Hertzlia wrote:For those who don't know, Zionism is a political movement that emerged in the second half of the 19th century, which calls for the creation of a jewish state. It is a branch of nationalism, but differs in the fact that instead of creating a state for a nationality (Italian, German, Chinese), it aims to create a state for members of a certain religion (Judaism). While Judaism is not exactly a nationality, all jews have many traits in common, including language (Hebrew), culture (Judaism), and a common history (the bible/ ancient Israel). Jews have been prosecuted for many years and they still are for various reasons. The State of Israel was founded after WWII (and the holocaust) for that precise reason. While Israel in it's many years of existence has generated many controversies, it doesn't represent the end goals of Zionism. Criticizing Zionism because of Israel's mistakes is like criticising Nazi Germany because of Nationalism (although it is impossible to compare Israel with Nazi Germany). I understand people who are against Israel, but why be against Zionism?
Please do not bring up the Palestinian-Israeli debate, there are other threads for that but limit the discussion to Zionism.
Not to compare Israel to the Soviet Union, but this is the exact same argument that communists use to separate communism from the USSR.
