Zionism isn't "simply" anything
(Photo/JTA-Kena Betancur-Getty Images)
by Kathryn Shihadah
I recently wrote about a conversation with Palestinian activist Bassem Tamimi, in which he discussed the ideology of Zionism and its effect on the minds of its adherents.
“People’s minds are colonized,” Bassem said. “If you can’t address Palestinian human rights, you are colonized by Zionism.”
Zionism inhabits the mind, disguised as a noble enterprise that is plagued by many enemies. Those who stand in the way of this enterprise must be eliminated (as some Israel supporters have said, “if you want to make an omelette, you have to break some eggs”).
Zionism enables otherwise good, rational people to hold loathing in a corner of their minds: all people should be free, but… But Palestinians hate. But Palestinians are irrational. They are the exception to the rules of justice and equality and human rights.
A Zionist friend of mine (I’ll call him Brad) read the article and was not crazy about the suggestion that Zionism enables hate. He quipped, “Zionism is simply the support for a Jewish homeland.”
That’s like saying “drunk driving is simply a form of transportation,” or “cock fighting is simply a form of entertainment.”
Because Zionism necessarily involves historic Palestine (a land with people), it isn’t only about a Jewish homeland.
Zionism is not “simply” anything. It produced a massive, tragic, and long-term refugee crisis. It involved (and still involves) breach of many international laws. And it incorporates ethnic cleansing. Perhaps Zionism didn’t want to include these components, but that doesn’t really matter. It did. And does.
Perhaps today’s Zionists (like Brad) harbor no personal animosity toward Palestinians, but that' is irrelevant. The Jewish homeland they support requires the subjugation and/or removal of Palestinians. Zionists have an obligation to bring an end to the injustice.
Zionists must acknowledge this truth and start dealing with the ramifications of their ideology. It will be painful. Excruciating. But it must be done because the Palestinian “problem” isn’t going away – unless Zionism’s ethnic cleansing is completed. In that case, the Jewish State will be free of Arabs, but it will forever bear the burden for that sin.