ZIONISM
AND JUDAISM
DIFFERENCES IN
MEANING AND ORIGIN
Stes de Necker
ZIONISM
The term
"Zionism" itself is derived from the
word Zion (Hebrew: ציון, Tzi-yon),
referring to Jerusalem. Throughout Eastern Europe in the late 19th
century, there were numerous grassroots groups promoting the national
resettlement of the Jews in what was termed their "ancestral
homeland", as well as the revitalization and cultivation of Hebrew.
These groups were collectively called the "Lovers of Zion."
The first use
of the term is attributed to the Austrian Nathan Birnbaum, founder of a
nationalist Jewish students' movement Kadimah, who used the term in 1890 in his
Journal ‘Selbstemanzipation’ (Self Emancipation).
Readings of
the founders of Zionism shows that they lived in the same Europe which spawned
fascism and Nazism, and they adopted the anti-Jewish view that Jews did not
belong in Europe as the core of their ideology.
Zionism is
the belief that the Jewish people have a right to a political state whose
territory they occupied in Biblical times, i.e. the Promised Land.
It doesn't
imply any religious beliefs.
Also, not all
religious Jews are Zionist. Some of them believe the state of Israel won't
exist until after the Messiah comes. However, there is a big overlap between
the religious and the political beliefs.
ZIONISM AND THE APARTHEID SYSTEM OF SOUTH AFRICA
In December
1973, the UN passed a series of resolutions condemning South Africa and
included a reference to an "unholy alliance between Portuguese
colonialism, Apartheid and Zionism."
At the time
there was little cooperation between Israel and South
Africa, although the two countries would develop a close relationship
during the 1970s. Parallels have also been drawn between aspects of South
Africa's apartheid regime and certain Israeli policies toward the Palestinians,
which are seen as manifestations of racism in Zionist thinking.
In 1975
the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 3379, which said
"Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination". According to
the resolution, "any doctrine of racial differentiation of superiority is
scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust, and dangerous."
The
resolution named the occupied territory of Palestine, Zimbabwe, and South
Africa as examples of racist regimes. Resolution 3379 was pioneered by the
Soviet Union and passed with numerical support from Arab and African states
amidst accusations that Israel was supportive of the apartheid regime in South
Africa.
The
resolution was robustly criticized by the US representative, Daniel
Patrick Moynihan, as an 'obscenity' and a 'harm ...done to the United
Nations'.
“The United
States ...does not acknowledge, it will not abide by, it will never acquiesce
in this infamous act… The lie is that Zionism is a form of racism. The
overwhelmingly clear truth is that it is not.” (Moynihan 1975)
In 1991 the
resolution was repealed with UN General Assembly Resolution
46/86, after Israel declared that it would only participate in
the Madrid Conference of 1991 if the resolution were revoked.
Arab
countries sought to associate Zionism with racism in connection with
a 2001 UN conference on racism, which took place in Durban, South
Africa, which caused the United States and Israel to walk away from the
conference as a response.
The final
text of the conference did not connect Zionism with racism. A human rights
forum arranged in connection with the conference, on the other hand, did equate
Zionism with racism and censured Israel for what it called "racist crimes,
including acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing".
The problem
with the Zionist ideology, as in the case of South Africa’s apartheid system,
idea is twofold:
1) Most
Jewish people are thoroughly intermingled with other races and cultures. So
much so, that Israel requires only proof of one Jewish grandparent.
2) Zionism
inevitably means that the native peoples of the holy land, the Palestinians,
are displaced even though they have more of a right to be there in the first
place.
JUDAISM
Judaism (from
the Latin Iudaismus), is derived from the Greek Ἰουδαϊσμός, and
ultimately from the Hebrew יהודה, Yehudah, "Judah".
Yahadut, the
distinctive characteristics of the Judean ethos, is the religion,
philosophy and way of life of the Jewish people.
Judaism is
a monotheistic religion, with the Torah as its foundational
text (part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or Hebrew
Bible), and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as
the Mishnah and the Talmud.
Judaism is
considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenental
relationship God established with the Children of Israel.
JUDAISM AND THE LAWS OF MOSES
The basis of
Jewish law and tradition (halakha) is the Torah (also known as
the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses). According to rabbinic
tradition there are 613 commandments in the Torah.
In my article
‘The Laws of Moses’ (My blog dated 30 may 2012) all the Mosaic Laws are listed.
Some of these
laws are directed only to men or to women, some only to the ancient priestly
groups, the Kohanim and Leviyim (members of the tribe
of Levi), some only to farmers within the Land of Israel.
Many laws
were only applicable when the Temple in Jerusalem existed, and fewer
than 300 of these commandments are still applicable today.
Judaism claims
a historical continuity spanning more than 3,000 years.
Judaism has
its roots as a structured religion in the Middle East during
the Bronze Age.
Of the major
world religions, Judaism is considered one of the oldest monotheistic
religions.
The Hebrews (Israelites) were
already referred to as "Jews" in later books of the Tanakh such as
the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title "Children
of Israel".
Judaism's
texts, traditions and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic
religions, including Christianity, Islam and the Baha'i
Faith. Many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced
secular Western ethics and civil law.
Jews are
an ethno-religious group and include those born Jewish
and converts to Judaism.
SUMMARY
Nowadays the
deliberate blurring of the distinction between Zionism and Judaism, which
includes a re-writing of ancient as well as modern history, is exploited to
stifle any criticism of Israel's policies and actions, however extreme and
inhuman they may be. This, incidentally, also plays directly into anti-Semitic
prejudices by equating Israeli arrogance, brutality and complete denial of
basic human rights to non-Jews with general Jewish characteristics.
JUDAISM is
a religion and a tradition.
ZIONISM is
a political ideology.
Judaism
refers to the values, rites and beliefs of the Jewish people.
Zionism
refers to the idea that the Jewish people must relocate from the Diaspora to
their ancestral homeland.
