What is Zionism

First of all what is the "Zionist Media?" That's ridiculous,

Name one Anti-Zionist or Non-Zionist figure in US news media.

Hi folks, I've read the bulk of this thread and it appears there is some confusion about the meaning and context of some of the terms used here, leading to arguments.

Rather than address each post where I think the meanings may have been a little skewed, how about we back up a bit and hammer out some definitions we can agree on before we bandy the words about willy-nilly.

Zion: The Land promised to the Hebrew people by God as referred to in the Torah and the Old Testament. As in, Moses led his people out of Egypt and into Zion.

Zionism: A belief in the concept that such a land should exist. Nothing more, nothing less.

Followers of the Judaistic faith have always been zionists of varying degrees ever since the destruction of the second temple which resulted in the bulk of them fleeing to Arabia and then dipsersing throughout the known world.

Zionism amongst non-Jews began as early as the late 18th century with Napoleon a suspected sympathiser to the Zionist cause. I've heard it alleged that he planned to give the land to the Jews when he set out to conquer it in 1799. He failed and withdrew.

Zionism slowly gathered momentum over the next century (particularly in Britain) resulting in the Balfour Declaration and the fall of the Ottoman empire in 1917 presented an opportunity to implement the concept.

Thus, the British Mandate came into being.

Back to definitions:

Semite: a person who's faith centres around the concept of a single Deity. This includes Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and any other faith which has a single entity as the focus as oppsoed to Hinduism with multiple deities, each having a specific aspect of life to preside over.

Anti-semetic: This one seems to be confusing for a surprisingly large number of people. I suspect more have it wrong than right. It does NOT mean anti-Jewish, although it's easy to get that impression given some of the contexts where the term has been used, even in this thread. For instance, Christians are semitic by the definition above. If they are semitic, then how is it possible to be anti-semetic at the same time? Same for Muslims. It seems the Jews have tried to claim exclusivity for this particular term and for the most part, it's worked. I suspect a large percentage of the population sees the word anti-semetic and immediately assume anti-Jewish.

Jews: Now here's a paradox. The great bulk of people seem to understand this one pretty easily, yet the more I look, the more confused I get. At first glance it would seem the people we refer to as Jews are simply the descendants of the Hebrews mentioned in biblical times. However, the word itself originated in those same times and it meant something very different then. The Hebrews themselves coined the phrase as a derogatory term to describe those Judeans who had perverted their Hebrew faith by taking on board the teachings of Christ. Remember the crown of thorns being placed on the head of the "King of the Jews"? Herod coined the term to create a definite 'us' and 'them' distinction between the true Hebrew believers and those who had abandoned some aspects of their faith and begun to follow Christ. Somewhere along the line, the terms Jew has been adapted to now mean the exact opposite of what it originally meant.

That'll do for starters...opinions/suggestions please.

And please don't forget that there are many Palestinian Christians

Yes, I am aware of this fact. There are plenty of Arab Christians in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Iran & other areas of the Middle East.

troppo_ozstyle - I dis-agree with you on the following - when refering to a "Semitic" person it means that you are refering to Racial\Ethnic Characteristics\Traits or Genetic Makeup. It has NOTHING to do with Religion. Anyone of any race can choose to Follow\Believe\Practice any Religion they wish.

[edit on 28-9-2007 by Seraphim_Serpente]

My bad. I should've looked it up earlier for a more accurate definition.

Here's how one dictionary defines it:
Semite > a member of a people speaking a Semitic language, in particular the Jews and Arabs. Origin - from the name of Shem, son of Noah, from whom these people are traditionally descended.

another definition

Originally posted by Malichai
Name one Anti-Zionist or Non-Zionist figure in US news media.

You still have not explained why you believe that relatively obscure Reformation-era texts should be discussed in "the media." I'm more than happy to engage in a discussion with you, but it has to be both ways - thanks.