Zionism
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] One of the fundamental problems with this vision of 'Ancient Israel', is that Ben-Gurion did not even believe in this myth himself. All that mattered to him was that many Jews did believe in this story. As John Rose depicts the situation in relation to this myth:
Zionists are great archaeologists. It is a national obsession and for over 100 years they have been excavating in Palestine in search of 'Ancient Israel'. On many occasions, false and over-excited announcements of its discovery have been proclaimed, only to collapse in the face of intense scientific scrutiny. Then, in the 1990s, the realization began to dawn that it just might not be there.[5]
The Holocaust Driven Jewish State
The Holocaust Driven Jewish State
Another myth about Zionism, is that its existence is based solely as a result of the Holocaust. After all, Israel's Declaration of Independence (1948) states that:
The Nazi Holocaust, which engulfed millions of Jews in Europe, proved anew the urgency of the re-establishment of the Jewish state, which would solve the problem of Jewish homelessness by opening the gates to all Jews and lifting the Jewish people to equality in the family of nations[6]
Further Reading
See Also
Notes
- ↑ John Rose, The Myths of Zionism (Pluto Press, 2004 ISBN 0745320562 ISBN 9780745320564 ISBN 0745320554 ISBN 9780745320557)
- ↑ John Rose, The Myths of Zionism (Pluto Press, 2004 ISBN 0745320562 ISBN 9780745320564 ISBN 0745320554 ISBN 9780745320557)
- ↑ John Rose, The Myths of Zionism (Pluto Press, 2004 ISBN 0745320562 ISBN 9780745320564 ISBN 0745320554 ISBN 9780745320557)
- ↑ John Rose, The Myths of Zionism (Pluto Press, 2004 ISBN 0745320562 ISBN 9780745320564 ISBN 0745320554 ISBN 9780745320557)
- ↑ John Rose, The Myths of Zionism (Pluto Press, 2004 ISBN 0745320562 ISBN 9780745320564 ISBN 0745320554 ISBN 9780745320557)
- ↑ John Rose, The Myths of Zionism (Pluto Press, 2004 ISBN 0745320562 ISBN 9780745320564 ISBN 0745320554 ISBN 9780745320557)
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Almog, S., Jehuda Reinharz, and Anita Shapira. Zionism and Religion. The Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry series, 30. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1998. ISBN 0585307202 ISBN 9780585307206
- Berkowitz, Michael. Nationalism, Zionism and Ethnic Mobilization of the Jews in 1900 and Beyond. IJS studies in Judaica, v. 2. Leiden: Brill, 2004. ISBN 9004131841 ISBN 9789004131842
- Dowty, Alan. The Jewish State: A Century Later, Updated With a New Preface. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1998. [The Jewish State: A Century Later, Updated With a New Preface] Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- Journal of Israeli History: V. 24, No. 1 March 2005. Routledge, 2005. ISSN 1353-1042
- Rose, John. The Myths of Zionism. London: Pluto Press, 2004. ISBN 0745320562 ISBN 9780745320564 ISBN 0745320554 ISBN 9780745320557
- Shapiro, Yonathan. Leadership of the American Zionist Organization, 1897-1930. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1971. ISBN 025200132X ISBN 9780252001321
- Sofer, Sasson, and Dorothea Shefer-Vanson. Zionism and the Foundations of Israeli Diplomacy. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN 0521630126 ISBN 9780521630122
- Stoessinger, John George. Why Nations Go to War. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. ISBN 9780495097075 ISBN 0495097071
External Links
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
