Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Claims that the Israeli occupation has withdrawn from areas in the neighborhoods of al-Zaytoun, al-Tuffah, and al-Shujaiya are false
Hamas: The two delegations stressed that any negotiations must lead to the achievement of our people's goals and aspirations, foremost among which is ending the war and the complete withdrawal of enemy forces
Hamas: A delegation from the Hamas leadership, led by the head of the leadership council, Mohammad Darwish, met with an Islamic Jihad delegation, headed by its Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah

Political Zionism: History of embracing anti-Semites

  • Jamal Kanj Jamal Kanj
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 7 Apr 2023 15:01
  • 14 Shares
7 Min Read

From its inception, long before the Holocaust, the consequentialist political Zionist movement followed a teleological worldview in which the rightness of its act is determined only by the desired outcome. That translates to: what’s good for "Israel", alone, has to be good for Jews.

  • x
  • Following the death of Herzl in 1904, Zionist leaders turned their attention to a rival colonial power, Great Britain, and solicited help from a Jewish hater, now Zionist hero, Arthur Balfour.
    Following the death of Herzl in 1904, Zionist leaders turned their attention to a rival colonial power, Great Britain, and solicited help from a Jewish hater, now Zionist hero, Arthur Balfour.

Have you ever wondered why Zionist organizations malign people such as renowned musician and Pink Floyd’s confounder Roger Waters, and former UK Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn (both with a history of fighting injustice), or Kenneth Roth, a Jew who ran Human Rights Watch for 29 years, and all because they criticize "Israel"? Meanwhile, these same organizations exalt someone like Donald Trump, who normalizes white supremacists and gives political legitimacy to Jewish haters. If this seems counterintuitive, understanding the hidden history of political Zionism will demystify some aspects of this parochial movement.

Political Zionism is the epitome of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). The WZO was founded in 1897 by an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, Theodor Herzl, to combat anti-Jewish hate in Europe. Herzl, a professed atheist, envisioned in his 1896 book, Der Judenstaat (The State of the Jews) for European Jews to live in their own state. Under Herzl’s leadership, WZO contemplated several places, including Palestine, for the potential Jewish state, but none of which was in continental Europe.

From its inception, long before the Holocaust, the consequentialist political Zionist movement followed a teleological worldview in which the rightness of its act is determined only by the desired outcome. That translates to: what’s good for "Israel", alone, has to be good for Jews.

To achieve its vision, WZO sought a symbiotic relationship with an imperial power; a colonial sponsor willing to part with a piece of “real estate” that did not belong to it, in exchange for WZO services.

Following several attempts starting in 1896 to obtain an audience with the Ottoman Sultan, Herzl was finally received by the financially strapped Sovereign in May 1901, likely after intervention from German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Herzl genuflected before the Sultan, telling him that Jewish financiers were ready to purchase 20% of the entire Ottoman’s foreign debt from European powers. In addition, he promised to rally European Jewish media prowess in a public relation campaign to improve Turkey’s image in the wake of the Armenian massacre. This would be in return for opening Palestine to European Jews.

Under other circumstances, Herzl’s offer would have the appearance of an anti-Jewish trope when Jewish haters stereotype Jews of using money and media to cajole politicians. The WZO’s leader exploited the very alleged "Jewish power" in a failed attempt to coax the Ottoman Sultan.

Following the death of Herzl in 1904, Zionist leaders turned their attention to a rival colonial power, Great Britain, and solicited help from a Jewish hater, now Zionist hero, Arthur Balfour.

Balfour, a known anti-Black racist, Islamophobe, and Jewish hater, shared with WZO a desire (for varying reasons) to remove Jews from Europe. His motivations were revealed in his introduction to the book History of Zionism, where he etched that Zionism would “mitigate the age-long miseries created for Western civilization by the presence in its midst of a Body which it too long regarded as alien and even hostile, but which it was equally unable to expel or to absorb.”

Related News

The steadfastness of Iran is unmatched in recent history

Why I hate Zionism and will never forgive its disciples

On November 2nd, 1917, Balfour issued a letter on behalf of the British colonial empire addressed to Lord Rothschild, promising His Majesty’s support to establish a home for European Jews in Palestine.

On the opposite camp, Adolf Hitler rose to power in January 1933. The world saw a menace, and was met with calls to boycott German goods throughout the UK and US. WZO leaders, however, saw an opportunity to complement the promise from the British hater. The organization backed the German Zionist Federation’s (GZF) efforts to work with the Nazi regime to undermine the international anti-Nazi boycott of 1933.

On August 25, 1933, GZF concluded the Haavara Agreement with Nazi intelligence officer Edler von Mildenstein. Under this agreement, GZF agreed to oppose the anti-Nazi boycott, and for Hitler’s Germany to facilitate the emigration of Jews to Palestine. Like the British officer before him, Mildenstein found in WZO a soft option to “cleanse” Europe of Jews and resolve the “Jewish Question.”

It is worth noting that beside the WZO and GZF, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and several American Jewish leaders endorsed the Haavara Agreement and rejected the 1933 international boycott of Nazi Germany. Surely, not because WZO believed the Nazis were benevolent, but because they believed that the very malevolency of the Nazi regime would accelerate the realization of “the desired outcome.”

Historically, WZO had the agility to coexist with Jewish haters, like an ant and an aphid, a Trump and a Kushner, and where it wasn’t possible, political Zionism fed on antisemitism to deliver "what’s good for Israel," regardless of the harm to world Jewry.

A case in point is 1938, when delegates from 32 countries met in Evian, France, to discuss a plan to rescue Jewish children escaping Nazi Germany. Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion, who later became "Israel’s" first prime minister, denounced the international rescue plan. Speaking before a Mapai (Zionist party) Central Committee meeting in 1938, he said, "If I knew that it was possible to save all the (Jewish) children of Germany by transporting them to England, and only half by transferring them to the Land of Israel (Palestine), I would choose the latter..."

In the 21st century, Donald Trump became a new champion for political Zionism. Trump, who referred to "Israel" as "your country" when speaking to Jewish Americans, dined with known Jewish hater, Nick Fuentes, in November 2022. Fuentes was described as a “vicious bigot and Holocaust denier” by Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. Despite Fuentes' history, Greenblatt was careful not to rebuke Trump for meeting the “bigot,” instead, he only described the meeting as "appalling."

Similarly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked by a Meet the Press host in December 2022 if he condemns Trump’s meeting with the Jewish hater. Netanyahu hailed Trump as a true friend of "Israel" and when pressed further, he gave a guarded response, “the meeting was the wrong thing to do.”

Contrary to what "Israel" and Major Jewish organizations claim, antisemitism is not fueled by the rightful criticism of the Israeli government. But rather, it is the product of Zionist heroes who empower vicious bigots or people like Pastor John Hagee, who cited the Book of Jeremiah describing Hitler as a “hunter sent by God” to force Jews to migrate to Palestine. Despite this, the American "Israel" Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) celebrated Hagee as a keynote speaker for its March 2006 Policy Conference. Moreover, in December 2019, current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Hagee’s national conference, applauding his support for "Israel".

There is a serious cognitive dissonance when major Jewish organizations, such as the ADL, who profess to fight bigotry, choose to vilify individuals and human rights groups who reject all forms of racism, simply because they advocate for Palestinian rights, while embracing Islamophobic individuals and organizations with a history of trafficking Jewish stereotypes, simply because they support "Israel’s" Messianic policies.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • Zionism
  • Palestine
  • Israel
  • Israeli occupation
  • anti-semitism
Jamal Kanj

Jamal Kanj

Author of “Children of Catastrophe,” Journey from a Palestinian Refugee Camp to America, and other books.

Most Read

All
How is it that the Western regimes, which claimed to support the fake revolutions of Lebanon, Libya, and Syria, waged constant war against the actual Ansar Allah-led revolution in Yemen? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Understanding Yemen 1/2: The Revolution

  • Opinion
  • 30 Jun 2025
Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

  • Analysis
  • 4 Jul 2025
Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

  • Analysis
  • 11 Jul 2025
Africa’s top university’s ‘Gaza Resolutions’ outrages pro-'Israel' lobby

Africa’s top university’s ‘Gaza Resolutions’ outrages pro-'Israel' lobby

  • Analysis
  • 4 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
War on Iran

More from this writer

All
The pagers were programmed to detonate during the initial phase of the war, 24 hours later, to disrupt communication channels, and create confusion and disarray in the midst of war. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Were the exploding pagers in Lebanon part of a larger Israeli blunder?

'Israel’s' Bloody Negotiations Strategy in Gaza

'Israel’s' Bloody Negotiations Strategy in Gaza

Why would six Israelis receive more attention than 41,000 murdered Palestinians

Why would six Israelis receive more attention than 41,000 murdered Palestinians

The Biden Administration's calls for a ceasefire are as hollow as a jellyfish, and as insincere as a Trump apology. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

How Blinken’s disinformation perpetuates the suffering in Gaza

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS