Is zionism synonymous with Judaism?

Answer 1

Zionism is the nationalist expression of Judaism.

Answer 2

There is no distinction between Zionism and Judaism. Judaism is not simply a faith. It is a covenant between an ethnic group, their G-d (and his law), and a peace of land. It is part of the identity of the Jewish people to belong to the land of Israel. Therefore, religious Zionism cannot be differentiated from Zionism in general. It is inclusion in this covenant that makes one Jewish.

The modern political Zionism is a marriage of the Jewish religous belief that they belong to the land and the modern political aspirations of any nationality. If one agrees that any ethnic group is deserving of self determination inside a secure homeland, then one must recognize that Jews require such a homeland just at the Germans, Romanians, and even Kurds do. The religious bond to the land of Israel defines that homeland as necessarily being located in what is now Israel and no where else, much as the French define their nationhood much by their language.

The idea that Judaism can be separated from Zionism and Zionists criticized without criticizing the Jewish people or religion is one that is argued only by people who wish to use the separation to further their own political or racist goals. They wish to single out Jewish nationalism among all forms of nationalism for criticism they would not apply to any other group. The reason behind the special criticism is only anti-semitism. The separation is a fiction in the mind of racists.

Answer 3

Zionism should not be equated with Judaism. The contemptible treatment of the Palestinians by the Israeli government is supported and approved of by most Israeli Jews but not by all Jews. There are some Jews who are totally opposed to Zionism and to Israel's policies in the occupied territories of the West Bank. If you want a deeper understanding of the Zionism and Judaism follw this link :-"http://www.serendipity.li/zionism.htm"

Answer 4

No. Zionism is a political nationalist movement. Judaism is a religion.

However, "anti-Zionism" is closer to being synonymous with "anti-Judaism."

"Anti-semitism" is the one that confuses me. I thought the Semites were a much broader group of peoples, not just the Jewish people.

Answer 5

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a similar question. He stated:

". . . You declare, my friend, that you do not hate the Jews, you are merely 'anti-Zionist.' And I say, let the truth ring forth from the high mountain tops, let it echo through the valleys of God's green earth: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews--this is God's own truth.

"Antisemitism, the hatred of the Jewish people, has been and remains a blot on the soul of mankind. In this we are in full agreement. So know also this: anti-Zionist is inherently anti-Semitism, and ever will be so.

"Why is this? You know that Zionism is nothing less than the dream and ideal of the Jewish people returning to live in their own land. The Jewish people, the Scriptures tell us, once enjoyed a flourishing Commonwealth in the Holy Land. From this they were expelled by the Roman tyrant, the same Romans who cruelly murdered Our Lord. Driven from their homeland, their nation in ashes, forced to wander the globe, the Jewish people time and again suffered the lash of whichever tyrant happened to rule over them.

"The ***** people, my friend, know what it is to suffer the torment of tyranny under rulers not of our choosing. Our brothers in Africa have begged, pleaded, requested--DEMANDED the recognition and realization of our inborn right to live in peace under our own sovereignty in our own country.

"How easy it should be, for anyone who holds dear this inalienable right of all mankind, to understand and support the right of the Jewish People to live in their ancient Land of Israel. All men of good will exult in the fulfillment of God's promise, that his People should return in joy to rebuild their plundered land.

"This is Zionism, nothing more, nothing less.

"And what is anti-Zionist? It is the denial to the Jewish people of a fundamental right that we justly claim for the people of Africa and freely accord all other nations of the Globe. It is discrimination against Jews, my friend, because they are Jews. In short, it is antisemitism."

Answer 6

Well, Zionism is nothing more than a love of Israel and Jewish nationalism, which doesn't bother me.

Answer 7

Yes, pretty much so.

Answer 8

Why do you want to know? ~

Answer 9

No.