ZIONISM as a modern political movement was founded in the late nineteenth century by Herzl. Herzl put forward the idea that the bitter anti-semitism that plagued European escaped by establishing an all-Jewish state in Palestine.
In order to gain Palestine, the Zionists pursued a consistent policy of trying to make deals with the imperialist powers who ruled Palestine at that time - namely Turkey, and then later Great Britain.
Accordingly, in the early 1900s Herzi courted mainly the Sultan of Turkey and the German Herzl's proposal to Turkey was to WaranCe them an foothold in the Middle East. In his book, The Jewish State, Herzl explained:
*If his Majesty the Sultan were to give us Palestine.. there a part of a wall of defence of Europe In AsIa, civilisation against barbarism.' Despite all of his promises to the Sultan, Herzl failed to get a charter Turkey. The Zionists CHanCe TO emerging from World War I as the new imperialist rulers of the Middle East. In 1917, the British issued the Balfour Declaration, announced support for establishing a Jewish nomeland in raiestine Sir Ronald Stores, the first civil governor of Jerusalem under British rule, summed up the thinking of the imperialists. He Palestine could create 'a little Jewish Ulster in a sea of potentially hostile Arabism' was not a movement for national liberation but a movement based upon collaborating with the imperialists. Unlike 'classical colonialism' Zionism aimed to create a colonial-settler state.
Such a state would not be based solely upon exploiting the labour and resources of the colonised countev. The Zionists instead planned totally to remove the native population - in this case the Palestinian Arabs - and replace them with Jewish settlers.
In 1940, Joseph Weitz, the head of the Jewish Agency's Department in Palestine, explained the Zionist strategy.
•Between ourselves it must be clear that there is no room for both people together in this country.. solution is Palestine, at least western Palestine, without Arabs... and there. is no other way but to transfer the Arabs from here to the neighbouring countries; to transfer all of them: not one village, not one tribe should be left... There is no other way out."
It is a bitter historic irony that at the same time as the Nazis were OUT the policy 'Germany Without Jews' the Zionists were carrying out a similar policy against the Palestinian Arabs.
Zionism claimed few among Jews until the 1930s and the rISe of fascism. Most Zionism as a utopian dream based its appeal on the notion that anti-semitism was an inevitable and permanent part of modern civilisation.
poor working class Jews rejected this idea and were thus much more attracted socialism than to Zionism.
As fascism triumphed in Germany, Jews throughout Europe first tried to emigrate to the search for a 'holy land' in Palestine, the American Zionists themselves with President Franklin Roosevelt in refusing to immigration maws persecuted Jews could enter the The American Zionists pinned Theodore attention on the Middle East. thousands of have aspect of social There are political prisoners in Israeli jails, where cases of torture been documented by the International Red Cross Zionist foreign policy has been just domestic practices. A few examples will point The Israeli government:
1) supported the French in their war against the Algerian independence struggle in the 1950s;
2) supported the US aggression in Korea in 1950 and in Vietnam during the 1960s and 1970s;
3) joined with French and British imperialism in the invasion of Egypt in 1956 after Nasser nationalised the 4) supported the landing of US marines in Lebanon in 1958 to hea off a popular uprising;
5) maintains friendly relations with the apartheid regime in South Africa Israel has consistently supported most reactionary elements society the feudal pro-imperialist elements - against the upsurge of the Arao revoluton 25h the position example isract position taken Israel the upsurge in Jordan in September 1970. At that time, the mobilisation of the Palestinian and Jordanian masses was threatening to overthrow the reactionary monarch, King Hussein of Jordan.
Zionist propagand iccused Hussein of being anti-Jewis and an employer of Nazis. However when'a major social crisis forced the Zionists to state where they really stood, they made it crystal clear that they had no qualms about invading Jordan in order to save the Hussein regime from the Palestinian and Jordanian masses.
some anti-Zionists as well as 'left' Zionists have come out in favour of the idea of setting up a Palestinian mini-state on the West Bank of the Jordan River on land captured by Israel in the 1967 war Such a solution cannot succeed Any such state would only be ar appendage of Israel.
Many Jews, who have been victims of Nazi genocide in Europe, were to Palestine under false Instead of finding escape from their oppression, they were simply placed in the position of oppressors of another people - the Palestinian Arabs.
M. Machover & M.Jafas FOR further reading see the new Palestine Solidarity Campaign: Zionism & Wal and Peace in the Middle East, by Machover and M. Jafar. Available from Box 98, Rising Free, 182 Upper Street, London NI.
Socialist Challenge 5 April 1979 page 13