The Truth About Zionism

Zionism, Imperialist Tyranny or Reasonable Settlement by Jonathan Harris. Zionism is the term used to describe those who believe that the

Jewish people possess a special right to claim specifically Israel as their national homeland. Although there have been plans proposed to create

Jewish states in other parts of the world, such as Theodor Herzl's Uganda proposal, such plans have been temporary and, on successful measures, meant to be means to an end.

That end being the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine. Modern Zionists base their claim to Israel on four major premises.

1. The Jewish people settled and developed Israel, before the time of major Jewish immigration. Even though there were still many

Jews who traced their lineage back to ancient times living in Palestine, Palestine was an arid third world part of the planet for all intents and purposes.

In 1867, on a trip to Palestine, Mark Twain observed, A desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds, a silent mournful expense.

It wasn't until Jewish immigration that the economic situation started to turn around. Sheriff Hussein noted that the resources of the country are still virgin soil and will be developed by the

Jewish immigrants. The native Palestinians left this depressed area, but the non -native Jews fled to it.

2. The international community recognized the Jewish claim to Israel. The United Nations is responsible for partitioning of Palestine as a

Jewish state. The originator of international support was Great Britain, which in 1917 released the Balfour Declaration, recognizing the historical connections of the

Jewish people with Palestine. 3. Jewish land gains resulted from defensive wars, whether it's the

War of 1948, the Six -Day War, or the War of Attrition, etc. Israel has always been provoked into a defensive position, which simultaneously resulted in expanded borders, even though the international community has convinced

Israel to give up much of its holding for peace. 4.

Abraham's seed was promised to Israel by God. To take religion out of the equation would be a catastrophic mistake when referring to Arab -Israeli relations.

The Jewish nation is the oldest surviving people group to possess a historically verifiable claim to inhabiting

Palestine, and it was Jehovah who gave them their claim. 5.

Zionism's roots date back to mid -late 1800s. A German sociologist, Moses Hess, wrote

Rome and Jerusalem in 1862, advocating Jewish socialism in the land of Israel.

6. Leon Pinkster authored Auto -Emancipation in 1882 as a statement regarding the persecution of Jews in Russia. Pinkster's solution to both the

Tsarist and international persecution was the Jewish state in Palestine. His book prompted an activist movement that started in Russia and spread.

Zionist groups started forming, and the first Aliyah took place. The first international Zionist congress, prompted by Theodor Herschel's book

Der Judenstaat, 1896, took place in 1897. During the conference, the goals of Zionism were established throughout the rest of history, up to official formation of Israel.

Persecutions in mainly European nations sent Jewish settlers to Palestine, joining their kindred natives and re -establishing themselves.

It may surprise some that the first intellectual Arabs were welcoming to Zionist goals. During the first Arab congress, held in Paris in June 1913, the president of the congress,

Abdul Hamid Yahari, stated that all of us, both Muslims and Christians, have the best of feelings towards the

Jews, and we regard them as Syrians who were forced to leave the country at one time, but whose hearts always beat together with ours.

Yahari went on to highlight the benefits of Jewish immigration to Palestine. Therefore, it can be stated that there were, in fact,

Arab Zionists. Zionism inspired settlement, development, and democracy in the Middle East, contrary to the popular belief that Zionists were not concerned with driving the

Syrians, i .e. Palestinians, out. Chaim Wiseman's commissions to Palestine and Syria in 1918 and 1921, and all subsequent efforts, were designed to foster a mutual understanding between the

Arabs and Jews. Unfortunately, though the efforts seemed successful at first, Arab nations quickly opposed the plan.