What is Zionism?

Defining Zionism

A friend recently asked me, “What is Zionism?” This friend is actually a convert, and over the more than 20 years that they have been an Orthodox, practicing Jew, living in an Orthodox community, somehow they never got an answer to that basic question. I believe that’s because although the question is basic to living as a religious Jew, and although it sounds like a simple question, the answer is not simple and it’s subject to some contention.

My definition of Zionism is this: Zionism is the belief that Jews were right to create a state in the Land of Israel for Jews and it should now be protected and supported, and ideally every Jew should live there as a citizen.

I say “my definition” because I find the dictionary definition too vague and this describes what I believe is a common denominator that everyone who would call himself a Zionist nowadays could agree to. In addition, at the beginning of the Zionist movement, the word was left deliberately vague, so everyone could pour their own meanings into it, creating a larger group by not excluding those who would reject whatever the chosen dogma was. Many ideas that were considered “Zionism” did not involve having a state at all, or having a state somewhere else, but those have disappeared as history has progressed and the State of Israel became a reality. This vagueness is one of the main reasons why Israel did not create a constitution, but that’s a subject for another time.

A corollary of the above definition is that the Jews are indigenous to the Land of Israel. This is actually attested to by the Christian Bible and the Quran, which are the holy books of those who since the 1960s have started calling themselves “Palestinians” – Christians and Muslims. The narrative (Has anyone ever used the word “narrative” where it didn’t mean “lie”?) on the Arab side is that we are not really the Jews and that we’re all white. This has been debunked (and I mean really debunked, not just “fact checked”) so many times by so many people that it’s not worth my time.

Zionism Today

The two predominant Zionist groups today are Secular Zionists and Religious Zionists. Secular Zionists believe the state should specifically be a secular state, meaning that Judaism in the public sphere should be limited to symbols of an ethnicity, like the Star of David on the flag and the menorah at the Knesset. Jewish holidays should only be observed like Americans would celebrate something like July 4th. This belief has been around since the beginning and much of the time went further by claiming to replace the religion of Judaism and trying to “civilize” religious immigrants into adopting it.

I will talk more about Religious Zionists later, but it’s important to say that what they believe the state should do and be is a matter of some contention within their own camp. They definitely believe that all Jewish people (as defined by Jewish law halacha) should live here – including the non-observant and my friend, the Orthodox convert. Especially since the Holocaust, the religious consensus in this group is that you can’t give up on any Jew. They oppose the immigration of non-Jews, including those who identify as Jewish but are not considered so by Jewish law. Because this group has never been in power, their policies beyond that are not well defined. The idea of an Iran-style theocracy, though, is just fear-mongering.

Within the Jewish people as a whole, both in Israel and abroad, there are arguments over whether Zionism is a good thing. Many non-Orthodox Jews in the West have been shown demonstrating against Israel. In Israel we have those too. There is also a spectrum from that extreme of anti-Zionism to “a country of all its citizens” to just plain apathy.

Religious World: Zionism, Anti-Zionism & Non-Zionism

In the religious (meaning Orthodox) world, of which I am a part, there is a similar, but different argument that has been going on since before the creation of the state. I am much more familiar with the sides of this argument, and I hope to portray them accurately, although admittedly biased.

Orthodox anti-Zionists and “non-Zionists” both argue that it was wrong to create a state in the absence of Mashiach (The Messiah); that it’s often preferable to live in the Diaspora and that even when it is preferable for an individual to live in Israel, becoming a citizen has no intrinsic value (you go whichever way gives you the most benefits). They also don’t believe in the neutral definition of Zionism above, but say Secular Zionism was always the real Zionism, and therefore is completely treif (unkosher).

Non-Zionists say that now that it’s here, we should support it, because there are millions of Jews living here and no way to change things, but there is no religious significance to the state of Israel at all. It is a state like Georgia is a state, and you deal with it the same.

Anti-Zionists tell the non-Jews that Judaism and Zionism have nothing to do with each other. They believe the state of Israel is the hand of Satan and causes punishment from G-d. Many say it was the reason for the Holocaust. Satmar stops short of calling for its destruction, because of the number of Jews here, but Neturei Karta doesn’t and advocates for the terrorists and Iran. See this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTkJpC3h7cg

Religious Zionists believe there is tremendous religious significance to the state of Israel. That it is part of the Geulah (Final Redemption), fulfilling what the scripture says about the “ingathering of the exiles” and one huge and necessary step towards the coming of the Messiah. They say Hallel on Yom Ha’Atzma’ut and Yom Yerushalayim (celebrating the Six Day War reconquering of Jerusalem). They believe that the definition I gave is actually a mitzvah – a religious obligation – to live here, preferably as a citizen, and act to improve and protect it. This is why they serve in the army at a higher rate than any other Jewish sector.

The religious world is a bit of a spectrum, so people may not fit exactly in one definition or another. They all claim textual sources and there are gedolim (big rabbis) on all the sides, as one would expect from a good Jewish machloket (controversy).

Pro-Tip: Israeli Religio-Political Map

• UTJ (United Torah Judaism, a.k.a. Gimmel): I’d have to say non-Zionist.
• Shas: Usually non-Zionist. Some leaning towards Religious Zionist.
• Likud & New Hope: Secular Zionist, but without the animosity toward the religion.
• Yesh Atid: Secular Zionist, with some animosity toward the religion.
• Israel Beiteinu: Secular Zionist
• The Democrats (formerly Labor and Meretz): My guess is Secular Anti-Zionist.