The Emergence of Zionism and its Anti-Zionist Critics

Zionism emerged as a response to the challenges of Jewish integration into European society and the rise of anti-Semitism. Early Zionists drew on anti-Semitic stereotypes to depict diaspora Jews as weak and sickly, contrasting them with the vision of a strong new Jewish people in Palestine. European colonial powers, motivated by a desire to resolve the Jewish question elsewhere, supported the Zionist project. In the US, early American Zionists were a minority, with Reform anti-Zionists emphasizing assimilation and Orthodox anti-Zionists opposing Zionism on religious grounds. Modern Orthodoxy initially had reservations about Zionism, but eventually embraced it. Anti-Zionist Orthodox sects, like Satmar and Naturei Karta, continue to oppose Zionism today. The Bund, a radical socialist organization, played a significant role in the Jewish Pale of Settlements. They rejected Zionism and advocated for a Yiddish nation rooted in Eastern Europe as part of the broader socialist struggle.