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Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Anti-Zionists believe that the creation of the State of Israel as a Jewish state was wrong.

Some anti-Zionists call for the destruction of Israel, by which they mean the murder or deportation of its population. Such stance is presented, for instance, in the Palestinian National Charter.

Other anti-Zionists argue that, although the initial creation of Israel was wrong, its present population should be allowed to remain there unmolested. Some of the latter anti-Zionists would support the abolition of the present State of Israel, and its replacement with a new state, not bearing the name of "Israel", that would be equally a "Jewish state" and an "Arab state". There are several such proposals (see also Proposals for a Palestinian state).

A critic would argue that considering the national nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict, seen by both Israelis and Arabs as a conflict for natural realisation, it is unlike that both sides give up a significant part of their natural aspirations.

Definition of Zionism

In order to understand the controversy around anti-Zionism, one has to study how Zionists themselves define "Zionism", and the public perception of this word. The perception is often far from the definition. A Zionist would define Zionism as the belief that Jewish people have a right to a nation state of their own, in the Land of Israel (Palestine). Many people outside the state of Israel are Zionist, as being a Zionist (by that definition) only means that one supports the right of Jews to have a state; it does not necessarily mean that one must emigrate to that state (aliyah) in order to live there.

For a Zionist, the land of Israel is not seen as an asset that can is gained for habitation, but rather a long-lost home, a subject of aspiration that has been regained. For most Zionists, the ultimate goal is a Jewish national revival in the percieved boundaries of the land of Israel. This concept does not imply any Jewish superiority; thus, most Zionists do not care about the creation of national national Arab states (and possibly, at Palestinian national state), so long as a Jewish state exists safely in the Land of Israel.

This self-definition marks a clearly-cut distinction from the philosophy of colonialism, in which the colonist comes to a land that is totally alien to him, and his legitimation in establishing a state (which is meant purely as a convenience, and not an ideological goal) is superiority. A colonialist would be likely to disapprove a desire of national self-determination by the indigenous people.

Anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism

Supporters of the State of Israel hold that in the vast majority of cases ideological anti-Zionists are also anti-Semites, combining the two concepts in a way that cancels the distinction between them. They hold that the conceptual denial of the right of Jews for a state is indicative of considering Jews inferior - which is exactly anti-Semitism. In addition, they claim that anti-Zionists fail to distinguish between Israel the state, and Israelis and Jews as individuals, and argue this is a form of anti-Semitic demonization and hatred.

Albert Einstein, a Jew, stated "Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind." Such a concept is strongly supported by Anarchists, who oppose the existance all governments. The view that Anarchist anti-zionists are anti-Semites would be to demand that Jews be granted special privileges and position beyond those of other people. Anarchism has in the past found support from Jewish intellectuals, among others. See Noam Chomsky.

It should be noted that the majority of Jews distinguish btween anti-Zionism and a specific criticism of the Israeli government or of a facet of Israeli society, which is, while done in good faith, is normal and beneficial. For instance, most Israelis and Jews world-wide hold it that one can oppose the occupation of the West Bank without being anti-Zionist.

Some anti-Zionists have nevetherless argued that Zionism is a form of racism. For example, Hassan Tahsin writes:

"... Nazism in Germany, Imperial Japan (until 1945) the Ku Klux Klan in the US, apartheid in South Africa and Zionism in Palestine are ... the worst types of racism in modern history. Zionism ... is 'a racist, religious and occupational movement connected from its inception by international colonialism.'"

Some have meant by this that Zionism is the actual belief that Jews are superior -- this is likely the view of many Arab anti-Zionists. However, it is obvious that this view is detached to a great extent from the way Zionists define themselves (see above). Moreover, the description of Jews as deeming themselves superior and twisting world affairs would be seen as anti-Semitic by many.

Criticism of Israel as a nation-state

Other anti-Zionists do not claim that Zionism is a form of racism (in the sense of the belief that one racial group is superior to another), but believe rather that any attempt to bring into existence a Jewish state must (given the realities of the world) involve discrimination against non-Jews and in favour of Jews. This argument could contradict the existence of numerous national states all over the world that do not discriminate against ethnic minorities; however, it cannot be disregarded completely considering the feelings of antagonism abundant in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Some anti-Zionist also argue that the notion of a Jewish state must inevitably exclude to some extent non-Jews, even if they are not actively discriminated against, and that it is wrong to create a state on territory occupied by a people (Palestinian Arabs), that is defined not to include those people. This view is not strictly opposed to Zionism as defined by many (for instance, the Israeli leftists), since (at least, conceptually), both a Jewish and a Palestinian state could co-exist in a single land.

Accusations of racism

The United Nations General Assembly declared that "Zionism is a form of racism" in Resolution 3379 of Nov 10, 1975. The General Assembly rescinded this resolution in Resolution 46/86 of December 16, 1991.

This issue is made more confusing by differing uses of the terms "racism" and "racial discrimination". Formally, racism is the belief that one race is superior to another; but many people use it as a synonym for racial discrimination. Furthermore, many people use "racial discrimination" broadly, to include discrimination on the basis of both ethnicity and race. The latter meaning has a greater emotional effect and is usually dominant; thus a person who would call Zionism racist or racially discriminatory imples that Jews believe themselves to be a distinct race from non-Jews.

While a speaker might be simply using sloppy terminology, most Jews would find the use of the word "racism" offensive, as its powerful conotation is known to all, and its use can be explained either by racial anti-Semitism, or by a desire by the speaker to perform an emotional hijacking.

Zionist leaders in the past and present have written that one's racial group had no relevance at all to his Judaism and therefore the ability to participate in the Jewish national revival. They claim that has been carried out in practice, as the State of Israel has allowed millions of people of all races and skin colors to become Israeli citizens including Hispanics, Vietnamese, Yemenites, Druze, Bedouins, black Africans, etc.

Zionism and Nationalism

Zionists argue that combining anti-Zionism with nationalism is inevitably anti-Semitic, since to deny the right of Jews to a state of their own, yet grant that right to others, is to discriminate against Jews. Anti-Zionists argue that not all ethnic groups are entitled to their own state (and that since there are thousands of ethnic groups in the world, giving them all their own states would be impossible), and that so long as deny Jews the right to a state is based on objective criteria (such as the existence of the Palestinian Arab people on that land for many centuries), it is not anti-Semitic. That stance, however, voids the widely accepted principle of self-determination, that states that national realisation is the subjective choise of each ethnicity.

Other anti-Zionists go further and deny the right of all ethnic groups to their own state, believing that states should be defined on a ethnically neutral basis. Most people regard this stance as too radical, at least in the current path of the development of civilization.

History of anti-Zionism

Anti-Zionism has been used to promote anti-Semitism include events in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the former Soviet Union. It is a common phenomenon in the Arab Middle East, where in most sources there's no distinction whatsoever between the "Zionist enemy" and a "Jew" in general.

Some Anti-Semitism existed in Poland in 1956 when Gomulka rose to power, but only at minor levels. His government was opposed to anti-Semitism. During this time period many Jewish Poles were repatriated from the U.S.S.R., and many of them immigrated to the State of Israel or other nations. However, in line with the official policy of the Soviet Union, after the Six-Day War of 1967 the government of Poland turned against its Jewish citizens. Gomulka publicly warned Jews against becoming a "fifth column" against Poland, and merely expressing sympathy for Israel was stated as reason to believe that someone was a traitor. Thus, most Jews instantly became suspected of treason if they had expressed any support for Israel. Immediately following this was an explosion of anti-Semitic books and articles filled with anti-Zionism, all carrying traditional anti-Semitic overtones. Immediately following this was a nation-wide anti-Jewish purge, removing Jews from their jobs in the government, universities, and many other fields. This purge was directed by the minister of the interior, and head of the security police, MieczysGaw Moczar.

Some Anti-Semitism existed in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, but not much. Tolerance towards Jews in this nation was traditional. The situation began to change when strong differences emerged between the liberal regime in Prague and the more conservative Soviet Union. By August 1968 the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia to destroy the liberal regime, and the Soviet's instituted an anti-Zionist campaign against the nation's Jews. Soviet propaganda claimed that Zionist attempted a "counter-revolution", which the Soviet Union had to save the nation from. Immediately following this invasion Jews were purged from many government and university positions.

Israeli legislation

The Israeli constitution (like the British, contained in several pieces of legislation) provides that Israel is a Jewish state, yet also makes clear that non-Jewish Israelis have rights equal to those of Jewish citizens. Making certain that these rights are upheld in practice, however, has proven to be a difficult balancing act.

The State of Israel gives full civil rights to all Israeli citizens, of all national, ethnic and religious backgrounds, including Jews, Christians, Bedouins, Druze, Arabs, Karaites and Vietnamese; this includes a very large number of Palestinians, although some claim that the non-Jews receive poorer treatment by government agencies. Israel is the only nation in the Middle East where elected Jews and elected Arabs work together in a nation's parliament. Professor Baruch Kimmerling at Hebrew University and others have nevertheless been critical.

Similar to Italy, Morocco, Germany and few other nations, Israel has ethnically preferential immigration laws; they prefer Jews to non-Jews, but do allow people of all faiths and ethnic background to become citizens. This is in contrast to Arab states, especially Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and Jordan, whose immigration laws are so restrictive as to make immigration for all purposes impossible for non-Arabs; further, the laws of these Arab nations forbid Jews from becoming citizens. In contrast, most Western countries have abolished all ethnic or racial criteria in their immigration laws and treat members of all races and ethnicities equally for immigration purposes. Zionists feel that there is a double standard, as Arab nations are never accused of being racist.

As a matter of clarification, Judaism isn't defined as a race; there are people from all racial groups in the Jewish people: Caucasians, Hispanics, Indians, black Africans, and Asians. Judaism may better be viewed as an ethnic group that evolved from a nationality in exile. Using the terminology of Mordecai Kaplan, many Jewish scholars define Judaism as an evolving religious civilization. The national component to Judaism has always existed during the last 2000 years, but for political reasons Jews never had the ability to implement their beliefs in this area. From the Jewish point of view, the establishment of Israel as a state means that the Jews have achieved the goal of reconstituting itself within its original borders.

The Law of Return of 1951 stated, based on the Rabbinical practice, that:

4B. For the purposes of this Law, "Jew" means a person who was born of a Jewish mother or has become converted to Judaism.

In 1970, an amendment was made so that the law read as:

4B. For the purposes of this Law, "Jew" means a person who was born of a Jewish mother or has become converted to Judaism and who is not a member of another religion.

The origins of this amendment lie in the case of Brother Daniel (Daniel Rufeisen), a Polish Jew persecuted by the Nazis and who converted to Catholicism and became a Carmelite monk. Israel's Supreme Court ruled that he was not eligible for citizenship under the Law of Return because he converted to Christianity. The rationale given by the Court was that the Law of Return was intended to sponsor Zionist consolidation of the Jewish nation in Israel; and by converting and choosing a life path outside of this nation, Rufeisen effectively gave up his intention to become a part of the Zionist effort, thus not qualifying for the Law of Return.

The decision aroused a controversy in the Israeli public. The consensus that emerged from the following public debate was that since Judaism is not seen by Jews exclusively either as nation (see above), once one rejects one's nationality, one can no longer simultaneously demand membership in it. Moreover, as a member of European clergy, Rufeisen's personal safety from possible persecution by Nazis was guaranteed. Having spent several years in Israel using a temporary permit, Rufeisen was granted citizenship by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior, on the basis of the Law of Citizenship.

Section 4b of the Law of Return argues that being Jewish is both a nationality and a religion. Some could argue, based on this, that the authors of the Law of Return intended it as a religious measure, thus effectively creating religious discrimination between Jews. However, many claim that immigration law has a distinct status from domestic law, because it does not serve current citizens, and therefore it lacks the attribute of being discriminatory or non-discriminatory; in other words, a country is not anyhow obliged to let inside itself people who are not inside it.

See for an argument that Zionism is Racism, and for an argument to the contrary.

See also Terrorism against Arabs, Terrorism against Israel

Zionist conspiracy theories

Many people in fringe groups, such as Neo-Nazi parties and Hamas claim that the true aim of Zionism is world dominance; they call this the Zionist conspiracy and use this to support anti-Semitism. The idea of a Zionist conspiracy is one of the oldest conspiracy theories. This position has historically been associated with Fascism and Nazism. The most important text in this regard may be the false document the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

In addition, believers in Holocaust revisionism often claim that this "Zionist conspiracy" is responsible for the exaggeration or wholesale fabrication of the events of the Holocaust; critics of such revisionism point to an overwhelming amount of historical evidence that supports the mainstream historical view of the Holocaust. It should be noted that most academics also agree that there is no reliable evidence for any such conspiracy.