I am a Zionist

I had the pleasure of accompanying my friend Fred from GayAndRight to the Gala Dinner for the conference being held in Ottawa on anti-semetism.

It was an honour and a pleasure to be there with hundreds of people from around the planet who are working hard to combat anti-semitism.  A disease of the heart in the words of keynote speaker, John Mann who gave an inspiring speech that roused the crowd to a standing ovation! 

I have never shied away from my support of Israel, but then again I haven't really blogged about it either.

So, today I shout from the rooftops that I am a Zionist and I want to know are you?

But what is Zionism?  According to the Jewish Virtual Library:

Zionism, the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel, advocated, from its inception, tangible as well as spiritual aims. Jews of all persuasions, left and right, religious and secular, joined to form the Zionist movement and worked together toward these goals. Disagreements led to rifts, but ultimately, the common goal of a Jewish state in its ancient homeland was attained. The term “Zionism” was coined in 1890 by Nathan Birnbaum.

Well, that is a very simple and concise explanation. But perhaps not enough to make you jump up and say "hell yeah!".  Perhaps you think you need more information. And you ask yourself:

Are Jews a Nation or a Religion?  Again, the good people at the Jewish Virtual Library have this to say:

Judaism can be thought of as being simultaneously a religion, a nationality and a culture.


Throughout the middle ages and into the 20th century, most of the European world agreed that Jews constituted a distinct nation. This concept of nation does not require that a nation have either a territory nor a government, but rather, it identifies, as a nation any distinct group of people with a common language and culture. Only in the 19th century did it become common to assume that each nation should have its own distinct government; this is the political philosophy of nationalism. In fact, Jews had a remarkable degree of self-government until the 19th century. So long as Jews lived in their ghettos, they were allowed to collect their own taxes, run their own courts, and otherwise behave as citizens of a landless and distinctly second-class Jewish nation.

Of course, Judaism is a religion, and it is this religion that forms the central element of the Jewish culture that binds Jews together as a nation. It is the religion that defines foods as being kosher and non-kosher, and this underlies Jewish cuisine. It is the religion that sets the calendar of Jewish feast and fast days, and it is the religion that has preserved the Hebrew language.

Is Judaism an ethnicity? In short, not any more. Although Judaism arose out of a single ethnicity in the Middle East, there have always been conversions into and out of the religion. Thus, there are those who may have been ethnically part of the original group who are no longer part of Judaism, and those of other ethnic groups who have converted into Judaism.

If you are referring to a nation in the sense of race, Judaism is not a nation. People are free to convert into Judaism; once converted, they are considered the same as if they were born Jewish. This is not true for a race.

Okay, this is good because it very simply explains what seems a complex question. 

So are you moved to call yourself a Zionist?  No?  What's that - racist?  No, just the opposite in fact - some more on that topic from you guessed it - the Jewish Virtual Library:

In 1975, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution slandering Zionism by equating it with racism. In his spirited response to the resolution, Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Chaim Herzog noted the irony of the timing, the vote coming exactly 37 years after Kristallnacht.


Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, which holds that Jews, like any other nation, are entitled to a homeland.

History has demonstrated the need to ensure Jewish security through a national homeland. Zionism recognizes that Jewishness is defined by shared origin, religion, culture and history.

The realization of the Zionist dream is exemplified by more than four million Jews, from more than 100 countries, including dark-skinned Jews from Ethiopia, Yemen and India, who are Israeli citizens. Approximately 1,000,000 Muslim and Christian Arabs, Druze, Baha'is, Circassians and other ethnic groups also are represented in Israel's population.

Many Christians have traditionally supported the goals and ideals of Zionism. Israel's open and democratic character and its scrupulous protection of the religious and political rights of Christians and Muslims rebut the charge of exclusivity.

The Arab states define citizenship strictly by native parentage. It is almost impossible to become a naturalized citizen in many Arab states, especially Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Several Arab nations have laws that facilitate the naturalization of foreign Arabs, with the specific exception of Palestinians. Jordan, on the other hand, instituted its own "law of return" in 1954, according citizenship to all former residents of Palestine, except for Jews.

The presence of thousands of black Jews in Israel is the best refutation of the calumny against Zionism. In a series of historic airlifts, labeled Moses (1984), Joshua (1985) and Solomon (1991), Israel rescued almost 42,000 members of the ancient Ethiopian Jewish community.

To single out Jewish self-determination for condemnation is itself a form of racism. "A world that closed its doors to Jews who sought escape from Hitler's ovens lacks the moral standing to complain about Israel's giving preference to Jews," wrote noted civil rights lawyer Alan Dershowitz.

When approached by a student who attacked Zionism, Martin Luther King responded: "When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You're talking anti-Semitism."

The 1975 UN resolution was part of the Soviet-Arab Cold War anti-Israel campaign. Almost all the former non-Arab supporters of the resolution have apologized and changed their positions. When the General Assembly voted to repeal the resolution in 1991, only some Arab and Muslim states, as well as Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam were opposed.

And there you have it,  an explanation of what Zionism is and isn't.

Why am I a Zionist?  There are many reasons to plead the case for Israel - read the book and documentary The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz.  He is much more eloquent than I could ever hope to be.  The website has excellent information.  Read the book, watch the movie.

I have no new arguments to add to this.  I need Israel to exist.  I need to know in that part of the world there is an oasis of sanity.  A place where democracy and freedom can reign. 

As some of you may know, this past year saw me visit Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Israel.  Israel is the only place I would want to call home.  It is a sanctuary, an oasis.  A beacon for people like me - people who embrace human dignity, rights, individual freedom, equal justice for all and modern with a willingness to learn, grow and be better!  Israel shines in spite of being in a very dark part of the world.

I could go on and on. Simply put, I believe that Israel has a right to exist.  And I guess that makes me a Zionist.