Zionism

Alain Dieckhoff

The word Zionism was created in the late 19th century to describe an ideology and a political movement whose objective was the rebuilding of a Jewish nation within a political framework. The goal was defined as a Jewish national home until 1942, when the establishment of a state was officially endorsed by the Zionists. Although nourished by the 2,000-year-old Jewish commitment to the land of Israel (Zion), and by religious practice, Zionism is not merely a simple extension of this longing. It basically embodies a nationalism, deeply marked by the European nationality movement of the second half of the 19th century, whose project is highly political. However, from the start, this project was contested both within the Jewish world and, more forcefully on the ground, by the Arab majority in Palestine, which saw Zionism as a settler movement. The Zionist project came up at a time of crisis for the ...

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