Propaganda Ploy: Why Should Zionism and Judaism Be Separated?

Western media often seek to portray Zionism as Judaism, so that talking about a Jewish people, a Jewish state, and a Jewish nationality is justified and natural.

This is contrary to the historical, religious, and linguistic reality of the meaning of Judaism, which is - originally - a global religion and a cultural identity whose teachings were revealed in the books of Abraham and Moses, peace be upon them.

On the other hand, Zionism is a racist colonial political movement that emerged in the late nineteenth century in response to the persecution and discrimination faced by Jewish communities in Europe.

The basic principle of Zionism is the belief in establishing a national homeland for the Jews in Palestine - it has achieved this - and it wants to rule the entire world through this state.

The word 'Zionism' is derived from Zion, a hill near the city of Jerusalem, where the Prophet David, peace be upon him, built his palace after moving from Hebron in the eleventh century BC, and this name symbolizes the Kingdom of David and the alleged reconstruction of the Temple.

It is noteworthy that the modern Zionist movement was closely linked to the figure of the Austrian Jew Theodor Herzl, widely regarded as the father of modern political Zionism, and on whose views the Zionist movement in the world is based.

The relationship between Judaism and Zionism is not unified, while many Jews sympathize with the Zionist cause, and see the so-called “Israel” as the realization of their national aspirations, others deal with Zionism with caution or opposition, often for religious, political or moral reasons.

Zionist Ideology

The number of Jews declaring their solidarity with the Palestinians has increased since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, through social media, demonstrations and sit-ins.

These unconventional scenes revealed a major rift in the relationship between “Israel” and many young Jews, who have come to be described as self-haters and garbage Jews by supporters of the right-wing Israeli government’s policies.

In May 2021, a Jewish activist said in a video: “Most of us grew up in Zionist families, in Zionist institutions, we had to undergo massive transformations to get here to know the truth,” which was seen as a clear rejection of Zionist ideology.

The rift among the new generation of Jews was also evident in their lack of knowledge of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, one of the pioneers of the Zionist movement whose memory is commemorated annually at Mount Herzl.

A large number of young Israelis did not know him, according to a poll conducted by the Israeli Shilov Public Opinion Agency in July 2023.

These matters are very worrying for “Israel”, as they indicate a large gap between “Israel” and many young Jews who call for separation between Jewish identity and statehood.

A large segment of young people reject “Israel” being the exclusive spokesperson for Jews in the world, and they have even begun to form organizations that unite them and express their opinions opposing Israeli crimes.

These organizations justified their opposition to Zionism on religious, moral, and political grounds, most notably Jewish Voice for Peace, which describes itself as the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world.

Anti-Semitism

Since its inception, the Zionist movement has been covered with the cover of Judaism to push Jews to settle in Palestine under the slogan of ‘the Promised Land’, even though the masters of Zionism were atheists.

To this day, the Israeli occupation has not abandoned this cover, because abandoning it would be an existential threat to this bastard state, and therefore the duality of politics and religion within Israel has not been separated over the past decades.

In addition, the Israeli occupation uses religion as a threat card for anyone who confronts its policies under the umbrella of anti-Semitism. The most prominent evidence of this was Netanyahu's hostile speech to the student movement within American universities supporting the Palestinians, where he used this card again, accusing the students of anti-Semitism.

The cynicism of US House Resolution 894, which strongly condemns the sharp rise of anti-Semitism in the United States and around the world is boundless.

The resolution was introduced by two Jewish Republicans, Reps. David Kustoff and Max Miller, and states that it is the official view of the US Congress that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.

Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, who is also Jewish, replied to HR 894, by saying: “What’s even more problematic is that it suggests that all anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.”

Writers and thinkers have tried over the past years to promote the idea of separating Zionism from Judaism, but Zionist movements have distorted this idea.

However, the Israeli war on Gaza was able to strip Zionism of its Jewish cover in full view of the entire world.

There has also been a serious movement by segments of religious Jews who have denounced and disavowed Israeli crimes.

One of the beliefs of this group is that according to Jewish law, it is not permissible for the Jews to have a state that unites them, because they have been destined to be scattered throughout the earth, and any attempt to unite them in one state by force is in opposition to the divine will.

One of the most prominent groups that represent this trend is the Neturei Karta movement, an anti-Zionist Jewish religious movement that originated in occupied Palestine and opposed the establishment of a Zionist state. Its members are estimated to number in the tens of thousands, most of whom live in New York.

Likewise, the Israeli crimes that are witnessed in every home in the world have refuted the Israeli injustices that promote that the Arabs are persecuting the Jewish people.

These injustices had deceived the people of the world before the technological revolution and the Internet, unlike the world today, as people have begun to see clearly who is the killer and who is the victim.

The Zionist media, which is based on false propaganda, rumors, and stereotyping, is no longer able to overcome the awareness of the people, and its pedagogical discourse is no longer influential in the world that has revealed the brutality of this occupation that knows nothing but looting, theft, killing, and destruction.

Zionist Propaganda

On his part, the Jewish writer Yoav Litvin said that “Israel” continues a policy of genocidal expansion with support from the US and other Western countries, stressing the need to separate Judaism from Zionism.

Litvin told Anadolu that Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and West Bank are clear manifestations of a policy he describes as genocidal expansion.

He argued that Israel’s actions represent an escalation of an already genocidal phenomenon, rooted in the goal of Zionist expansion.

The writer described 'Greater Israel' as a fairy tale and argued it shapes the narrative within the Zionist enterprise.

Litvin stated that the Jewish religion has been hijacked during the Israeli colonial-settler project, indicating that Western imperialism uses the equation of Zionism with Judaism as a propaganda ploy.

He also stressed that Zionism must be separated from Judaism, indicating that Zionist propaganda is a key driver behind anti-Semitism in the world today.

In turn, Dr. Ibrahim Abrash, a Palestinian political science professor, indicated in a statement to Al-Estiklal that he was defending the thesis that distinguishes between Judaism as a heavenly religion and Zionism as an ideology and political doctrine.

“But after the transformations that occurred in Israeli society and the adoption by the majority of it of religious Zionism committed to the biblical texts and its myths, I realized that Zionism and Judaism are two sides of the same coin,” he said.

He also noted that the position of the Christian West depends on its support for the Israeli occupation of the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, especially Evangelicalism, in their belief that the return of the awaited Messiah is linked to the establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine.