Sunday, August 10, 2014

Who Can Be A Zionist?


Nasir Khan,  August 10, 2014

US Vice President Joe Biden is right when he says that you don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist. There are so many Christians in the United States who are firm Zionists. They occupy positions of power and enormous influence in Washington, US Congress, in academia, media and in society in general.

 So is the case in many European countries where many non-Jewish people, especially Christians, are Zionists and dedicated supporters of Israel no matter what it does to the colonised Palestinians or in the occupied territories.

Besides there are also some people from Hindu and Islamic communities who support Israel and Zionism and are against the national aspirations of the Palestinians. On the other hand, there are many Jews who are not Zionists; they oppose Zionism, the policies of Israeli state and show solidarity with the Palestinian people's struggle for national liberation and their right to self- determination.

Some orthodox Jews reject the Israeli claim to a 'Jewish state' on the basis of their religious beliefs. In brief, no one has to be a Jew to be a Zionist in the same way as no one had to be a German or Italian to be a Nazi or Fascist in the last century or even now. There are fascists in many countries and even in the former Soviet Union some Russians, for instance, have become vociferous fascists.

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