Zionism is a nationalist political movement defending the creation of a Jewish state sovereign and the return of the Jews to the “Land of Israel”, located in Palestine.
Over thousands of years, the Jewish people suffered from invasions and diasporas caused by other peoples. The Zionist movement seeks to build a state so that Jews can live in security and peace.
Despite being an old idea, the Zionist political movement was strengthened from 1896 with Theodor Herzl, who published a leaflet advocating the creation of a Jewish state and then organized the first World Zionist Congress.
Zionism gained strength from the 20th century onwards with the growing persecution of Jews in Europe and especially after the genocide of around 6 million Jews in Europe. Holocaust.
Today there are several criticisms of the Zionist movement due to the violence practiced by Israel against the Palestinian people, who were in the region at the time of the creation of the Jewish state.
The Historical Origins of the Zionist Movement
According to biblical accounts, there would be a land promised by God to the Jewish people. This land corresponds to the territory of Palestine, where the holy city of Jerusalem is located.
The term “Zionism” comes from the Hebrew word Zion, which refers to Jerusalem. O "return to Zion" is an expression used to refer to the return of the Jews to their homeland.
According to the Bible, Jews lived in this region for centuries before Christ, where they built a rich and prosperous civilization. But around 70 AD. C, were invaded by the Romans and exiled from their territory.
Over the following centuries, the Jews suffered persecution and expulsions and were spreading across several continents around the world.
Despite not being in the same land, over time, the sense of identity of the Jewish people was strengthened and the idea of returning to their land and building a sovereign state was maintained.
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Theodor Herzl and modern political Zionism
The idea of creating a State of Israel where the Jewish people could live in safety has existed for centuries. earlier, but it was at the end of the 19th century that the foundations for the political Zionist movement were formed. modern.
The person responsible for strengthening this idea was the Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl. Herzl witnessed many cases of anti-Semitism, that is, of prejudice and hostility towards the Jews.
Theodor Herzl, founder of political Zionism.
He argued that the end of anti-Semitism would only happen with the creation of a state where Jews could have a normal life, in their own sovereign territory.
His idea spread from an 1896 publication called "The Jewish State" - State of Israel in Portuguese. The following year, 1897, Herzl organized the first World Zionist Congress.
This congress took place in 1897 in Switzerland and at it were created the bases for the Zionist movement, which had as its objective the establishment of a safe home for the Jews. The place chosen for the construction of the State of Israel was Palestine.
Although some groups of Jews started to migrate to the region from that moment on, the establishment of the State of Israel would only happen 50 years later.
British support for the creation of the State of Israel
At the time when the Zionist movement strengthened, the region of Palestine was occupied by the Ottoman Empire, but in 1918 that Empire collapsed and Great Britain took control of the region.
A year earlier, the British had signed the Balfour Declaration, where they expressed support for the creation of the Jewish state in Palestine if they took control of the region.
After British control in 1918, groups of Jews were encouraged to immigrate to Palestine. The problem was that Palestine was already occupied, Arabs and some Christians and Jews lived there.
These peoples lived in peace, but with the increase in the number of Jews, the conflict between Arabs and Jews over the territory grows.
Anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and Jewish immigration to Palestine
Until the outbreak of World War II, the immigration of Jews to Palestine happened slowly. But the intensification of anti-Semitic sentiment in Europe and the Holocaust intensified this flow.
During the Holocaust, about 6 million Jews were exterminated by the Nazi government. Jews were accused of being responsible for the ills facing Germany.
In addition to the increase in Jewish immigration to Palestine, the international community's support for the creation of the State of Israel is growing.
Understand what the Holocaust and see the meaning of anti-Semitism.
1948: declaration of independence of the State of Israel
Conflicts between Palestinians and Jews over the territory intensifies as the Jewish population increases in the region and in 1947, the UN proposes a plan to partition the territory.
Israel accepts the partition, but Palestine refuses as it considers it unfair. In 1948 Israel declared its independence and from then on conflicts between Arabs and Jews intensified.
In addition to areas determined by the UN, Israel has been occupying Palestinian lands and displacing the local population. Many illegal settlements on Palestinian land have already been denounced by the international community.
Zionism, for the Palestinians, is a colonialist and racist movement that subjects the Palestinian population to violence and prevents them from remaining in the territory.
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Not all Jews are Zionists
Judaism and Zionism cannot be understood as synonymous. Jews are those who follow the Jewish religion, while Zionists are those who defend the maintenance of the State of Israel.
For some Jews, the existence of a state is not essential for maintaining the traditions and religiosities of Judaism. Many of them do not defend the violence committed by the State of Israel against the Palestinians.
Jews demonstrating against Zionism.
Different Zionist Currents
In addition to political Zionism, founded by Theodor Herzl, who advocates the creation and maintenance of a Jewish state in Palestine, it is still possible to find the following names:
- Socialist Zionism: socialist Zionism held that the creation of a Jewish state would not happen with the help of the international community, but from the efforts and unity of the working class.
- Religious Zionism: Religious Zionism is the most generic current and encompasses the other Zionist strands. Religious Zionists argue that the land of Israel must be occupied by the people of Israel.
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