Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 10:47:34 -0700 (MST)
From: thekoba 
Subject: [azsecularhumanists] Zionism
To: azsecularhumanists@yahoogroups.com
Reply-To: azsecularhumanists@yahoogroups.com




>is Zionism where the jewish religion

>is mixed with government giving 

>a religious government for jewish people

>in israel?

> 

>or is Zionism just a government of

>jewish people by jews in israel

>with out any religion attached.


Zionism was originally a movement established in 1895 by Theodor Herzl to
encourage Jews, primarilly in the Russian Empire and eastern Europe but also
later in North America, to emigrate to Palestine (then controlled by the
Turks) and establish there a Jewish state.  It was based on the religious
teachings in Genesis that Palestine had been given by God to the Jewish
people, but it also attracted Jews who claimed to be non-religious or even
atheistic who were attracted to the idea of a land-grab, whatever the
pretense.  

When the British captured Palestine from Turkey in 1917, the Zionists managed
to secure British support for the creation of a Jewish state there.  At the
time the population was overwhelmingly Arab in composition, so a viable 
Jewish state could only be established by massive immigration.  During the
1920s the British were supportive of this but Jewish interest was 
lackadaisical.  The Zionists were then a small minority of Jews.  Most Jews
at the time prefered to assimilate into the countries in which they lived and
had no interest in Palestine.  

By the 1930s interest had increased, but resistance by Palestinean Arabs to
this invasion made Palestine difficult for the British to control and cooled
British support for Zionism.  Zionists then found a new ally in the German
National Socialist government that came to power in 1933.  Germany was facing
an international boycott of its goods organized by Jewish groups, and this 
was hurting the German economy very badly.  Hitler's government made a deal
with the World Zionist Congress and the British government to facilitate
Jewish immigration to Palestine.  German Jews who could pay 15,000 marks
(then equal to $5000 or 1000 pounds) to both the German and British
governments would be allowed to emigrate from Germany to Palestine.  In
return the Zionists agreed to break the world boycott of German goods.
Additionally food grown in Palestine by these settlers helped feed the German
people during the 1930s.  

The outbreak of hostilities in 1939 greatly curtailed this programme, but
there were still covert smuggling operations removing Jews from Germany
with the clandestine nod from both the German and British governments.
This is, in fact, how most Jews left Germany, not, as many have contended,
by deportation to prison camps in Poland.  This is all documented in <The
Transfer Agreement> by Edwin Black and <Zionism in the Age of the Dictators>
by Lenni Brenner, and both authors are themselves Jewish.

After the war, the Zionists found an ally in President Truman, who pushed
the partition of Palestine through te United Nations by overt bullying of
every country that was reluctant or neutral.  The American government
wanted a counterweight to Arab nationalism in the region so that the oil
supply could be better controlled, and with American pressure and assistance
in 1948 the State of Israel was established with bloody expulsion of many
Palestineans and fraudulent land theft of those who remained behind.

While most American and western European Jews no longer desire to move to
Israel, having a better life here thn they could there, most are Zionists in
that they continue to support Israel and seek to dominate the countries in
which they live.  Some will cite religion as the reason, as do some living
in Israel, but many will simply say that it is their ancestral homeland,
based, of course, on the claims of the Bible, while still claiming to be
atheist or non-religious.  

Among Jews living in Israel, most are not strict observers of the Sabbath
or other religious rituals, so for them religion is primarilly the window
dressing for naked racism, imperialism and land-grabbing.  Ironically there
are some Orthodox Jews who are anti-Zionist because they believe that 
Israel cannot be established as a Jewish state until the Messiah comes.
There are also some fundamentalist Christians who are very pro-Zionist
because they believe the reestablishment of Israel is necessary for the
second coming of Christ.

--Kevin

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