What is zionist

The movement secured support among Western European governments, particularly after Zionists agreed to create their Jewish state in historic Palestine. Zionists actively encouraged the mass migration of European Jews to Palestine during the first half of the 20th century. Despite their efforts, and the sharp rise in anti-Semitism in Europe culminating in the Nazi persecution, Arabs still outnumbered Jews in Palestine.

There are Zionist critics of Israeli government policies, such as the occupation of the West Bank, the route of the separation barrier which Israel is building in and around the West Bank and which it says is for security against Palestinian attackers, though Palestinian supporters see it as a device to grab land and the building of settlements.

Equally, there was Jewish opposition to the Zionist movement, which sought to establish a Jewish homeland, long before the state of Israel was declared in Today fringe ultra-Orthodox groups such as Neturei Karta oppose the state of Israel because they believe the true Jewish state will only be established with the coming of the Messiah.

Likewise, some make the point that Zionism is a political project supported by plenty of non-Jews, including Western governments and many US evangelical Christians. But it's been widely argued that the term "Zionist" has, in some circles, become a code word for "Jew" and that bigotry against Jewish people has been expressed using the language of anti-Zionism.

Khadim Hussain, a former Lord Mayor of Bradford, was suspended from Labour after he shared a Facebook post that referred to "the six million Zionists that were killed by Hitler".

Alex Chalmers, a former co-chair of Oxford University Labour Club, said some members regularly used the word "zio" - despite it being regarded as an ethnic slur. Bouattia was attacked after it emerged that in , she co-wrote a blog for a Friends of Palestine campaign group saying that "the University of Birmingham is something of a Zionist outpost in British Higher Education".

She has also attacked "Zionist-led media outlets" - which critics said reflects anti-Semitic myths about Jewish conspiracies to control the media. On the other hand, it's regularly claimed that accusations of anti-Semitism are deployed to silence criticism of the Israeli government or to further other political ends. In a statement after Livingstone's suspension, the Jewish Socialists' Group said accusations of anti-Semitism were being "weaponised" to attack the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

On the other hand, supporters of Israel ask why it's the Jewish state that is so widely singled out for criticism and not Iran, Russia, China or any other state attacked for their human rights record. Mark Wallace, writing for Conservative Home , said in practice it would mean either allowing Israel to be wiped out by its enemies or "denying millions of Israeli Jews their home and deporting them".

The history of Palestine has been marked by frequent political conflict and violent land seizures because of its importance to several major world On October 6, , hoping to win back territory lost to Israel during the third Arab-Israeli war, in , Egyptian and Syrian forces launched a coordinated attack against Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Taking the Israeli Defense Forces by The long-term effects of the Balfour Declaration, and the British The Oslo Accords were a landmark moment in the pursuit of peace in the Middle East. Actually a set of two separate agreements signed by the government of Israel and the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization PLO —the militant organization established in to Over time, the PLO has embraced a broader role, claiming to Following years of diplomatic friction and skirmishes between Israel and its neighbors, Israel Defense Forces launched preemptive air strikes that Syria is home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world, with a rich artistic and cultural heritage.

From its ancient roots to its recent political instability and the Syrian Civil War, the country has a complex and, at times, tumultuous history.

Ancient Syria Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Theodor Herzl Modern Zionism was officially established as a political organization by Theodor Herzl in Recommended for you. How the Troubles Began in Northern Ireland. How the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Began.

Iran-Iraq War.