Zionism is a political ideology and movement, started in the nineteenth century in Europe, advocating for establishment of a Jewish national homeland. Its founder is Theodor Herzl (1860-1904). It is partly a reaction to European anti-semitism and also based on Judaism, a religion which goes back to Biblical times. In Judaism, as in Hebrew Bible, ‘Zion’ refers to the hills upon which Jerusalem is built or Jerusalem itself or the entire Jewish nation. Jerusalem had been a Canaanite (Jebusite) stronghold, until capture by King David¹ around 1000 B.C., who turned it into the capital of Israel. In Jerusalem, David’s son, King Solomon (reigned c. 970-931 B.C.), built the Temple of YHWH, God of Israel, and so ‘Zion’ is a sacred word throughout the Hebrew Bible,² with special significance in Jewish thought. Since the Roman destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 A.D., return and restoration of Zion has been a focus of Jewish prayer and ritual.

Israel: Ancient and Modern

Modern-day Israel became an independent Jewish state in 1948, when British rule ended. Land of Palestine had been part of Ottoman Empire for centuries which ended after World War I, when The League of Nations assigned government of the land to Great Britain. Successor to League of Nations, United Nations, approved a partition plan for Palestine in 1947 which resulted in war between Jews and Arabs in the land. A 1949 armistice between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, ended that conflict and established boundaries of Israel with the West Bank of Jordan River and Gaza Strip in Arab hands, namely, Jordan and Egypt. Since 1949, numerous military conflicts (especially in 1967 and 1973) involving Israel and surrounding countries have occurred and various treaties and accords have been signed. The 1948 declaration of Israel nationhood and independence was led by David Ben-Gurion, head of World Zionist Organization, who became first Prime Minister of Israel. National Anthem of Israel, ‘The Hope,’ makes mention of two-thousand years of Jewish hoping for return to “Zion,” “to be a free people in our land.” The Flag of Israel, featuring Star of David in blue in its center was adopted from that of World Zionist Organization.

There is spiritual continuity between modern Israel and ancient Israel, a confederation of twelve tribes with various judges, who eventually chose kings to rule over them; but many in today’s world (2023 A.D.) do not grant Jews any natural right to Palestine.

For/Against Israel

Zionists today support Israel in many ways. Zionist agendas are embraced by some Israeli political parties, particularly Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu. Many Christians, especially in the western world, support Israel, since the Old Testament coincides with Hebrew Bible.³ Both contain God’s promise to Israel, its ancestors, such as Abraham, and the tribes who followed Moses out of Egypt, of Canaan, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”⁴ Of course, there are variations in Christian support. Understanding a divine right in Israel’s statehood, does not entail agreement with all its policies and actions.

There is much unrest and protest in U.S. over Israeli military incursion into Palestinian territories, Gaza and West Bank. The United States Constitution recognizes a right to free speech, so criticism of Israel is certainly allowed, but there are different motives for such protests which presents a problem for understanding and agreement or disagreement. Some is fueled by antisemitism, which is akin to racism and should not be accepted. Some is motivated by total anti-Israel sentiment, not recognizing Israel’s right to exist; it should be conquered and the land returned to Palestinian residents.⁵ Some protest comes from humanitarian reason; too many civilians, not members of Hamas,⁶ are being killed and basic supplies for civilian life are dwindling. Some protest against Israel war on Hamas comes from Jewish groups backing Palestinian rights on the bases of progressive principles of human dignity and justice.⁷ Some has its source in Arab-Jew rivalry based on religious teachings of Muhammad and Quran and Jewish reaction.

The Israel-Palestine conflict is an intractable problem in world-politics. So many leaders, nations and groups have tried to solve it. When the longer history of ‘Zion’ is considered, going back to Moses’ aide, Joshua (Joshua chap. 1), a violent record of killing and battle upon battle presses on human consciousness. It is no wonder that the Book of Revelation, final writing of Christian Bible, says “the kings of the whole world” will assemble for “battle on the great day of God the Almighty” “at the place which is called in Hebrew Armageddon” (Rev 16:14-16), that is, Megiddo, a fortified city of Palestine going back some three-thousand years before Christ. At that future battle, “the seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!”’ (Rev 16:17)

Notes

1. See II Samuel chap. 5
2. Eg., Psalm 2:6; Isa 28:16
3. There are some minor differences, e.g., the Catholic Bible contains deutero-canonical books, which are not in Hebrew Bible.
4. E.g., Gen 15:15-21; Num 33:50-53
5. This view may be reasonable for Palestinians themselves and their families who were driven from their land and non-Palestinian supporters who consider Israel a usurper. See online article, ‘What are the roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict?‘
6. Hamas (Arabic acronym for ‘Islamic Resistance Movement’) is a long-standing organization (founded 1987) of Palestinians committed to “the destruction of Israel.” See, ‘What is Hamas?‘ This group attacked Israel on October 7, precipitating the current war.
7. A good survey of current protest against Israel is the Assocated Press article, ‘Longtime Israeli policy foes are leading US protests against Israel’s action in Gaza. Who are they?‘

Some Books

Hannah Arendt, The Jew as Pariah [ed. Ron Feldman] (NY: Grove Press, 1978) – “Peace in the Near East is essential to the State of Israel, to the Arab people and to the Western world. Peace, as distinguished from an armistice, cannot be imposed from the outside, it can only be the result of negotiations, of mutual compromise and eventual agreement between Jews and Arabs.” (p. 193)

Aharon Cohen, Israel and the Arab World (Boston: Beacon Press, 1976) – “Nations must learn from their life experience. The June 1967 war and the October 1973 war, as well as the years in between, have clearly proved that the Arabs cannot destroy Israel and Israel cannot impose peace on the Arabs by force. Two alternatives face these two peoples: either to recognize each other’s legitimate rights and aspirations, or to perpetuate endless struggle, resulting in death and destruction on both sides.” (p. 391)

Matthew Clancy, The Promised Land (Ann Arbor: Servant, 1978) – “… the Bible recounts the great events of the Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Davidic periods. It traces the history of God’s chosen people, the Hebrews, from the days of the Patriarchs through the Egyptian captivity and the exodus. It then follows that nation through the conquest of the Promised Land and the disorganization that ensued there. In time we encounter David and witness the formation of his kingdom. Finally, we arrive at the beginning of the reign of Solomon. The pervading theme of these centuries is that of persevering faith, faith in the ever-present patronage of God and in his promises.” (p. xii)

The End