Zionism

See also: History of Israel

In general terms, Zionism is the belief in a historical right to a homeland for the Jewish people in Israel. Variants have existed for centuries and continue to proliferate, but the core definition of modern Zionism is generally associated with the publication of Theodor Herzl's (1860 - 1904) The Jewish State in 1896, although the term, and indeed a philosophical discussion, seems to have been presented earlier by Nathan Birnbaum. In 1890, Birnbaum coined the terms “Zionist” and “Zionism,” and, in 1892, “Political Zionism.”

Herzl published it in the belief that antisemitism would never disappear; his views had been reinforced with his involvement in the affair of Alfred Dreyfus in France in 1894. Birnbaum and Herzl worked together at the First Zionist Conference, but developed ideological differences. Birnbaum had begun to question the political aims of Zionism and to attach increasing importance to the national-cultural content of Judaism. Birnbaum eventually left the Zionist movement and later became a leading spokesman for Jewish cultural autonomy in the Diaspora.

Recognition

Great Britain had control of the former Ottoman Empire areas that constituted Palestine. Partially in gratitude to Chaim Weizmann, a chemist who had made tremendous contributions to the British war effort, Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued the 1917 Balfour Declaration, with the key language,

His Majesty's Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

Great Britain, however, entered into other diplomatic agreements, some secret at the time, which overlapped the Balfour Declaration, such as the Sykes-Picot Agreement with France, the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence with the Mufti of Jerusalem, and the British White Paper of June 1922 amplifying on the McMahon-Husayn exchanges.

Criticism

A number of organizations and countries, especially Third World, have criticized Zionism as racism. Israel responds that this is a double standard, citing examples such as the restrictions on non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia.

Christians and Zionism

One does not need to be a Jew to be a Zionist. British general Orde Wingate, while a Christian, trained the early Zionist forces in British Palestine and felt a spiritual connection. Nevertheless, there is a movement, among certain Christians, which makes Zionism, and often a one-state solution, part of their theology. Their desire is motivated by a belief that the return of Jews to Israel is a prerequisite for the return of Jesus Christ.

Post-Zionism

According to Meyrav Wurmser, recognized as a hard-line Zionist supporter of the Israeli government, "Israel is today in the midst of a cultural civil war in which one side would like to see their country continue to exist as a Jewish state and the other believes that Zionism, the founding idea of the state, has reached its end. For the latter group, the time has come for Israel to enter its post-Zionist stage; for this reason, it describes itself as "post-Zionist."