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The term Zionism was first connected to the movement founded by the Viennese Jewish journalist Theodor Herzl, who argued in his 1896 book Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) that the best way of avoiding anti-Semitism in Europe was to create an independent Jewish state or national homeland in the Palestine region of the Middle East. Zionism was named after Mount Zion in Jerusalem which has served as a symbol of the Jewish homeland since the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE. In 1948, the Zionist movement culminated in the birth of the State of Israel. Since then, the term "Zionism" properly refers to supporters of the Israeli state. Image File history File links Circle-question. ... Poster promoting a film about Jewish settlement in Palestine, 1930s: Toward a New Life (in Romanian),The Promised Land (in Hungarian), in small (down) text is written First Palestinian sound movie 1844 Discourse on the Restoration of the Jews by Mordecai Noah, page one. ... This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ... Theodor Herzl, in his middle age. ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Der Judenstaat (German for: The Jewish State) is a book written by Theodor Herzl and published in 1896 in Berlin and Vienna (by M. Breitensteins Verlags-Buchhandlung). ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... A homeland is the concept of the territory to which one belongs; usually, the country in which a particular nationality was born. ... Palestine (Hebrew: Eretz Israel, Arabic: ‎ Filastīn or Falastīn, see also Land of Israel) is one of many historical names for the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the banks of the Jordan River, plus various adjoining lands to the east and south. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Mount Zion may refer to one of several places: Mount Zion, Illinois Mount Zion, Georgia Mount Zion, Wisconsin Mount Zion, Taiwan Mount Zion, Jamaica For the Biblical and historical use of the name, see Zion. ... Jerusalem (Hebrew: Yerushalayim; Arabic: al-Quds; Greek Ιεροσόλυμα; Latin Aelia Capitolina) is an ancient Middle Eastern city on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea at an elevation of 650-840 meters. ... Babylonian captivity also refers to the permanence of the Avignon Papacy. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ...

The term racism refers to discriminatory beliefs and practices that presume inherent and significant differences exist between the genetics of human races; that assume these traits can be measured on a scale of "superior" to "inferior"; and that result in the social, political and economic advantage of one group in relation to others. An African-American man drinks out of the colored only water cooler at a racially segregated street car terminal in the United States in 1939. ...

The Jewish people have historically understood themselves to be part of an ethnicity and/or a nation, distinct from non-Jewish nations. Like most nations, offspring of members are also considered members. However, neither common ancestry nor race is required and new converts to Judaism are accepted based upon prescribed criteria. None of the criteria include race: for example, many Ethiopian Jews live in Israel, but so do Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Mizrahim and secular ethnic Jews. Further, non-Jews can become Israeli citizens. Judaism is the Jewish religion, but Jews, religious or not, also form an ethnic group or nation. ... This article or section should be merged with ethnic group Ethnicity is the cultural characteristics that connect a particular group or groups of people to each other. ... One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ... The word Gentile from the Latin gentilis, can either be a translation of the Hebrew Goy/גוי or of the Hebrew word Nochri/נכרי. In the most common modern use it refers to the former being derived from the Latin term gens (meaning clan or a group of families) and it is... This article describes the Jewish religion; for a consideration of ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity refer to the article Jew. ... For other senses of this word, see race (disambiguation). ... The Beta Israel (or House of Israel), known by outsiders by the pejorative term Falasha or Falash Mura (exiles or strangers) are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ... Ashkenazi (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִי, Standard Hebrew Aškanazi, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAškănāzî) Jews or Ashkenazic Jews, also called Ashkenazim (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, Standard Hebrew Aškanazim, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAškănāzîm), are Jews who are descendants of Jews from Germany, Poland, Austria and Eastern Europe. ... In the strictest sense, a Sephardi (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Səfardim, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardîm) is a Jew original to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal: ספרד, Standard Hebrew Səfárad, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄áraḏ / Səp̄āraḏ), or whose ancestors were among the Jews expelled from... This article deals with those Jewish communities indigenous to the Middle East. ...

Judaism and Jewish Law hold that any person may choose to become a Jew and enjoy all the benefits and responsibilities of membership. Zionism is therefore, by definition, non-racial. One of the benefits of membership, according to the Zionists, is the right to live freely without fear of persecution, as a Jew, in the national homeland. This article describes the Jewish religion; for a consideration of ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity refer to the article Jew. ... Halakha (הלכה in Hebrew or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish law, custom and tradition regulating all aspects of behavior. ...

Defenders of Zionism disagree with the identification of Zionism with racism on a number of grounds:

• The charge is too vague, as the views of Zionist groups differ widely from each other
• Both Palestinians and Jews are not racially distinct from each other and both claim mixed ancestry (see The ancestry of the Palestinians, Jewish ethnic divisions). Israeli Jews are racially mixed (nearly half of Israel's Jews come from Arab countries, and there are also almost 100,000 black Jews from Ethiopia)
• Even if the State of Israel discriminates against Arabs, such discrimination cannot accurately be termed "racist", but rather ethnic, cultural and/or religious discrimination. Further such discrimination cannot be connected to the Zionist movement, but rather may occur through political processes and dispersed among individuals and small groups that cannot be proven to be the majority view of Zionism. Furthermore, even if one was to refer to this hypothetical discrimination as "racism", Zionists say, it would be insignificant in comparison to the discrimination against Jews that is carried out by governments of Arab states.

The term Palestinian has other usages, for which see definitions of Palestinian. ... Jewish ethnic divisions refers to a number of distinct Jewish communities within the worlds ethnically Jewish population. ...

History

The Land of Israel, known until 1948 as the region of Palestine, is where ancient Jewish kingdoms existed between roughly 1300 BCE and 135 CE, until most of the Jews were expelled by the Romans. The Jewish diaspora and those who stayed continued to see the area as their homeland and as the Promised Land. By the time the modern Zionist movement emerged in the mid-19th century, however, this area had a longstanding Muslim majority, though some towns had Jewish majorities. For example, the 1922 census reported Jewish majorities in the towns of Jerusalem, Tiberias and Tel Aviv with Muslims comprising only 21%, 30% and less than 1%, respectively, of each town’s population. By 1944 Jewish majorities were also reported for the towns of Petah Tiqvah, Rishon-le-Zion, Rehovoth, Nathanya, Haifa, Hedera and Affula, ^[1] while the Jewish plurality in Jerusalem dates back to at least 1844. In order to establish the desired Jewish state, Zionists successfully made efforts to change the demographic balance. Critics of Zionism see the changes in demographic balance in order to create a Jewish state in the area, which culminated in hundreds of thousands of Arabs being made refugees, and the methods used to cause this, as an inevitable consequence of Zionism. Critics also point to current inequities between Jews and Arabs in Israel, similarly viewing them as attributable to Zionist beliefs and ideologies. Alternatively, supporters of Zionism suggest that persecution of Jews in Europe and Arab lands has transpired for thousands of years. Accordingly, the migration of millions of Jews from Arab nations in the mid-1900's to Israel is justified by their pursuit of a safe and democratic society. Further, people of any descent can become Israeli citizens, although by a different process than what is proscribed for Jews. 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Map of the British Mandate of Palestine. ... In compiling the history of ancient Israel and Judah, there are many available sources. ... Jewish-Roman War can refer to several revolts by the Jews of Judea against the Roman Empire: The First Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the First Jewish Revolt. ... The Jewish diaspora (Hebrew: Tefutzah, scattered, or Galut, exile) is the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the world. ... A homeland is the concept of the territory to which one belongs; usually, the country in which a particular nationality was born. ... According to the Bible, the Land of Israel (Hebrew: Eretz Yisrael) was promised to the descendants of Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by God, making it the Promised land. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian: مسلمان) is an adherent of Islam. ... Jerusalem (Hebrew: Yerushalayim; Arabic: al-Quds; Greek Ιεροσόλυμα; Latin Aelia Capitolina) is an ancient Middle Eastern city on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea at an elevation of 650-840 meters. ... This article discusses the demographics of Jerusalem. ... The term Jewish state is sometimes used to describe the State of Israel and refers to its status as a nation-state for the Jewish people. ... Anti-Zionism is a term used to describe several different political and religious points of view. ...

Both the League of Nations's 1922 Palestine Mandate and the 1947 UN Partition Plan supported the aim of Zionism, but in November 1975, the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 declared that "Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination." In December 1991, the General Assembly rescinded this resolution through Resolution 4686. At the time, the Soviet Union, a major sponsor of the "Zionism is racism" doctrine (see Zionology), had completed its rapid collapse. Israel made revocation of resolution 3379 a condition of Israel's participation in the Madrid Peace Conference. The Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, built between 1929 and 1938, was constructed as the Leagues headquarters. ... On June 24, 1922 the League of Nations agreed upon a document called the Palestine Mandate. ... On 29 November 1947 the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine or United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, a plan to resolve the Arab-Jewish conflict in the British Mandate of Palestine, was approved by the United Nations General Assembly, at the UN World Headquarters in New York. ... United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379, adopted on November 10, 1975 by a vote of 72 to 35 (with 32 abstentions), equated Zionism with racism. ... An African-American man drinks out of the colored only water cooler at a racially segregated street car terminal in the United States in 1939. ... An African-American drinks out of a water fountain marked for colored in 1939 at a street car terminal in Oklahoma City. ... United Nations General Assembly Resolution 4686 passed on December 16, 1991, revoked Resolution 3379 with a vote of 111 to 25 (with 13 abstentions). ... Zionology (Russian language: сионология sionologiya) was a doctrine promulgated in the Soviet Union during the course of the Cold War, and intensified after 1967 Six Day War. ... The rise of Gorbachev Although reform stalled between 1964–1982, the generational shift gave new momentum for reform. ... The Madrid Conference was hosted by the government of Spain and co-sponsored by the USA and the USSR. It convened on October 30, 1991 and lasted for three days. ...

The demographic change

Despite the history of violence against the Jews, there is no evidence of any interruption in the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel for more than three millennia. In addition to traditional religious Jewish communities known as the old yishuv, the second half of the 19th century saw a new kind of Jewish immigrant, the generally left-wing socialist who aimed to reclaim their land by working on it. Mikveh Israel was founded in 1870 by Alliance Israelite Universelle, followed by Petah Tikva (1878), Rishon LeZion (1882), and other agricultural communities founded by the members of Bilu and Hovevei Zion. In 1897, the First Zionist Congress proclaimed the decision to restore ancient Jewish homeland in Eretz Yisrael. At that time, Palestine was a political subdivision of the multi-continental Ottoman Empire. This decision made Zionism different from most other nationalisms, as its proponents claimed territory as a safe haven for an ethnicity, that had dispersed throughout the globe over time. Two millennia earlier, under the Kingdom of Judah and Kingdom of Israel, the same land had a Jewish majority, and Jews had never ceased to yearn for it (see Importance of Jerusalem in Judaism.) This article concerns the concept of The Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael) in Jewish and Christian thought throughout the history from its Biblical sources to the present day. ... Yishuv is a Hebrew word meaning settlement. ... The first students of Mikveh Israel Mikveh Israel (מקוה ישראל; The Hope of Israel in Hebrew, a quotation from the Book of Jeremiah (14:8, 17:13)) was the first modern Jewish agricultural settlement established in the Land of Israel in 1870. ... Alliance Israelite Universelle is an international Jewish organization of French Jews based in France. ... The Coat of Arms of Petah-Tikva Petah-Tikva (Hebrew פֶּתַח-תִּקְוָה opening of hope, Standard Hebrew Pétaḥ-Tiqva, also transliterated as Petach Tikva, Petah Tikvah, Petach Tikvah, Petaḥ Tiqwa or Petach Tiqwa) and nicknamed as Mother of Cities, is a city in the west of the Center District of Israel... Rishon Le Zion in 2002 Rishon LeZion, or Rishon LeZiyyon (ראשון לציון) is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip, in the Center District of Israel, just south of Tel Aviv, and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area (Gush Dan). ... Bilu (Hebrew acronym בילו; based on a verse from the Book of Isaiah (2:5) בית יעקב לכו ונלכה Beit Yaakov Lekhu Ve-nelkha (House of Jacob, let us go [up]) was a group of Jewish idealists aspiring to settle in the Land of Israel with the political purpose to establish Jewish National Homeland... Hovevei Zion (transliterated Hebrew, alternatively Hibbat Zion; English translation: Lovers of Zion) organizations are considered the forerunner and foundation of the modern Zionist movement. ... The World Zionist Organization [WZO] was founded as the Zionist Organization [ZO] on September 3, 1897, at the First Zionist Congress held in Basel, Switzerland. ... The Land of Israel (Hebrew: Eretz Yisrael) refers to the land making up the ancient Jewish Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. ... Map of the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Ä°stanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanl... Kingdom of Judah (Hebrew מַלְכוּת יְהוּדָה, Standard Hebrew Malḫut YÉ™huda, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ YÉ™hûḏāh) in the times of the Hebrew Bible, was the nation formed from the territories of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin after the Kingdom of Israel was divided, and was named after Judah... The Kingdom of Israel Hebrew: מַלְכוּת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard Hebrew Malḫut Yisraʼel, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ YiÅ›rāʼēl) was the Kingdom proclaimed by the Israelite nation around 1030-1020 BCE. // Biblical Account of Israels Origins According to the Biblical account, Israel is descended from Hebrew slaves who left the Land... The city of Jerusalem is significant in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam. ...

In the Balfour Declaration, 1917, Britain "view[ed] with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people," and put this into practice after capturing Palestine from the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Jewish immigration increased substantially, despite later widespread opposition from the existing inhabitants, profoundly changing the demographic balance of the area: over two decades; the Jewish population went from 11% in 1922 to 31% in 1945. However, Britain later imposed a series of impediments to Jewish immigration during the decades leading up to World War II. The Balfour Declaration was a computer which dated November 2, 1917 from British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour, to Lord Rothschild (Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild), a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation, a private Zionist organization. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), İstanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanl... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total dead: 7 million The First World War, also known as... Combatants Allies: Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France/Free France, United States, China, Canada, India, Australia, Poland, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Burma, Slovakia Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8...

By 1947, as the British were preparing to leave, the 1947 UN Partition Plan proposed a division of the area between Jewish and Arab states, granting 55% of the land (most of it Negev desert) to a Jewish state which would have had a 60% Jewish population. The Jewish Agency accepted the plan; however, the Arabs rejected it as unjust, and heated fighting between Zionist and Arab guerrillas broke out. (See 1948 Arab-Israeli War.) On May 14, 1948, the British Mandate of Palestine expired and Israel declared independence. The next day, six Arab states attacked, substantially augmenting the Palestinian guerrillas' forces, with the ambition of destroying Israel at its inception. To survive, the Jewish side launched the Plan Dalet, which according to some Palestinian sources had as a purpose to conquer as much of Palestine as possible. The Negev (נגב, Standard Hebrew Négev / Nágev, Tiberian Hebrew Néḡeḇ / Nāḡeḇ; Arabic النقب an-Naqab) is the desert region of southern Israel. ... The Jewish Agency for Israel also known as The Jewish Agency (or sochnut in Hebrew), was previously called the Jewish Agency for Palestine (during the British Mandate of Palestine) is an Israeli organisation that advocates for Israel and is composed mainly, but not entirely, of Jewish people. ... The 1948 Arab-Israeli War is referred to as the War of Independence (Hebrew: מלחמת העצמאות) or as the War of Liberation (Hebrew: מלחמת השחרור) by Israelis. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Map of the territory under the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Plan Dalet, or Plan D, (in Hebrew, dalet is the fourth letter, similar to d in English), was a plan that the Haganah in Palestine worked out during autumn 1947 to spring 1948. ...

Since Palestinian Arabs constituted a majority of the population of the British Mandate of Palestine at the time, many have seen Israel's declaration of independence as denying the right of self-determination to the Palestinians; they note also that it had been made possible by the Balfour Declaration, an explicit contravention of the idea of self-determination insofar as it was decided entirely without Palestinian consent. Detractors of this argument note that by 1947 the Jews had come to constitute a majority in the areas designated to the Jewish state by the UN partition they accepted, and view the Arab leadership's refusal to negotiate, as well as their rejection of any partition as attempts to deny the Jews their right of self-determination. Some also claim that "Palestinians" as a unified people or culture did not exist until very recently, and that the term "Palestinian" was geographical in nature. [1] Others claim that since Jordan's Palestinian population outnumber by a "wide margin" the Hashemite "East Bankers", this establishes Jordan a de facto Palestinian state. [2] Self-determination is a principle in international law that a people ought to be able to determine their own governmental forms and structure free from outside influence. ... De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without...

After the declaration of Israel and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the vast majority of the Palestinians who had lived in what became Israel fled and had their property and land redistributed to Jewish immigrants. This was invaluable in making Israel a Jewish state, and was welcomed by some of Israel's leadership. Some historians argue that there was a forced relocation of the Arab Palestinians, and consider this to have constituted "ethnic cleansing". Others argue that it is incorrect to label what happened "ethnic cleansing," since they say that the majority of Palestinian Arabs fled during the war through their own merit and under the orders of their leadership; they do not deny isolated incidents of expulsions. In his September 1, 2004 interview [3] with the Ha'aretz daily, Benny Morris said: This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ... The term Jewish state is sometimes used to describe the State of Israel and refers to its status as a nation-state for the Jewish people. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Haaretz (הארץ, The Land) is an Israeli newspaper, founded in 1919. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In the months of April-May 1948, units of the Haganah (the pre-state defense force that was the precursor of the IDF) were given operational orders that stated explicitly that they were to uproot the villagers, expel them and destroy the villages themselves. At the same time, it turns out that there was a series of orders issued by the Arab Higher Committee and by the Palestinian intermediate levels to remove children, women and the elderly from the villages. Haganah Logo (1940s) The Haganah (Hebrew: The Defense, ×”×”×’× ×”) was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948. ... The Israel Defense Forces are part of the Israeli Security Forces. ...

According to Christopher Hitchens, the radio broadcasts, monitored by the British and American governments, contain orders by Arab leaders for Palestinians to stay put and keep their claim to the territory. (Source: Christopher Hitchens: "Broadcasts" in Blaming the Victims: Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question, ed. Edward W. Said and Christopher Hitchens, New York: Verso, 1988, pp. 73-83) Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (born April 13, 1949) is an author, journalist and literary critic. ...

Some historians argue^{[citation needed]} that in many circumstances, the Palestinians left because they did not want to live in a Jewish state and were expecting Israel's imminent destruction, and that as such they were not "compelled" to leave. Violence was being committed by both sides. Those who remained gained Israeli citizenship with equal rights to voting, and in many cases kept their land. This is a list of massacres committed during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. ... Suffrage is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. ...

Zionism and Israel

Though the modern incarnation of the Zionist ideology is the state of Israel, this itself is a source of debate among some Zionists about the nature of the Jewish state. Some Zionist intellectuals still make a careful distinction between advocacy for a Jewish ethnic homeland and a Jewish state, which is perhaps similar to the difference between patriotism and nationalism. Defense of the homeland is a commonplace of military patriotism: The statue in the École polytechnique, Paris, commemorating the students involvement in defending France against the 1814 invasion of the Coalition. ... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix Nationalism is a form of identity that holds that (ethnically or culturally defined) nations are the fundamental units for human social life, and makes certain cultural and political claims based upon that belief; in particular, the claim that the nation is the...

Discrimination

Israel is a state with a predominantly Jewish majority; the Arab minority constitues about 20% of its population. Although the 1948 Israeli Declaration of Independence [4] guarantees equality of political and social rights for all its citizens, irrespective of their race, religion or sex, the Declaration also contains multiple references to the Jewish nature of the state, resulting in some laws treating Jews and non-Jews differently. [5] In particular, the jus sanguinis law of the right of return which, despite Israel's otherwise restrictive immigration policies, grant every Jew in the world the right to settle in Israel. This is especially agitating for the many Palestinian refugees, who (or whose ancestors) used to live in the territory that is modern Israel, but are denied their wish to return, which they deem a right. Supporters of the law maintain that allowing a hostile majority that were adversaries in a war for Israel's independence to return would be tantamount to the political, demographic destruction of the Jewish character of Israel, and would endanger the Jewish population living there. [6] The Article 11 of the UNGA Resolution 194, upon which the Palestinian refugees usually base their claim of a "right of return," "[r]esolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property..." without naming Israel and specifying either Palestinian or Jewish refugees. The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948 David Ben Gurion (First Prime Minister of Israel) publicly pronouncing the Declaration of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948. ... Jus sanguinis (Latin for right of blood) is a right by which nationality or citizenship can be recognised to any individual born to a parent who is a national or citizen of that state. ... The term Right of return reflects a belief that members of an ethnic or national group have a right to immigration and naturalization into the country that they, the country, or both consider to be that groups homeland, without prior personal citizenship in that country. ... In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a Palestinian refugee is a refugee from Palestine created by the Palestinian Exodus, which Palestinians call the Nakba (نكبة, meaning disaster). History Most of the refugees had already fled by the time the neighboring Arab states intervened on the side of Palestinians and continued after... A right is the power or privilege to which one is justly entitled or a thing to which one has a just claim. ... United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 [1] was passed on December 11 1948, near the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. ... The term Right of return reflects a belief that members of an ethnic or national group have a right to immigration and naturalization into the country that they, the country, or both consider to be that groups homeland, without prior personal citizenship in that country. ... The Jewish exodus from Arab lands refers to the 20th century emigration of Jews, primarily of Sephardi and Mizrahi background, from majority Arab lands. ...

Many opponents of Zionism declare that Zionism is racist, and compare its continuation to the reform of Germany's former 'Blood Laws', which had allowed ethnic Germans to claim citizenship, even if they were nationals of another country. The defenders of the Law of Return point out that it is designed to serve as a safe haven for Jews fleeing persecution, and as a guarantor against possible genocide. They refer to violent history of anti-Semitism and the abundance of anti-Semitic propaganda in the Arab media as an indicator of plausibility of such scenario. They also note that many modern states implement immigration policies favoring certain groups. An African-American man drinks out of the colored only water cooler at a racially segregated street car terminal in the United States in 1939. ... Ethnic Germans—usually simply called Germans, in German Volksdeutsche, or (less exactly but also less tainted by Nazism) Auslandsdeutsche (lit. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A safe haven is any security or other investment that loses none or little of its value in case of a market crash. ... Genocide is defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) Article 2 as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: Killing members of the group; Causing... This is a partial chronology of hostilities towards or discrimination against the Jews as a religious or ethnic group. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... It has been suggested that Propaganda in the United States be merged into this article or section. ...

According to the 2004 U.S. State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for Israel and the occupied territories, the Israeli government "did little to reduce institutional, legal, and societal discrimination against the country's Arab citizens."[7] It based this finding on studies by Haifa University, reports from Human Rights Watch, Israeli government reports to the UN, and rulings of the Supreme Court of Israel, among other sources. See Israeli Arabs for details. The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ... Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are submitted annually by the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Congress. ... The University of Haifa (אוניברסיטת חיפה) is a university in Haifa, Israel. ... Human Rights Watch is a U.S.-based international human rights non-governmental organization located in New York City, USA, that conducts advocacy and research on human rights issues. ... Frontal view The Supreme Court (Hebrew: בית המשפט העליון, Beit Hamishpat Haelyon ) is at the head of the court system in the State of Israel. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Viewed as anti-Semitism

According to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Jews were considered by God the "Chosen People"; in Judaism, this is still believed to be the case. Some anti-semites have argued that this moniker implies that Jews believe themselves superior to all other peoples, and thus that Judaism as a religion is racist. This belief is one facet of a variety of competing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories believed by varying numbers of Europeans since the 1700s and 1800s and modern Arabs, according to which Jews have the power and desire to control the world. This article describes the Jewish religion; for a consideration of ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity refer to the article Jew. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recounted in the Gospels. ... For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ... God denotes the deity believed by monotheists to be the sole creator and ruler of the universe. ... Chosen People refers to a group of people who have been chosen by G-d to act as G-ds agent on earth. ... A conspiracy theory attempts to explain the ultimate cause of an event (usually a political, social, or historical event) as a secret, and often deceptive, plot by a covert alliance of powerful people or organizations rather than as an overt activity or as natural occurrence. ... WORLD DOMINATION is KOMPRESSORs first compact disc release. ...

According to mainstream Judaism[8], Jews were chosen to act in a responsible and caring way to other people, whether Jews or Gentiles, and to follow the rules set down in the Torah. Therefore the chosenness is for a series of responsibilities. A Gentile refers to a non-Israelite; the word is derived from the Latin term gens (meaning clan or a group of families) and is often employed in the plural. ... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ...

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), describes the assertion that "Zionism is racism" as "discredited," saying that "This divisive, offensive equation is based on hatred and misunderstanding" and is "anti-Jewish." An American long active in issues of race relations, Pennsylvania State Rep. Mark B. Cohen, said: To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

"Racism claims superiority, while Zionism merely claims difference. Racism seeks the persecution of long powerless groups, while Zionism seeks to protect the members of a group long persecuted. Racism seeks to degrade its victims, while Zionism seeks to protect those who have been victims. The U.N. was right to repeal its discredited resolution."

Jews, Judaism, Jewish Law, and Jewish Zionists hold that any person may choose to become a Jew, after meeting the necessary requirements, and enjoy all the benefits and responsibilities of membership. Since anyone can (i.e., regardless of race, ethnicity or nationality) both join the Jewish people and equally enjoy the benefits of membership, Zionists conclude that Zionism is anti-Racist. One of the benefits of membership, according to the Zionists, is the right to live freely without fear of persecution, as a Jew, in the national homeland. This article describes the Jewish religion; for a consideration of ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity refer to the article Jew. ... Halakha (הלכה in Hebrew or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish law, custom and tradition regulating all aspects of behavior. ...

The association of Zionism with racism is seen by critics as a modern form of anti-Semitism, as another case of accusing the Jews the most despicable evil at the time, after deicide, poisoning the wells in medieval Europe, blood libels, racism, colonialism, imperialism or genocide and using this as a pretext to deny Jews the rights that all nations seek to enjoy. An African-American man drinks out of the colored only water cooler at a racially segregated street car terminal in the United States in 1939. ... Graffiti on a Jewish gravestone in Aldershot, England in January 2005 The term new anti-Semitism refers to the perceived contemporary international resurgence of anti-Jewish incidents and attacks on Jewish symbols, as well as the acceptance of anti-Semitic beliefs and their expression in public discourse. ... Deicide literally means God-killing (Latin Deus, God + -cida, killing) and usually refers to the execution of Jesus by crucifixion. ... Poisoning the well is a logical fallacy where adverse information about someone is pre-emptively presented to an audience, with the intention of discrediting or ridiculing everything that person is about to say. ... Blood libels are allegations that a particular group kills people as a form of human sacrifice, and uses their blood in various rituals. ... An African-American man drinks out of the colored only water cooler at a racially segregated street car terminal in the United States in 1939. ... See colony and colonisation for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism. ... Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires. ... Genocide is defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) Article 2 as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: Killing members of the group; Causing...

Soviet influence

Main article: Soviet Union and the Arab-Israeli conflict

The Soviet Union officially opposed nationalism and movements promoting ethnic identity. At the same time, it opposed racism and ethnic discrimination, including anti-Semitism. The early Bolsheviks defined their stance as one of support for the Jewish people (many leading Bolsheviks were Jewish themselves), but they favored the assimilation of Jews into a greater Soviet culture and were adamantly opposed to Zionism. As early as 1918, Yevsektsiya was established to promote Bolshevik ideas among the Jewish working class in Russia. Political Zionism was officially considered a form of bourgeois nationalism and this was pushed through Zionology sponsored by the Department of propaganda of the Communist Party and by the KGB. The Soviet Union and (after 1991) the Russian Federation had a mixed influence on the Arab-Israeli conflict. ... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix Nationalism is a form of identity that holds that (ethnically or culturally defined) nations are the fundamental units for human social life, and makes certain cultural and political claims based upon that belief; in particular, the claim that the nation is the... An African-American man drinks out of the colored only water cooler at a racially segregated street car terminal in the United States in 1939. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... Leaders of the Bolshevik Party and the Communist International, a painting by Malcolm McAllister on the Pathfinder Mural in New York City and on the cover of the book Lenin’s Final Fight published by Pathfinder. ... This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ... Yevsektsiya (alternative spelling: Yevsektsia), Russian: ЕвСекция, the abbreviation of the phrase Еврейская секция (Yevreyskaya sektsiya) was the Jewish section of the Soviet Communist party created to challenge and eventually destroy the rival Bund and Zionist parties, suppress Judaism and bourgeois nationalism and replace traditional Jewish culture with proletarian culture, as... Bourgeois nationalism is a term from Marxist phraseology. ... Zionology (Russian language: сионология sionologiya) was a doctrine promulgated in the Soviet Union during the course of the Cold War, and intensified after 1967 Six Day War. ...

Without changing its official anti-Zionist stance, the Soviet Union briefly supported the establishment of Israel in 1947 and 1948, expecting it to become a Soviet ally in the Cold War. Before voting for the 1947 partition, Soviet Foreign Affairs Minister Andrei Gromyko stated: The Cold War was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their military alliance partners. ... Andrei Gromyko Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (Андре́й Андре́евич Громы́ко) (July 18 (July 5, Old Style), 1909 – July 2, 1989) was Minister for Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. ...

"As we know, the aspirations of a considerable part of the Jewish people are linked with the problem of Palestine and of its future administration. This fact scarcely requires proof... The United Nations cannot and must not regard this situation with indifference, since this would be incompatible with the high principles proclaimed in its Charter..."

By the end of 1948, however, the Soviet Union realized that Israel had chosen the "Western option" (alliance with the West), and withdrew its support. For the rest of the Cold War, the Soviet Union decided to support Arab regimes against Israel. Soviet propaganda featured a number of criticisms of Zionism that frequently bordered on anti-Semitism, recycling old conspiracy theories. By the end of 1940s, the official position of the Soviet Union and its satellite states and agencies was that Zionism was a tool used by the Jews and Americans for "racist imperialism". The meaning of the term Zionism (which originally had strong ties to the socialist movement) was misrepresented to conform to Soviet aims in the Cold War: "the main posits of modern Zionism are militant chauvinism, racism, anti-Communism and anti-Sovietism,... overt and covert fight against freedom movements and the USSR" (БСЭ, The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1970s Ed). The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... Satellite state is a political term that refers to a country which is formally independent but which is primarily subject to the domination of another, larger power. ... Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ...

See also: History of the Jews in Russia and Soviet Union, rootless cosmopolitan, Prague Trials, Doctors' plot, Zionology, Anti-Zionist committee of the Soviet public. Historical background As waves of anti-Jewish pogroms and expulsions from the countries of Western Europe marked the last centuries of the Middle Ages, a sizable portion of the Jewish populations there moved to the more tolerant countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Middle East. ... Rootless cosmopolitan (Russian language: безродный космополит, bezrodny kosmopolit) was a Soviet euphemism during Joseph Stalins anti-Semitic campaign of 1948–1953, which culminated in the exposure of the alleged Doctors plot. The term and the persecutions by the authorities unmistakably targeted the Jews. ... The Prague Trials were a series of Stalinist and largely anti-Semitic show trials in Czechoslovakia. ... The Doctors plot (Russian language: дело врачей (doctors affair), врачи-вредители (doctors-saboteurs) or врачи-убийцы (doctors-killers)) was an alleged conspiracy to eliminate the leadership of the Soviet Union by means of Jewish doctors poisoning top leadership. ... Zionology (Russian language: сионология sionologiya) was a doctrine promulgated in the Soviet Union during the course of the Cold War, and intensified after 1967 Six Day War. ... On March 29, 1983, the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union has approved the resolution 101/62ГС to Support the proposition of the Department of Propaganda of the Central Committee and the KGB USSR about the creation of the Anti-Zionist Committee of...

UN resolutions

Main articles: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379, UN General Assembly Resolution 4686. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379, adopted on November 10, 1975 by a vote of 72 to 35 (with 32 abstentions), equated Zionism with racism. ... United Nations General Assembly Resolution 4686 passed on December 16, 1991, revoked Resolution 3379 with a vote of 111 to 25 (with 13 abstentions). ...

The Soviet Union initiated the "Zionism is racism" campaign in the United Nations (see Zionology for context) in response to United States proposals for UN resolutions against discrimination that criticised the Soviet Union. United Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Zionology (Russian language: сионология sionologiya) was a doctrine promulgated in the Soviet Union during the course of the Cold War, and intensified after 1967 Six Day War. ...

On November 10, 1975 the United Nations General Assembly adopted, by a vote of 72 to 35 (with 32 abstentions), Resolution 3379, which stated that "Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination." November 10 is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 51 days remaining. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... United Nations General Assembly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379, adopted on November 10, 1975 by a vote of 72 to 35 (with 32 abstentions), equated Zionism with racism. ...

The Resolution 3379 was rescinded by Resolution 4686 on 16 December 1991 with a vote of 111 to 25 (with 13 abstentions). Resolution 4686 stated that "...to equate Zionism with the intolerable sin of racism is to twist history and forget the terrible plight of Jews in World War II and indeed throughout history." United Nations General Assembly Resolution 4686 passed on December 16, 1991, revoked Resolution 3379 with a vote of 111 to 25 (with 13 abstentions). ... December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Notes

1. ^ A Survey of Palestine, Prepared in December 1945 and January 1946 for the information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, Reprinted in full by Institute for Palestine Studies, Washingtom, D.C., 1991, Vol. 1, Pg 148-151.

See also

• Anti-Zionism
• anti-Semitism
• Psychological projection
• Anti-Arab
• Arabs and anti-Semitism
• Religious pluralism
• Peace process
• Projects working for peace among Israelis and Arabs

Anti-Zionism is a term used to describe several different political and religious points of view. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... Psychological projection (or projection bias) can be defined as unconsciously assuming that others have the same or similar thoughts, beliefs, values, or positions on any given subject as oneself. ... Anti-Arab prejudice is hostility or violence towards Arabs and, in the USA, Arab Americans. ... This article describes issues of anti-Semitism (hostility towards or discrimination against Jews) in the Arab world. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... The peace process describes efforts by interested parties to effect a lasting solution to long-running conflicts, such as in Northern Ireland (see Belfast Agreement) or the Arab-Israeli conflict. ... This page discusses the many projects that work to create a peaceful and productive co-existence between Israelis and Arabs including the Palestinians. ...

External links

• Does Zionism = Racism? (Pro-Zionist stance)
• National Association for the Advocacy of Modern Zionism (Pro-Zionist stance)
• Israeli Ambassador Herzog's response to Zionism is racism resolution (10 November 1975)
• Anti-Zionism is Racism, Judea Pearl (Pro-Zionist advocacy training)
• BBC Report on Ethiopian Jews in Israel
• ADL statement (Pro-Zionist stance)
• "Myths and Facts": Zionism and Racism (Pro-Zionist stance)
• "Zionism as a Racist Ideology" (Anti-Zionist stance)
• "Information about Zionism" - from the Islamic Association of Palestine (Anti-Zionist stance)
• Legal center for Arab minority rights in Israel
• text of the family unification law
• Challenging Israel's accusers (pro-Israeli stance)
• Zionism is not a settler-colonial undertaking, "The Mail & Guardian", South Africa
• Do not treat Israel like apartheid South Africa, The Guardian, UK

November 10 is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 51 days remaining. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

Further reading

• Arie Dayan: The Debate over Zionism and Racism: An Israeli View; Haaretz, 27 December 1991; translated in Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 22, No. 3. (Spring, 1993), pp. 96-105.
• Michael Adams: Israel's Treatment of the Arabs in the Occupied Territories; Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 6, No. 2. (Winter, 1977), pp. 19-40.
• Janice J. Terry: Zionist Attitudes toward Arabs; Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 6, No. 1. (Autumn, 1976), pp. 67-78.
• Michael Suleiman: National Stereotypes As Weapons in the Arab-Israeli Conflict; Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 3, No. 3. (Spring, 1974), pp. 109-121.
• Roselle Tekiner: Race and the Issue of National Identity in Israel; International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 23, No. 1. (Feb., 1991), pp. 39-55.