The Genius and Danger of Zionism

The genius of the Zionist program lies in the fact that it equates Judaism - the religion - with a political entity, the Nation of Israel.

Therefore, according to the Zionist, any negative critique of the Nation of Israel is an attack on all Jews everywhere.

This also supports the assertion that support for the Zionist State - the Nation of Israel - is an essential and inherent component of being a Jew, of being Jewish.

Of the many ramifications of this idea, I'd like to mention a few:

Politically speaking, this has created and continues to create, a large buffer zone for the policy makers in Israel. In the wake of the Jewish people's history of persecution, it fosters a massive reticence towards any negative critique of Israel's actions, both on the part of policy makers and normal people. To put it simply: people are afraid to criticize Israel because - in rendering the (political) concept of "Israel" synonymous with the (religious and ethnic) concept of "Jewishness" - they think that doing so is an act of "Anti-Semitism." The illusion is that it is a racist act to criticize the Nation of Israel.

Because of this, the amount of leeway the Nation of Israel receives - specifically in the hearts and minds of the American people and the policies of American government - to do what it wants is extremely large. Therefore the Nation of Israel, with the backing of the United States, has a veritable blank check to carry out what it will at the expense of the Palestinian people.

It is not unreasonable to posit that the existence of Israel was made and is made possible by the oppression of the Arabs who lived and continue to live in and around Israel - it is well understood by historians in and out of Israel and around the world. The question that must be posited is whether or not it is acceptable to cleanse, occupy and terrorize a population for the sake of a Jewish - or any - state.

The second major ramification I would like to mention here is a very real negative effect of the Zionist program: the very real anti-semitism that is fostered around the world because of the establishment of the Zionist state and the machinations of the Zionist movement.

BECAUSE Zionists claim that being Jewish is or should be the same thing as being "Israeli," BECAUSE they claim to speak and act for all Jews everywhere, and BECAUSE they continue to implement the program that has, since before 1948 and to the present day, terrorized and oppressed an entire people, many people around the world will, in fact, take them at their word and subsequently hate all Jewish people for the actions of the State of Israel. It is a heinous and unjust hijacking of Judaism and ethnically Jewish peoples around the world that fosters real anti-semitism, and endangers Jews worldwide. And, it is the Zionist program, ironically, that is ultimately to blame.

Therefore, those of us who deny the assertion that the (political) concept of "Israel" is synonymous with the (religious and ethnic) concept of "Jewishness" actually work against anti-semitism. We, in fact, understand that it is not "Jews" who oppress the Palestinian people, but Zionists. And this is a very important distinction, for the sake of everyone: Israelis, Palestinians, Jews, Arabs, Muslims, Christians, Americans - everybody.

Until the Wall Comes Down,
Joshua