Zionist project gained strength when England signed the Balfour Declaration in 1917, during the First World War. In that declaration, the British announced support for the Zionist project to form a Jewish state in Palestine. However, the project still had a major obstacle: the population of Arab origin.
As the Jewish presence in Palestine grew, the attrition between Jews and Arabs intensified. Zionism, in fact, is currently the target of criticism, as many claim that it is an ideology that defends the isolation of the Arab community in the territories dominated by Israel. Even before the foundation of Israel, this ideology was already evident, as the lands purchased by the Zionists could not be resold to Arabs, for example.|1|.
During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, Zionism strengthened considerably, and the persecution of Jews promoted by the Nazis during the Holocaust made the project of founding the Jewish State politically viable, created through UN Resolution 181.
|1| CHEMERIS, Henry Guenis Santos. The main reasons that generated conflicts between Israelis and Arabs in Palestinian (1897-1948). Dept. of History, Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences, PUC-RS: Porto Alegre, 2002. P. 34.
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Daniel Neves. "What is Zionism?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/historia/o-que-e-sionismo.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
