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Is the Zionist movement against morality?

שו”תCategory: generalIs the Zionist movement against morality?
asked 4 years ago

Hello Rabbi, I saw that you defined yourself as a “religious Zionist,” without a hyphen, to emphasize that your Zionism stems (only, or mainly) from universal moral values. Therefore, I wanted to ask you what you think about the following text:
“What is racism?”

Racism is discrimination or hostility based on
ethnic.

What is Zionism?

Zionism is a movement to establish a Jewish state on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, a region of land that at the time of Zionism’s emergence was inhabited mostly by non-Jews – Palestinian Christians and Muslims.

Okay, but how does that make Zionism racist?

Very simple. Remember the definition of racism? Let’s use it:

Discrimination on the basis of ethnicity – Zionism never asked the opinion of the indigenous Palestinians about the establishment of a Jewish state in their own homeland. This is a serious violation of the principles of democracy: even though they constituted close to 100% of the population, no one bothered to ask what the indigenous Palestinians thought. why? Because they are simply not Jews. The more prominent democratic principle – the will of the majority – was denied to the indigenous population of the country, because they came from the wrong ethnic background. The indigenous Palestinians of course supported Arab independence, but their opinion was not interesting. This is why, incidentally, the Zionists strongly opposed the establishment of a legislative council throughout the Mandate years – because the will of the majority would have nullified the Zionist enterprise.

Ethnic-based hostility – Since the emergence of Zionism, the indigenous Palestinians, who lived in their homeland, have been seen and perceived as an “obstacle.” why? Because Zionism – the establishment of a “Jewish” state – requires a Jewish majority in the land. And since there was a clear majority for non-Jewish Palestinians at the time, the very presence of this indigenous population became undesirable. Zionism caused an unbelievable phenomenon: people were perceived as undesirable – just because they lived in their own house. And when an Israeli politician today calls Palestinians “a thorn in the ass” (the author of the text was probably referring here to the current Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett, who said this perhaps against the background of frustration that the presence of Palestinians in the territories “prevents” Israel from annexing them) – you will understand how much damage this perception caused, the effects of which remain with us to this day.”
Does the rabbi have a response to these claims? These sound like very serious claims. Since you said you are a Zionist like David Ben-Gurion was a Zionist, you would not answer them with the answer “This is what the Torah commanded us.” The question is, then, what is your response to them, as a “secular Zionist.”


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0 Answers
מיכי Staff answered 4 years ago
My opinion is that the following text is nonsense. First of all, my Zionism is not based on moral values, just as my family affiliation is not based on morality. These are simply facts. I belong to my family and I also belong to my people. And just as my family needs a home, my people also need a home. In this region of the country, there lived natives without a national identity, without sovereignty and without a state. There was no problem coming to settle here and striving to establish a national home while preserving their rights. Especially since they were offered a partition and they refused. They went to war and ate it. So don’t whine.

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It is also important to note that the number of inhabitants of this region at the time of the beginning of Zionism was extremely small, and most of them were immigrants from neighboring countries. As the Zionist movement grew and trade and the economy developed, many more chose to immigrate here. About a hundred years later, they also decided that they were a people, and the rest is history.

Copenhagen Interpretation replied 4 years ago

Discrimination not on the basis of ethnicity but on the basis of ownership. When you reserve for yourself the right to decide which strangers will enter your home, you are not “discrimination on the basis of ethnicity”. There is no fundamental difference between preventing entry in advance and expelling the strangers retrospectively if they invaded your home while you were not present.

The Jewish people are basically made up of descendants of those expelled from Babylon and Rome (including those immigrants who we have adopted into the family over time) and since then to this day are considered the heirs and therefore the sole legal owners of the land.

עמנואל replied 4 years ago

But despite this, Rabbi Michi thinks there is a future in power and also in favor of a "corrective" preference: Here is the crazy Ben Barak: https://www.srugim.co.il/620627-%d7%a8%d7%9d-%d7%91%d7%9f- %d7%91%d7%a8%d7%a7-%d7%90%d7%9d-%d7%9e%d7%95%d7%97%d7%9e%d7%93-%d7%9e%d7%9b%d7%a4%d7 %a8-%d7%9e%d7%a0%d7%93%d7%90-%d7%a8%d7%95%d7%a6%d7%94-%d7%9c%d7%94%d7%99%d7%95%d7%aa

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