Zionism

From New World Encyclopedia


Zionism

History

Myths About Zionism

Zionism, like many other political movements has many myths attributed to its cause. The importance in recognizing the myths concerning Zionism lies in the fact that because these myths have existed throughout the history of the movement, they have been a cause for misfortune in the lives of many people. As noted by John Rose in his introduction to The Myths of Zionism, "if a group of people experience injustice and oppression as a result of a myth, a falsehood, surely it hardly matters to them whether the falsehood was, or was not, deliberately deceptive in its origin."[1] According to Rose, Zionism is held together by a series of "false notions that undermine its claims on the Jewish religion and Jewish history, its rationale as a response to Europe's anti-Semitism, and above all its justification for its aggressive and very dangerous political posturing in the land of Palestine."[2] The folklore surrounding Zionism has had many negative impacts on its community. Ironically, some of the greatest myths about Zionism were created by one of the movements greatest leaders, David Ben-Gurion.

Ancient Israel

One of the greatest myths about Zionism originated from Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. Ben-Gurion warned British authorities in 1970 that "the Bible is our Mandate."[3] By this, he referred to a story in the Old Testament where an ancient Jewish kingdom of Israel was referred to as 'Ancient Israel' that happened to coincide with the borders of Palestine. In turn, this ideology became the "notorious visionary geographical concept of zionism, Eretz Israel, the land of Israel."[4]

The Holocaust Driven Jewish State

Further Reading

See Also

Notes

  1. John Rose, The Myths of Zionism (Pluto Press, 2004 ISBN 0745320562 ISBN 9780745320564 ISBN 0745320554 ISBN 9780745320557)
  2. John Rose, The Myths of Zionism (Pluto Press, 2004 ISBN 0745320562 ISBN 9780745320564 ISBN 0745320554 ISBN 9780745320557)
  3. John Rose, The Myths of Zionism (Pluto Press, 2004 ISBN 0745320562 ISBN 9780745320564 ISBN 0745320554 ISBN 9780745320557)
  4. John Rose, The Myths of Zionism (Pluto Press, 2004 ISBN 0745320562 ISBN 9780745320564 ISBN 0745320554 ISBN 9780745320557)

References
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External Links

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