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Zionism: Definition and Historical Context
Zionism is a worldwide Jewish movement that led to the establishment and development of the state of Israel and continues to support it as a Jewish homeland. It is a political movement aimed at creating and maintaining a national homeland for Jews in Palestine, now focusing primarily on supporting the modern state of Israel.
It also refers to the policy encouraging Jews to return to Palestine from the Diaspora, embodying the belief that Jews should have their own nation, or Jewish nationalism.
Zionism gained much support among Jews and others in the early twentieth century, and the hoped-for nation was established in the late 1940s in Palestine, as the state of Israel.
Contemporary Issues and Opposition
Zionism faces opposition, particularly from most Arabs, as part of the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict.
More recently, two years after the bloody Hamas attack on Israel, supporters of Palestinians disrupted a commemoration at Pomona College, warning that “Zionism is a death cult that must be dealt with accordingly.”
British officials have been criticized for excluding peaceful supporters of an Israeli team rather than addressing those who threaten them, which some claim revives the conflict dynamics Zionism originally sought to overcome.
In 2017, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) broke with the ardent socialist Zionism of its founders and endorsed the BDS movement to chants of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Summary: Zionism, the movement establishing Israel as a Jewish homeland, remains deeply impactful and controversial, shaping enduring political conflicts today.