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Zionism

The glossary is comprised of nearly 250 terms related to the Israeli-Palestinian context. Given the rapidly shifting landscape, these terms cannot capture the full range of nuances, narratives and historical events. This tool is meant as a starting point and we encourage you to continue your exploration of this topic through further research. Last update and review: September 2015.

Zionism

Jewish nationalism, based on the belief that the Jewish people should have a national homeland. Supporters of this idea are called Zionists. The name comes from the term "Zion" which was an ancient Hebrew designation for the city of Jerusalem. The Zionist Movement took shape in Europe in the late 1800s with the First Zionist Conference in Basel, Switzerland. The movement advocated a national liberation ideology of the Jewish people. Although this ideology had several strands each with different visions, the most prominent became a movement for the establishment of a Jewish state within the biblical Land of Israel. Zionism has many manifestations, from religious to secular, each defining a distinct view of which land should be settled, and how it should be done. There are also Jews (Israelis among them) who consider themselves anti-Zionists or post-Zionists. Zionism has been criticized as a form of colonialism or racism, with its opponents charging that it is politically ethno-centric, and that the realization of the Zionist project led to the displacement of and lack of rights for Palestinians. See " The perennial dilemma of liberal Zionism,"Ran Greenstein, +972mag, Sept 28, 2014. See also "Zionism, anti-Semitism and colonialism," Joseph Massad, Al Jazeera English, Dec 24, 2012.