Zionism is a religious and political ideology that brought thousands of Jews from around the world to their ancient lands in the Middle East. Its main focus was to re-establish Israel as the central location for Jewish identity.
While there is criticism that Zionism at its core is a discriminatory and aggressive ideology and the cause of the strife and tensions in the Middle-East, most observers agree that it was a crucial element in the successful establishment of a Jewish homeland in the nation of Israel.
This article will further give information about Zionism within the context of the IAS Exam.
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Definition of Zionism
In simplistic terms, Zionism is a movement to create a Jewish presence in Israel. The term Zion is a Hebrew word that refers to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem has symbolic as well as religious importance to Jews, Christians and Muslims. While the core beliefs of Zionism had existed for centuries, modern Zionism took shape in the 19th century. It was at this time that the world was seeing growing cases of anti-Semitism.
Some historians believed that the tensions between the Jews and Europeans gave an impetus to the Zionist movement. Particularly the anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia and the Dreyfus Affair sparked outrage among the Jewish people. The Dreyfus Affair was an incident in which a Jewish officer, Alfred Dreyfus, in the French Army was falsely accused and convicted of treason. Although he was cleared of all charges, the incident polarised many European Jews at the time.
Rise of Zionism
It was against this background of anti-Semitism when a Jewish journalist and political activist from Austria established a political organization in 1897 – Theodor Herzl. This event is marked as the official beginning of Zionism.
Herzl was of the opinion that if the Jewish people did not have a homeland of their own, then their chances of survival were at bare minimum at best. He organised the First Zionist Congress in Switzerland with the aim of striving for a political recognition of a Jewish Homeland in the area then known as Palestine. At the time, Palestine was under control of the Ottoman Empire. Abdul Hamid II, the Ottoman Sultan at the time, refused to honour Herzl’s request for an audience regarding the establishment of a Jewish Homeland in Palestine.
Although Herzl died in 1904 – 44 years before the official declaration of Israel as a state – he is widely regarded as the father of modern Zionism.
Zionism’s role in the establishment of Israel
During World War I, Britain wanted to reach out to the wealthy British Jewish community in order to finance its war effort. To this end, the British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour wrote a letter to Baron Rotshcild, a wealthy and influential figure among the British Jews. The brief correspondence expressed British interests in the support of a Jewish home in Palestine. This came to be known as the Balfour Declaration.
The Balfour Declaration was put in practice in the form of the Mandate for Palestine – a document by the League of Nations in 1923 that gave Britain the responsibility of establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine, then under the latter’s control.
Chaim Weizman and Nahum Sokolow were the two Zionists who played an important role in obtaining the Balfour Declaration
Following the devastation of the European Jews in the Holocaust of World War II (where 6 million Jews out of 9 million in Europe were killed), the Zionist leaders actively began promoting the idea of an independent Jewish nation to the thousands of European Jews seeking a new homeland.
A Jewish homeland became a reality when the British Mandate ended in 1948 and the new state of Israel was officially declared. The rise of Zionism led to massive Jewish Resettlement in Israel. In 1949 alone more than 249000 Jewish settlers moved to Israel as opposed to 40,000 between 1904 and 1914. Today, around 43% of the world’s Jews live in Israel.
Current Status of Zionism
Since its inception a century ago, Zionism has evolved and gave birth to many political, religious and cultural ideologies within its fold. As a result, it has given birth to many varying opinions. The Left-Wing Zionists want a less religious government and support giving some Israeli-controlled land in exchange for peace with Arab nations, while the right-wing Zionists want to defend every inch of their land and want a government based on strong Jewish traditions.
The Arabs and Palestinians who live in and around Israel are naturally opposed to Zionism, as it deprived them of a homeland of their own. Many diaspora Jews also disapprove of the movement, as they believe a national homeland is not central to their faith.
Supporters of the Zionist movement see it is an important effort for persecuted minorities to be offered a refuge, while its critics feel that it is extremist ideology that discriminates against non-Jews.
As Zionism faces many controversies and criticism, there is no denying that Zionism played a crucial role in creating a homeland for the Jews of the world.
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