The explaining the problem with statements like Against Zionism Not Jews, Jews Again Zionism, Zionism is not Judaism

Neturei Karta, Satmar, Jews Against Zionism Not Jews, Jews Again Zionism, Zionism is not Judaism and other false statements

Anti Zionism Resource Center

Against Zionists not Jews: explaining Neturei Karta, Satmar and other extreme minority opinions

Again Zionism not Jews

"I'm against the evil Nazi Zionists, Racist Zionists and the Apartheid Zionist State - Israel is an Apartheid State I tell you! Worth than South Africa! ... but I'm not anti-Jewish. Some of my best friends are even Jewish" - statements like this are very worrying. They show a complete lack of understanding about Zionism, not to mention Judaism.

Zionism is the national self determination movement of the Jewish people. Zionism is the belief in a Jewish homeland for the Jewish people, in Israel. Zionism is the Jewish people's instantiation of the human right of self determination. 99% of Jews are supportive of the existance of the Jewish state - that makes them Zionists.

Zionists can be and often are critical of some decisions of the government of Israel, just like British people living in America can be critical of the British government, or Americans in Canada can be critical of the US President. Israelis (Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Athiest) are even more critical of their politicians - just like healthy democracies everywhere. Jews support their right for a Jewish homeland, but they also support democracy - including a free and critical press. The difference is that reasonable people also notice the positive things the Israeli government and people do.

If Zionism is about minority rights, why are so many people against Zionism?

The Jews

The web site www.jewsagainstzionism.com claims that True Torah Jews are anti-Zionist. It belongs to the Ultra Orthodox Chassidic Satmar sect. The group numbers about 124,000 and believe that the Jewish homeland can not be created until the messiah comes. Many members of the sect live in Israel but refuse to accept welfare from the state or pay taxes. The Satmar sect does NOT support terrorism and does not get involved in political campaigning against Israel. There make up less than one percent of the Jewish population world wide and account for vast majority of non Zionist Jews. See more at Wikipedia.

More problematic are the 2,000 odd Neturei Karta members. Unlike the Satamar which are based on religious beliefs going back centuries, Neturei Karta were only created in 1935 and are explicitly political activists. This small radical anti-Zionist group was condembed even by Satmar in April 2002, and again in November 2004 for their prayers for Arafat. The Satmar Rabbi when invited to meet with the PLO in the 1970's replied "I do not meet with murderers." Neturei Karta by contract are always present at PLO rallys and usually appear with other anti-Israel activists at every opportunity.

With the exception of Neturei Karta, the Satmar and a handful of (usually left wing) anti-Zionist academics the vast majority of the Worlds Jews are Zionists... about 99%. The anti-Zionists are by far the anomaly.

The Arabs

Many of the Arabs (Israeli Arabs being a large exception) wish to restore Arab control over Israel. This turned to violence well before the stablishment of the state of Israel, see for example Jerusalem pogrom of April, 1920.

The Left

Put simply, many on the left feel Israel betrayed them. At one point Israel was the darling of the left. The Kibutz system was (and is) institutionalised socialism. This article points out the support from the left for Israel in her early days. This article The Left and Israel - Not Anti-Semitism explains the problem the left has with a successful western state - which is largely what Israel now is. Except has been taken to the argument that the left is not antisemitic, the best place to read about this is That's Funny You Don't Look Anti-Semitic a publication by Steve Cohen from 1984, republished by engage online in 2005.

The Right

The far right tend to be against Jews. It's usual to hear anti Israel rather than anti-Jewish comments from the far right. What you do hear is the arguments of the far right recycled by the far left, usually with the word "Zionist" substituted for Jew.

In summary

Almost all Jews (99%) are infact Zionists, but the definition Zionists (and infact almost all Jewish anti-Zionists) themselves use. If you use an antisemic defintion such as Zionism as Racist you can ofcourse invent statistics as you please. However you may as well declare Jews to be organges for all the meaning that has. It is unfortunate that a few sites, mostly antisemitic ones such as Serendipity link to the sites of the Satmar and Neturei Karta and try to spin a narrative of Zionists being a minority of Jews. It's unfortunate both because people believe it and get their facts wrong, but also becuase of the antisemitism they spread, antisemitism that those who wish to draw a destinction between the minority called Jews and the "evil entity" they have been attacking called Zionism are more than susceptible to.

Selected Articles

Nuclear Iran

Thoughts from Dr Ginosar

UK Muslims and Holocaust Memorial Day

Neturei Karta

How Neturei Karta abuse the memory of the Holocaust

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